Community Administration¶
The Admin Console is where owners and admins configure everything about a community. Open it from the Admin tile on the community hub. The console has a left sidebar grouped into sections; this page walks through each one.
Order of setup
A good first pass: set your Community identity and logo, create your Departments and Servers, load your Penal Code and Call Types, upload your Postals, then invite Members. After that, connect Discord, FiveM, and (if you use it) Roster Sync.
A brand-new community is empty
Creating a community gives you no departments, no capabilities, and an empty penal code - the owner builds each one (Departments below; Penal Code below, which supports CSV import). PulseCAD does seed a starter set of status codes and call types, plus one default server, so live dispatch works from the start.
Roles¶
PulseCAD membership roles, highest to lowest: owner → admin → supervisor → member → readonly. Owners and admins can open the Admin Console; everyone else operates the surfaces their department grants. There is also a per-account super-admin flag (PulseCAD staff) that bypasses membership checks.
Separately from the membership role, you build your own custom named department roles per department (under Departments → Roles). Each department role sets a rank tier and the capabilities it carries, for example a "K9 Handler" or "Watch Commander" role. You assign them to members from the Dept Roles column on the Members table, so every community defines its own rank ladder rather than picking from a fixed list.
Community¶
Your community's public profile and how players find you.
Identity
- Community name and an optional short Abbreviation (e.g.
LSRP, up to 16 characters) shown on badges. - Website — an optional link (just type
yourcommunity.com;https://is added automatically). It drives a Website button on your Hub. Leave it blank to hide the button. - URL slug — shown read-only here; it's how partners reference your community for data sharing.
Community logo — upload, replace, or remove a logo that appears on your Hub in place of the PulseCAD mark. A wide PNG with transparency looks best; it's downscaled automatically.
Discovery & joining — controls who can join and whether you appear in the public community directory:
| Setting | Directory | How players join |
|---|---|---|
| Open to everyone | Listed | Anyone joins instantly |
| Invite key required | Listed | Must enter a valid invite key |
| Invite only (private) | Hidden | Invite key only, not discoverable |
About — an optional blurb (up to 1200 characters) shown on your directory listing.
Members¶
Manage who's in your community and what they can do.
- Members table — each row shows the member, their Role (an inline dropdown: owner / admin / supervisor / member / readonly), their Terminals (per-member Terminal Access grants), their Dept Roles (the custom department roles they hold), and Status. Use Suspend / Reactivate to toggle access. Members managed by Roster Sync show a roster-managed badge and can't be edited here — their access comes from PulseRoster.
- Invite link — + Invite Member produces a shareable join link; separately, Permission Keys (under Community → Permissions) grant department roles.
Inviting members¶
Click + Invite Member to generate a no-role shareable join link (/join/{code}). Anyone who opens it joins as a read-only civilian; the link carries no department access on its own.
To grant actual access, hand out a Permission Key (Community → Permissions). A member redeems a key to receive the department roles it carries. Keys grant department roles only, never admin or owner. Admin and owner are assigned manually from the Role dropdown on the Members table; which terminals a member can open is set by their Terminal Access grants and Dept Roles.
Join policy vs. join links
The Discovery & joining setting (under Community) decides whether the community is public, code-gated, or invite-only. A join link always works regardless of that setting — it's how you let specific people in even to a private community. It still only makes them a read-only civilian until they redeem a permission key.
Community → Permissions¶
The access-control hub for the community. Three things live here:
- Terminal defaults — which terminals a new member can open, including
allowPublicCivilians(whether anyone who joins gets the Civilian portal by default). - Custom admin roles — named admin roles carrying a scoped set of admin capabilities, beyond the built-in owner / admin.
- Permission Keys — redeemable codes that grant department roles (never admin). A member enters a key to unlock the terminals and roles it carries.
See Permission Keys for the full grant model and how keys combine with per-member Terminal Access.
Departments¶
Your agencies and the CAD surface each one operates. Click + Add Department or edit an existing one.
- Department badge / logo (required) — a square PNG, downscaled automatically. It appears on MDT login tiles and badges.
- Name and Abbreviation (uppercased).
- CAD surface (type) — determines which console the department operates:
- Law Enforcement (LEO)
- Fire / EMS
- Tow / DOT
- Dispatch — one per community (singleton)
- Court — one per community (singleton)
- Callsign preset (optional) — a prefix (e.g.
53) that pre-fills the callsign when a member goes on duty. Officers can still edit or clear it. - Stations (Fire / EMS only) — a list of stations members pick from at go-on-duty. Defaults are pre-filled (Station 1-5, 7, 8); add or remove as needed.
Servers¶
Live dispatch is scoped per game server — units, calls, and 911 are separate per server — while civilians, records, and configuration are shared across all of them. Each server also carries its own FiveM API key.
- The table shows each server's name (with color dot and a star on the default), slug, and FiveM Key with Copy / Rotate / Download resource actions.
- + Add Server to create one (name, optional slug, optional color). Edit to change those.
- Make default to change which server new sessions land on. You can't delete the default server, the last remaining server, or one that's in use.
See FiveM Integration for what the per-server key powers.
Penal Code¶
Your charge schedule, grouped into ordered Titles (sections). The header shows offense and Title counts, and you can search.
- Each charge shows its code, offense, class (FELONY / MISDEMEANOR / INFRACTION), fine, and points, plus Traffic and Suspends DL badges.
- + Add Charge / edit opens a form with: code, offense, Title/section, class, Fine (plus optional Fine min/max for a range), Points, Jail/sentence label, Bail, Jail min (days) and Jail max (days), sort order, description, and checkboxes for Traffic violation and Suspends driver license.
- Manage Titles — reorder, rename, add, or delete Titles. Deleting a Title moves its charges to Uncategorized.
- Upload — bulk import a
.jsonor.csvfile. Recognized columns:code, title, category, class, fine, points, jail, bail, description, traffic, suspend. New category values become Titles in file order. You get a preview count before importing.
Jail ranges feed the Court
Jail min/max and fine ranges are what the Court sentencing rules clamp against, so fill them in if you run the Court module.
Capabilities & Subdivisions¶
Specialty and unit tags officers pick when going on duty (K9, SWAT, Supervisor, Traffic, Air Unit, Detective Bureau, Gang Unit, ALS, and so on).
- + Add Capability / Subdivision — set a Code (e.g.
ALS), a Label (e.g. Advanced Life Support), and a Department. - Scope to All departments or a specific one — a department-scoped capability only appears on that department's MDT.
Dispatch & Records Configuration¶
A page with its own sub-tabs for everything that shapes the dispatch board and records workflow. The sidebar item carries a badge showing pending report approvals.
Call Types¶
Problem/incident codes with a category and default priority. Each has a Code, Description (label), Category (LE / EMS / FIRE), and Default Priority (P1-P4).
Status Codes¶
Unit statuses, edited per MDT type using the segmented switch: Law Enforcement, Fire & EMS, Tow & DOT. For each status you set:
- Color and Text color (the on-board chip)
- Label (full text) and Short label (≤6 chars, shown on the board)
- What it does — a plain-language note
- Order
Status codes can't be deleted
A status code and its MDT type are behavior keys the MDT and FiveM map onto, so they can be edited but not removed. You can add new ones.
Dispositions & OOS¶
The Clear w/Dispo options and Out-of-Service reasons, set separately for each MDT type (Law Enforcement, Fire & EMS, Tow & DOT).
Dispatch Zones¶
Coverage areas a dispatcher can pick (e.g. North, County-Wide, State-Wide). Each has a short Code (the token typed when addressing chat/calls) and a Label. See Dispatch.
Maps¶
Choose which of PulseCAD's built-in base maps your community uses. This is a simple on/off toggle list - there is no upload, no alignment, and no download here; the maps are provided by PulseCAD, and units, calls, and postals line up automatically on whichever one is active.
- Los Santos (GTA V) views - Satellite, Atlas, and Grid.
- Cayo Perico.
Turn on the maps your community runs; officers see only the enabled maps in the live map's layer switcher. A Default map view picker sets which enabled map the MDT / Dispatch map opens on first (officers can still switch, and their last choice is remembered on their own device).
Postals¶
Numbered postals power location autocomplete and live GPS on the map.
- Stat tiles show the active postal count and the current pack.
- Choose a postal pack — pick a standard FiveM pack from the dropdown, or Disable postals.
- Custom pack — Upload .json (a JSON array of
{ code, x, y }, Sonoran/Imperial/Snaily-compatible;postal/number/namekeys are also accepted), or Reset to default.
Records & Approvals¶
Control whether reports need supervisor sign-off before they finalize.
- Require supervisor approval — the master toggle. When on, filed reports land in the Supervisor Queue.
- Approval by form — tick which report types require approval (Citation, Written Warning, Arrest, Incident, Crash, Tow Sheet, Field Interview, Use of Force, DUI, and more). With none ticked, every form requires approval.
Unit Login¶
Options for the go-on-duty form across all MDT surfaces. Currently: Show the "Phone" field when going on duty (off by default).
Report Forms¶
Customize the built-in report forms or add custom report types. Each template defines its form type, report type, surface, title, numbering label/prefix, and the full field definition, plus whether it's enabled and its sort order.
Configuration Lists¶
Option lists civilians and officers pick from — genders, ethnicities, eye colors, hair colors, blood types, cities. Pick a category from the sub-tabs, then add, edit (pencil), or remove (X) items, and Save Changes.
The same page hosts a few extra panels below the lists:
- General Settings — sliders for Pending Call Close-out, Auto-Close Call, Auto-Logout (idle), and 911 Voice Wait Timeout. (Timers have a 5-minute floor and can't be fully disabled; the voice timeout floor is 30s.)
- Civilian Setup — auto suspend/revoke rules (points-to-suspension, repeat suspensions-to-revocation), a Civilian Profile Limit (1-20 or unlimited), and a Firearms Certificate toggle.
- CAD Sounds — upload custom alert clips per cue (
.mp3/.wav/.ogg, under 3 MB), preview them, or reset to default.
Licenses¶
Everything about civilian licenses and their physical card designs, in three sub-tabs.
License Types¶
The licenses and certifications a civilian can add to a character. For each type, edit its Class options, Endorsements (code + label), and (for hunting-type licenses) Game options. Restriction rules and auto-generated license numbers are fixed by the CAD.
ID Designer¶
A visual layout editor with a card picker across the top — Driver License plus every other license type.
- Driver License — a full designer with drag/snap layout, undo/redo, and Save design. Edit header text (state name, title, region mark), colors (border, labels, key values), artwork (security waves, mountain ridge, sailboats, corner rosette), a skyline image (built-in or upload), a full background image, and per-element show/hide.
- Other license types — a themed-card editor for the title, issuing agency, and band/accent colors.
State Seal¶
Upload your community's official seal — it replaces the built-in DMV seal on every license card and on the civilian-portal masthead. Use built-in seal removes it again.
Customization → Design & Theme¶
Restyle the CAD to your community's brand. Each terminal (Dispatch, Law Enforcement, Fire & EMS, Tow, Civilian, Court) can be themed independently, with a live preview and separate light/dark editing. See Customization for the full palette-and-theming walkthrough.
Data Sharing¶
Form reciprocal cross-community query partnerships so a plate or person run in one city can surface hits from allied cities. See Data Sharing for the full workflow.
Integrations → External DB¶
Connect a read-only MySQL database (typically your existing framework DB) to browse its tables from Admin and import civilians into PulseCAD Character records. The connection is read-only, so PulseCAD never writes back to your external database. Use it to seed your community's civilian records from data you already have.
Discord¶
Connect your Discord server for notifications, slash commands, account linking, and CAD-role → Discord-role sync. See Discord Integration.
Roster Sync¶
Make PulseRoster the source of truth for personnel — CAD mirrors your roster's members, departments, permission level, callsigns, certifications, and duty status. Standalone communities can ignore this section.
Roster Sync is pull-only (PulseRoster → PulseCAD); CAD never pushes back. The workflow is connect → map → first sync:
- Connection — paste the service token from PulseRoster → Settings → PulseCAD (starts with
pck_…) and click Connect. The community becomes fully linked only after the first sync completes. - Map your data (cards appear once connected):
- Department mapping — map each PulseRoster department to a CAD department. Unmapped roster departments grant no duty access.
- Certification mapping — map CAD capabilities to one or more roster certifications. A member is certified for a capability if they hold any mapped, unexpired certification.
- Permission mapping (owner only) — map roster supervisor / command status to a CAD role. Owner and current admins are pinned and never demoted; sync never sets owner, judge, or readonly.
- Civilian access — Open (anyone can be a civilian per your join policy) or Roster-only (a fully closed community where only roster members get any access).
- Roster managers (owner only) — non-admin members allowed to run syncs and edit mappings.
- Run first sync (later Sync now). A safety circuit-breaker asks you to confirm if a sync would strip a large share of roster-managed members.
Other cards: Live updates (webhook) for sub-30-second pushes, Unmatched roster members for manual binding, a Sync log, and a non-destructive Disconnect (members revert to local, nothing is deleted, mappings are kept).
What Roster Sync gates
On a linked community, a roster-managed member can only go on duty in departments their roster assigns them, capabilities they lack a cert for are hidden, and suspended/terminated roster members are blocked or downgraded automatically. In Roster-only mode, non-roster players get no access and the community is hidden from the public directory. Owners and super-admins are always exempt.
Plan requirement
Roster Sync is available on any paid plan (Starter and up). Read-only config and Disconnect always work, so a downgraded community can never be locked out.
FiveM¶
Download your pre-configured in-game resource, tune the live-map connection, and toggle in-game features. See FiveM Integration for the full walkthrough. In short:
- Download your resource — a zip pre-keyed for your community.
- Connection & live map — set your CAD URL, framework (Auto / ESX / QBCore / QBox / Standalone), live-map update interval, and disconnect grace.
- In-game features — per-plugin toggles with command-rename boxes, setup steps, and BETA tags (ALPR, traffic stop, panic, in-game tablet, call blips, 911 voice, and more). Advanced / immersion extras such as auto-fines (deducting a CAD citation from the player's in-game bank), body cam, mugshots, and NPC witness callers are off by default - opt in per feature.
- Smart Signs (BETA) and an API key (reveal / copy / rotate) round it out.
Account linking lives in the Portal now
Players link their game account to their CAD account themselves - from the Portal (the civilian portal's Link Your Game) or their MDT login card, then running /cadlink <code> in-game. There is no link-code generator on this Admin → FiveM panel.
AI Assist¶
Bring your own OpenAI or Anthropic key to power AI features across the CAD (civilian generation, report assists, spellcheck, and the Court judge). Keys are stored encrypted; the provider bills you directly.
- OpenAI API Key (
sk-…) and/or Anthropic (Claude) key (sk-ant-…) — Save or Remove each. - Enable AI features — requires at least one saved key. This surfaces Generate with AI in civilian creation and AI assists throughout the CAD.
- Active provider and Model — choose OpenAI or Anthropic and a model.
- Test active provider — runs a tiny real generation and reports success or a detailed error.
Court judge model is set separately
AI Assist sets the default provider/model. The Court's AI judge provider and model are chosen under Court (see below).
Court¶
The optional judicial system. See Court for the player-facing surface. In Admin you configure:
- Court Mode — OFF / MANUAL / RULES / AI / HYBRID (AI/HYBRID require an AI key from AI Assist).
- Presiding Judge — name, title, jurisdiction, temperament, ruling tone, AI provider & model, and the HYBRID auto-finalize class cap; plus auto-bail and probable-cause-affidavit toggles.
- Workflow — process depth, economy (CAD-only or FiveM money), warrant approval authority, and default notify scope.
- Sentencing rules — charge stacking, max jail days, priors handling, RULES anchor point, FiveM jail minutes/day, plus counting data-sharing partners' convictions as priors and time-served credit.
- Modules — toggle Warrants, Cases, Hearings/Docket, Rap sheet, Corrections, Civilian pleas, Self-bail, and more.
- Discord — a Court channel ID for approval buttons, verdicts, and court-date reminders (separate from the main Discord notification matrix).
Community Ownership Transfer (Red Zone)¶
In the Red Zone an owner can hand the community to another member. The transfer is a single atomic swap: the current owner becomes an admin and the chosen member becomes the new owner. The recipient is notified by email and must accept before it expires. A roster-linked community can't be transferred this way.
Irreversible without cooperation
Once accepted, only the new owner can transfer it back. Be sure of the recipient before you start.