Catalyst

Catalyst Documentation

Catalyst is an editor for creating and editing particle effects for GTAV. You build an effect as a node graph, watch it simulate live while you change it, and export it as a .ypt for Legacy, Enhanced, or both. This section of the documentation is split into three articles:

Introduction (this page): what Catalyst is and how to install it.
Catalyst Overview: a tour of the interface and an explanation of how effects are built.
Example Project: a step-by-step tutorial that takes you from a new project to an effect running in FiveM.

New to Catalyst? Read How Effects Are Built first. It explains the structure that every other part of the editor relies on. Then follow the Example Project. Importing one of the game’s own .ypt files and taking it apart is also one of the fastest ways to learn how effects are put together.

Overview


What can you make?	Particle effects such as fire, smoke, sparks, dust, water, light and decals
How you make them	A node graph with a keyframe timeline and a live preview
What comes out	`.ypt` files for Legacy and/or Enhanced
Platform	Windows 10 and 11. Installs per-user, no admin rights needed

If you've modified particle effects before, the development loop was probably: open the file, change some numbers, repackage, load the game, look, repeat. Catalyst changes three things:

You see the effect while you edit it. The preview simulates as you change values, so most of the work that used to need a game launch no longer does.
Values are curves, not single numbers. A particle's color, size and rotation are animated across its lifetime. "Fade out as it dies" takes two keyframes, where a single fixed value could only approximate it.
The structure is explicit. An effect's parts (what spawns, where, how many, what each particle does) are separate connected nodes that you can inspect, rename and reuse.

What Catalyst Does and Doesn't Do

It does:

Create effects from scratch, and import existing .ypt files to edit or learn from
Organise effects into collections, where one collection is one exported .ypt
Use the game's own textures and meshes through a read-only Global pool loaded from core.ypt
Import your own .dds textures and .ydr meshes

It doesn't:

Create or edit textures. You will need finished .dds files.
Model or rig meshes. You will need finished .ydr files.
Pack into RPFs or install to your game. Use OpenIV, CodeWalker or a FiveM resource for that (see Implementing in FiveM).
Place effects in the world or script their triggers.

Legacy and Enhanced

GTAV Legacy and GTAV Enhanced read particle files differently, so Catalyst writes them separately:

Target	Export produces
Legacy	`<name>_legacy.ypt`
Enhanced	`<name>_enhanced.ypt`

You pick either or both at export time, from the same project, so you never maintain two versions of an effect by hand.

File Types

Extension	Used for
`.ctlst`	Catalyst project files
`.ypt`	Particle files, for import and export
`.dds`	Textures
`.ydr`	Meshes (drawables)
`.dat`	`ptxclipregions.dat`, the clip regions (sprite map data) of particle textures, for import and export

Installation


Operating system	Windows 10 or 11. Older versions of Windows are not supported
Admin rights	Not needed. Catalyst installs per-user
Install location	`%LOCALAPPDATA%\Cfx\Catalyst` by default
GTAV	Optional, but recommended. See Pointing Catalyst at Your Game
Internet connection	Not needed. Catalyst works fully offline

Download the Catalyst installer from the Cfx Portal, then run it and work through its pages: Welcome, Install location (change it if you want; anywhere your user account can write is fine), Shortcuts (Create a Desktop shortcut is ticked by default), then Install and Finish.

You get a Start Menu -> Catalyst folder (containing Catalyst and Uninstall Catalyst), a Desktop shortcut if you left it ticked, and an Add/Remove Programs entry. The installer makes no machine-wide changes.

It also sets up two file associations:

File type	What happens
`.ctlst`	Becomes a Catalyst Project, gets the Catalyst icon and opens in Catalyst on double-click
`.ypt`	Gains an Import in Catalyst entry on its right-click menu

Catalyst does not make itself the default handler for .ypt, so OpenIV, CodeWalker and other tools keep working as before. Right-click -> Import in Catalyst on any .ypt is the quickest way into the tool.

Pointing Catalyst at Your Game

On startup, Catalyst looks up your GTAV installation in the registry and loads the game's core.ypt in the background as a read-only Global asset pool. This pool lets you use the game's existing textures and meshes without copying anything into your project. Usually this just works, and the Global group appears in the library panel's Textures and Drawables tabs.

If the load fails (for example a missing or incomplete install, or an unreadable archive), a locate-game dialog appears. Point it at either your GTA5.exe or a core.ypt file directly, and Catalyst retries the load.

You can also dismiss the dialog and keep working. Catalyst is fully usable without GTAV, but without the Global pool you'll need to import your own .dds textures and .ydr meshes. Effects authored this way still export normally. To get the pool back after dismissing the dialog, restart Catalyst.

Updating and Uninstalling

When an update is available, Catalyst offers to install it when it starts. Updating is optional: you can skip it and keep using your current version, and install the update later. Updates install over your existing copy, keeping your shortcuts and file associations.

To uninstall, use Settings -> Apps -> Catalyst -> Uninstall or Start Menu -> Catalyst -> Uninstall Catalyst. This removes the program, its shortcuts, the .ctlst association and the .ypt right-click entry. Your projects and exported files are not deleted. Only the installation folder is removed, so don't save projects inside %LOCALAPPDATA%\Cfx\Catalyst.