Configuration

Overview

All vehicle configuration lives in a single data.json at the resource root, keyed by vehicle model name. You almost never need to edit it by hand — the in-game editor is the source of truth.

The file is managed by tLib's Discovery module, which also scans other resources for bundled configs on server start. Any server edit to a vehicle writes back to this file.

tELS/
  data.json                — local (server-owner) configs
  data/
    server_defaults.json   — admin display defaults

Vehicle config structure

Each model entry has four sections:

LED entry

{
  "id": "a3f1b2c4d5e6f7a8",
  "name": "Front Right 1",
  "x": 0.1, "y": 0.5, "z": 0.7,
  "yaw": 0, "pitch": 0, "roll": 0,
  "sw": 0.044, "sh": 0.02,
  "side": 1,
  "bone": "siren1",
  "groups": ["Right", "Front"],
  "shape": "rect",
  "bloom": "sprite"
}

Pattern entry

{
  "name": "Code 3",
  "fps": 10,
  "colors": [
    { "r": 255, "g": 0, "b": 0, "a": 1.0, "name": "Red" },
    { "r": 0, "g": 120, "b": 255, "a": 1.0, "name": "Blue" }
  ],
  "frames": [
    {
      "cells":    { "a3f1b2c4d5e6f7a8": 1, "b4e2c3d5f6a7b8c9": 2 },
      "dimCells": { "a3f1b2c4d5e6f7a8": true },
      "duration": 1
    }
  ],
  "triggerOnly": false,
  "syncNear": false,
  "useEmergencyLights": false,
  "useHighBeams": false,
  "livery": 0
}

Trigger entry

{
  "id": "c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2",
  "conditions": ["brake", "speed_30"],
  "negated": [false, false],
  "operator": "and",
  "enabled": true,
  "actions": [
    { "type": "pattern_overlay", "patternName": "Brake Warning" }
  ]
}

Legacy triggers that use { trigger: "brake", patternName: "..." } auto-migrate to the compound form on load.

Siren config

{
  "tones": [
    {
      "name": "Wail",
      "sound": "VEHICLES_HORNS_SIREN_1",
      "serverSound": "",
      "serverSoundRef": "",
      "rumblerSound": "",
      "rumblerServerSound": "",
      "rumblerServerSoundRef": "",
      "enabled": true,
      "triggerOnly": false
    }
  ],
  "airhorn": "SIRENS_AIRHORN",
  "serverAirhorn": "", "serverAirhornRef": "",
  "serverAirhornRumbler": "", "serverAirhornRumblerRef": "",
  "hornInterrupt": true,
  "parkKill": true,
  "useNormalHorn": true,
  "hornProgrammable": false,
  "lightsSuspendTA": true,
  "lightsSuspendTakedown": true,
  "chirpTone": 1,
  "chirpByCode": false
}

Server-sided sounds are preferred when configured and the player has Server-sided Sirens enabled in /tels. Otherwise the vanilla sound is used.

Vehicle-developer export

Vehicle makers can bundle a tELS config inside the vehicle resource so it loads automatically on server start — no manual copy from the server owner.

How it works

tLib's Discovery module scans every running resource for the tels_config metadata key. When it finds one, the referenced file is parsed and its configs are merged into tELS on boot. Server-owner edits in the editor are written to data.json and take priority over any bundled config, so customizations never get overwritten.

tels_config 'data/tels.json'

{
  "police4": {
    "leds": [ /* ... */ ],
    "patterns": [ /* ... */ ],
    "triggers": [ /* ... */ ],
    "siren": { /* ... */ }
  }
}

Cross-vehicle references

Don't duplicate patterns, triggers, or sirens across similar vehicles. Reference them instead, and edit the source once to update all referents.

Reference shapes

{ "$ref": "police4", "patternName": "Code 3" }

{ "$ref": "police4", "triggerId": "c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2" }

{ "$ref": "police4", "$all": true }

"sirenRef": "police4"

"settingsRef": "police4"

Pattern and trigger refs live inline in the patterns / triggers arrays — they stand in for the referenced item.

Behavior

• Refs are resolved at access time, never copied.
• Editing a referenced pattern or trigger edits the source vehicle's data.
• Refs don't chain — a ref pointing at a ref won't resolve.
• Orphaned refs (source deleted) are cleaned up automatically after any save.
• The editor marks imported items with a link icon and items referenced by other vehicles with a share icon.

Server defaults

Admins with tlib.admin can save their current display settings as the server-wide fallback via /tels → Set as Server Defaults. Defaults are stored in data/server_defaults.json and sent to every client on connect.

Players' personal KVP settings take priority — server defaults only apply where the player hasn't already picked a value.

Discovery parameters

For reference, tELS configures tLib Discovery like this:

If you're integrating or debugging, these are the strings to look for in the server console and in your own listeners.