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Understanding and finding natives

When you write scripts for GTA V, you run into the term native right away. In practice, a native is simply an internal function of the GTA V game engine that you can call directly from your C# script.

What a native is​

GTA V is built in C++. Inside the game engine, thousands of functions manage everything: spawning vehicles, playing animations, checking ped health, or controlling ragdolls.

ScriptHookVDotNet (SHVDN) provides ready-made C# properties for common tasks:

// Convenient SHVDN properties
ped.Health = 100;
ped.BlockPermanentEvents = true;

Under the hood, SHVDN is calling those engine functions for you. But SHVDN only covers a fraction of what the game can do. Whenever you need an action without an existing C# wrapper — like forcing a ped to put their hands up, checking if they are fleeing, or stopping them from writhing on the ground when dying — you call the engine function directly. That function is a native.

Every native has:

  • A name: e.g. TASK_HANDS_UP, SET_PED_CONFIG_FLAG, IS_PED_FLEEING.
  • A 64-bit hash: its identifier in the game binary. The GTA.Native.Hash enum in SHVDN maps those names to their hashes so you can use them easily.
  • Parameters and a return type: the arguments it expects (ped handle, numbers, booleans) and what it returns.

How to find the native you need​

You do not need to guess native names. In practice, you find what you need in two ways:

Search the native database​

The community maintains searchable databases of all known GTA V natives, such as nativedb and FiveM Natives.

  1. Search by keyword in English: type what you are trying to do (cuff, flee, ragdoll, weapon, seat, speech, aim).
  2. Filter by namespace:
    • PED: ped health, flags, armor, behavior.
    • TASK: movements, animations, scenarios, driving, combat.
    • VEHICLE: doors, sirens, engine, vehicle damage.
    • WEAPON: equipping weapons, attachments, ammo.
    • HUD: minimap blips, text displays, notifications.
  3. Check parameters and notes: community comments frequently explain what specific flag IDs or arguments do (for example, flag 281 on SET_PED_CONFIG_FLAG disables writhe on dying).

Read existing mod code or decompile a DLL​

When you wonder how another mod built a specific mechanic:

  • Open-source mods on GitHub: search for the mechanic name to see which natives other developers call and in what order.
  • Decompiling a .NET mod DLL: if a mod is not open source, its .dll file in scripts/ is compiled .NET code. You can open it in a decompiler like ILSpy or dnSpy to inspect its C# code and see the exact Function.Call lines it uses.

Calling a native in C#​

In ScriptHookVDotNet, you call natives using Function.Call from the GTA.Native namespace:

Void call (performing an action)​

using GTA;
using GTA.Native;

// Makes a ped raise their hands
Function.Call(Hash.TASK_HANDS_UP, ped.Handle, -1, Game.Player.Character.Handle, -1, false);

// Disables writhe on death (flag 281)
Function.Call(Hash.SET_PED_CONFIG_FLAG, ped.Handle, 281, true);

Call with a return value​

Pass the expected return type between <T>:

using GTA;
using GTA.Native;

// Checks whether a ped is fleeing
bool isFleeing = Function.Call<bool>(Hash.IS_PED_FLEEING, ped.Handle);

// Gets ground Z altitude for a 3D coordinate
float groundZ = Function.Call<float>(Hash.GET_GROUND_Z_FOR_3D_COORD, pos.X, pos.Y, pos.Z, 0f, false);

What to watch out for​

  • Non-existent hashes and the AI trap ("Can't find native"): calling a hash that does not exist in the game causes ScriptHookV to crash with the error Can't find native 0x.... This is the single most common mistake when coding with AI: LLMs frequently hallucinate plausible-sounding native names or invent fake hashes. When prompting an AI to write GTA V scripts, always feed it the exact native signature from nativedb or FiveM docs in the prompt. Never let an AI invent a native.
  • Pass handles, not C# objects: natives do not understand C# Ped or Vehicle classes. Always pass ped.Handle or vehicle.Handle.
  • Float vs integer: if a native expects a float, always write 0f or 1.0f rather than an integer 0. A type mismatch can corrupt arguments on the call stack.
  • Match return types: make sure the generic type T on Function.Call<T> matches what the database documentation indicates (bool, int, float, string).