MTA Asset Tools

VS Code extension for compiling and decompiling Multi Theft Auto assets with the mta-tea package.

Features

• Right-click an uncompiled file in the Explorer and choose Compile MTA Asset.
• Right-click a file whose name ends with _encrypted and choose Decompile MTA Asset.
• Select multiple files in the Explorer before running either command.
• Prompt for the TEA key every time a compile or decompile command runs.
• Move each original input file into a sibling .backup_encoder folder before writing the converted output.

File Naming

The extension treats a file as compiled only when its filename ends with _encrypted.

• Compile: asset.dff -> asset.dff_encrypted
• Decompile: asset.dff_encrypted -> asset.dff

Usage in Client Script

Place your encrypted files and use the following pattern to decrypt and load them:

local credentials = {
    key = 'your_key',
}

GetFile = function(path)
    path = path .. '_encrypted'

    local file = fileExists(path) and fileOpen(path, true)

    if (not file) then
        return false
    end

    local content = fileRead(file, fileGetSize(file))

    content = content and decodeString('tea', content, credentials)

    content = content and decodeString('base64', content)

    fileClose(file)

    return content
end

Call GetFile('asset_name') to retrieve and decrypt the asset file. The function handles TEA decryption and base64 decoding automatically.

Example usage:

local txd = engineLoadTXD(GetFile('files/my_texture'))
engineImportTXD(txd, 123)

local dff = engineLoadDFF(GetFile('files/my_model'))
engineReplaceModel(dff, 123)

local col = engineLoadCOL(GetFile('files/my_collision'))
engineReplaceCOL(col, 123)

This is just an example—adapt the engine functions to your specific asset types.

Development

Install dependencies:

npm install

Run the processor smoke test:

npm test

Open this folder in VS Code, press F5, and use the Extension Development Host to test the Explorer context menu.