Chat Categories

Categories are the tabs in the chat input. Each one is a separate channel with its own colors, tags, permissions, delivery rules and identity badges. They are defined in shared/config/categories.lua as config.chatCategories.

The built-in Commands tab

A command category is always injected as the first tab at runtime (from shared/main.lua) — you do not define it yourself:

shared/main.lua

table.insert(config.chatCategories, 1, {
    label = "CATEGORY_COMMANDS_LABEL",
    type = "command",
    icon = "terminal",
    placeholder = "CATEGORY_COMMANDS_PLACEHOLDER",
})

Anything typed in this tab is executed as a command. With config.allowNoSlashCommands = true, a known command name works with or without a leading slash (typing me hi runs /me hi).

What ships enabled

Out of the box only the Admin category is active in config.chatCategories. Ready-to-use examples for OOC (Global), OOC (Local/closest), Police, EMS and Gang are included in the file but commented out — uncomment and tune them as needed.

Category	`type`	How access is gated
Commands	`command`	Always present (auto-injected)
Admin	`admin`	ACE permissions `command` / `admin` / `adminchat`
OOC (Global)	`ooc`	Open to everyone (example)
OOC (Local)	`oocclosest`	Proximity — `distance` in meters (example)
Police	`pdchat`	`jobs = { police = {...grades} }` (example)
EMS	`emschat`	`jobs = { ambulance = true }` (example)
Gang	`gang`	`gangs = { ... }` (example)

Default category

config.defaultChatCategory decides which tab is focused when chat opens:

shared/config/general.lua

config.defaultChatCategory = "command"

Slash vs. no-slash commands

shared/config/general.lua

--- true  = commands work WITH and WITHOUT a leading slash ("me hi" runs /me)
--- false = commands only trigger with a leading slash ("/me hi")
config.allowNoSlashCommands = true

Category parameters

Every category supports a rich set of fields. A trimmed example:

shared/config/categories.lua

{
    label = "CATEGORY_ADMIN_LABEL",  -- translation key for the tab name
    type = "admin",                  -- unique id for this category
    icon = "shield-alt",             -- FontAwesome icon
    webhookKey = "chatMessage",      -- Discord log webhook (see Discord Logging)
    placeholder = "CATEGORY_ADMIN_PLACEHOLDER",
    permissions = { "command", "admin", "adminchat" }, -- required ACE perms
    maxLength = 500,                 -- max message length
    tags = {                         -- fixed tag(s) shown before the message
        { tag = "Admin", textColor = { 51, 51, 51 }, bgColor = { 255, 105, 97 } },
    },
    color = { 255, 105, 97 },        -- default message text color
    showPlayerName = { active = true, censored = false, showWearingMask = true },
    showPlayerId   = { active = false, type = "serverId" },
    showPlayerJob  = { active = false, showLabel = true, showGrade = false },
    discordTag     = { active = false, maxShow = 1, roles = { ... } },
    showHour       = { active = true },
}

Full field reference (all optional unless noted):

Field	Type	Description
`label`	string	Translation key for the tab display name
`type`	string	Required. Unique identifier for the category
`icon`	string	FontAwesome icon name
`webhookKey`	string	Discord webhook key to log this category's messages
`command`	string / string[]	Chat command(s) that route into this category
`placeholder`	string	Translation key for the input placeholder
`distance`	number	Max delivery distance in meters; omit for global
`maxLength`	number	Maximum message character length
`permissions`	string[]	Required ACE permissions to see/use the category
`jobs`	table	Required jobs — `true` = all grades, `number[]` = specific grades
`gangs`	table	Required gangs — same shape as `jobs`
`tags`	table[]	Fixed tags shown before messages (`tag`, `textColor`, `bgColor`)
`color`	RGB	Default message text color `{ r, g, b }`
`showPlayerName`	table	`active`, `censored`, `bgColor`, `textColor`, `showWearingMask`
`showPlayerId`	table	`active`, `type = "serverId"`, colors
`showPlayerJob`	table	`active`, `showLabel`, `showGrade`, colors, per-job overrides
`discordTag`	table	`active`, `maxShow`, `roles[]` (Discord role → tag)
`showHour`	table	`active`, colors — appends the message time

ℹ

Name censoring shows a masked name (e.g. J*** D**). If a player is wearing a mask, their name is hidden as Unknown unless showWearingMask = true — the mask check is driven by config.noneMask in general.lua.

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