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Skillsroblox-toolchain

roblox-toolchain

Coding & development

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Updated 10-15 08:43

About this skill

Roblox Rojo (Filesystem Workflow)

How to develop Roblox games with files on disk instead of inside Studio. Sources: rojo.space (official Rojo docs), github.com/rojo-rbx/rojo (Rojo source), github.com/rojo-rbx/rokit (Rokit toolchain manager — use this, not Aftman/Foreman), github.com/UpliftGames/wally (Wally package manager), github.com/pesde-pkg/pesde (Pesde — newer alternative package manager). Tooling: stylua, selene, luau-lsp.

For deep dives see:

Integration Policy

This skill describes preferred patterns; it does not authorize rewriting existing code. Apply rules to new code and to changes the user explicitly asks for. Match the codebase's existing toolchain. If the project uses Aftman, don't migrate to Rokit unprompted. If it uses Wally, don't suggest Pesde. If default.project.json follows a particular structure, extend it — don't rewrite it. Surface conflicts once and default to the existing setup.

Full rules: ../../shared/integration-policy.md.

Principles

  • One source of truth: the filesystem. The repo is canonical; Studio is the build target.
  • Toolchain is pinned per project. rokit.toml lists exact versions of rojo, wally (or pesde), stylua, selene, luau-lsp. Reproducible builds beat "works on my machine".
  • Sourcemap is rebuilt, not committed. It's generated output. Regenerate on dependency change.
  • Build and lint in CI. A green main means rojo build produces a valid .rbxl and lints pass.
  • Packages/ is generated. Wally writes it; you don't hand-edit it; it's .gitignore'd.

Rojo Basics

Install

Use Rokit (toolchain manager, successor to Foreman/Aftman) to pin versions per project:

# rokit.toml — drop-in compatible with foreman.toml / aftman.toml format
[tools]
rojo = "rojo-rbx/rojo@7.5.1"
wally = "UpliftGames/wally@0.3.2"
stylua = "JohnnyMorganz/StyLua@2.0.0"
selene = "Kampfkarren/selene@0.27.1"

Then rokit install in the project root pulls those exact versions. Don't rely on globally-installed tools — versions drift between machines.

Why Rokit, not Aftman: Aftman is unmaintained (third-party author no longer working in Roblox); Foreman is maintained by Roblox but oriented toward internal use. Rokit is community-maintained, drop-in compatible with both manifest formats, and substantially faster to install. Migrate by renaming aftman.toml → rokit.toml.

Common Rokit commands: rokit init, rokit add OWNER/REPO, rokit install, rokit update, rokit list, rokit self-update.

Two modes

# Live sync — Studio plugin connects to this server, applies changes as you save.
rojo serve [path/to/project.json]

# One-shot build — produces a .rbxl (place) or .rbxm (model).
rojo build [path/to/project.json] --output build/place.rbxl

rojo serve is for development. rojo build is for CI and final publish. The Studio plugin (install via Studio's plugin tab, version-matched to the CLI) is what actually applies live changes.

Project file location

Rojo looks for default.project.json in the current directory. Pass an explicit path to use any other .project.json file. A repo with multiple builds (game, plugin, library) typically has one project per target.

default.project.json Structure

{
  "name": "MyGame",
  "tree": {
    "$className": "DataModel",

    "ReplicatedStorage": {
      "$className": "ReplicatedStorage",
      "$path": "src/ReplicatedStorage"
    },

    "ServerScriptService": {
      "$className": "ServerScriptService",
      "$path": "src/ServerScriptService"
    },

    "StarterPlayer": {
      "$className": "StarterPlayer",
      "StarterPlayerScripts": {
        "$className": "StarterPlayerScripts",
        "$path": "src/StarterPlayerScripts"
      }
    },

    "Workspace": {
      "$className": "Workspace",
      "$properties": {
        "Gravity": 196.2
      }
    }
  }
}
  • name (required) — used as the build artifact name.
  • tree (required) — root Instance description.
  • Inside tree:
    • $className — Instance class. Optional if $path resolves it or if the key is a service name.
    • $path — folder/file on disk to mount under this Instance.
    • $properties — properties to set (e.g. Gravity, HttpEnabled).
    • $ignoreUnknownInstances — if true, Rojo leaves Instances it didn't sync alone instead of deleting them.
    • Any other key = a child Instance description.

Other top-level fields: servePort (default 34872), servePlaceIds (allowlist of place IDs to prevent accidentally syncing into the wrong game), placeId, gameId, serveAddress, globIgnorePaths, emitLegacyScripts.

emitLegacyScripts controls whether *.server.luau/*.client.luau produce legacy Script/LocalScript Instances or Script Instances with RunContext set. Documented default is true; verify against your installed Rojo version (rojo --version + release notes) before assuming. New projects should set false to use modern RunContext — see roblox-dev script-types section.

Full schema: references/project-format.md.

Filesystem → DataModel Mapping

This is the rule set you'll consult constantly. Memorize the common ones.

Path on disk Becomes
dir/ (any directory) Folder
foo.luau ModuleScript named foo (Rojo also accepts legacy .lua)
foo.server.luau Script named foo (server)
foo.client.luau LocalScript named foo (client)
dir/init.luau ModuleScript named dir (the directory becomes the script)
dir/init.server.luau Script named dir (directory becomes server script)
dir/init.client.luau LocalScript named dir (directory becomes local script)
foo.rbxm / foo.rbxmx Model from binary/XML
foo.csv LocalizationTable
foo.txt StringValue
foo.json (not .model.json / .project.json) ModuleScript returning the table
foo.toml ModuleScript returning the table
foo.model.json JSON-described model (hand-written, useful for RemoteEvent etc.)
foo.project.json Nested project (composes into parent)
foo.meta.json Metadata sidecar attached to the matching file/dir

init.luau semantics

A directory + init.luau becomes one ModuleScript, where the directory's other children become children of that script. Lets a script have submodules without a separate folder.

src/Inventory/
├── init.luau          # ModuleScript "Inventory"
├── add.luau           #   ModuleScript "add" (child of Inventory)
├── remove.luau        #   ModuleScript "remove"
└── types.luau         #   ModuleScript "types"

Only one init.* file per directory (init.luau xor init.server.luau xor init.client.luau).

Meta files

foo.meta.json attaches Rojo-specific metadata to foo.*. Common uses:

// init.meta.json — turn the parent folder into a Tool with a Grip
{
  "className": "Tool",
  "properties": {
    "Grip": [0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1]
  }
}

// foo.meta.json — disable a script
{
  "properties": { "Disabled": true }
}

// hello.meta.json — let Rojo leave Instances under hello.txt alone
{
  "ignoreUnknownInstances": true
}

className works only in init.meta.json. properties works on any non-model file.

Full mapping table: references/sync-mapping.md.

Recommended Project Layout

my-game/
├── rokit.toml                # toolchain pinning
├── default.project.json       # Rojo project file
├── wally.toml                 # package manifest
├── wally.lock                 # lockfile (committed)
├── stylua.toml                # formatter config
├── selene.toml                # linter config
├── sourcemap.json             # generated; .gitignore'd
├── Packages/                  # wally output; .gitignore'd
├── ServerPackages/            # wally output; .gitignore'd
├── DevPackages/               # wally output; .gitignore'd
├── .github/workflows/ci.yml   # CI
├── (editor config)            # .vscode/settings.json, .nvim, etc. — editor-specific
├── .gitignore
├── README.md
└── src/
    ├── ReplicatedStorage/
    │   ├── Shared/
    │   │   ├── init.luau
    │   │   └── ...
    │   └── Client/             # (optional) client-only scripts via RunContext
    ├── ServerScriptService/
    │   ├── init.server.luau
    │   └── Systems/
    └── StarterPlayer/
        └── StarterPlayerScripts/
            └── init.client.luau

Match src/ directory names to their DataModel mount points. Reading the path tells you exactly where the code runs.

Wally (Packages)

Install via Rokit (don't pull from a global). Add to rokit.toml:

[tools]
wally = "UpliftGames/wally@0.3.2"

Then rokit install. Commands:

wally init               # scaffold wally.toml
wally install            # download deps into Packages/
wally install --locked   # CI; fail if lockfile is stale
wally update [name...]   # bump deps
wally publish            # push your package to the registry
wally search <query>     # find packages

wally.toml

[package]
name = "yourname/coolpkg"        # SCOPE/NAME, lowercase, dashes ok
version = "1.0.0"                # SemVer
license = "MIT"                  # SPDX
authors = ["Your Name <you@example.com>"]
realm = "shared"                 # "shared" or "server"
registry = "https://github.com/UpliftGames/wally-index"

[dependencies]
React = "jsdotlua/react@17.1.0"
Promise = "evaera/roblox-lua-promise@4.0.0"

[server-dependencies]
ProfileService = "loleris/profileservice@1.4.0"

[dev-dependencies]
Jest = "jsdotlua/jest@3.10.0"

Realms

  • shared — replicates to clients. Mount under ReplicatedStorage.
  • server — server-only. Mount under ServerStorage or ServerScriptService.
  • No client realm exists. Client-only deps live in shared and run on the client by import.

Mounting Wally output in Rojo

"ReplicatedStorage": {
  "$className": "ReplicatedStorage",
  "Packages": {
    "$path": "Packages"
  }
},
"ServerScriptService": {
  "$className": "ServerScriptService",
  "Packages": {
    "$path": "ServerPackages"
  }
}

Packages get installed into separate folders by realm. Shared → Packages/, server → ServerPackages/, dev → DevPackages/.

Lockfile

wally.lock pins exact versions of every dep (transitive included). Commit it. wally install --locked in CI ensures everyone builds the same thing.

Full manifest fields, lockfile format, command list: references/wally-manifest.md.

Pesde (Alternative Package Manager)

Pesde is a newer Luau-first package manager — designed to prevent runtime lock-in. It targets multiple Luau runtimes (luau, lune, roblox, roblox_server) from one tool, and can pull from existing Wally registries via a bridge. Worth using when:

  • You want one package manager across pure-Luau, Lune, and Roblox projects.
  • You need Wally packages and native pesde packages in the same project.
  • You prefer npm/pnpm-style ergonomics over Wally's Cargo-style.

pesde.toml

name = "yourname/coolpkg"
version = "1.0.0"
license = "MIT"

[target]
environment = "roblox"     # luau | lune | roblox | roblox_server
lib = "src/init.luau"

[indices]
default = "https://github.com/pesde-pkg/index"

[wally_indices]
default = "https://github.com/UpliftGames/wally-index"

[dependencies]
# Native pesde dep
hello = { name = "pesde/hello", version = "^1.0.0" }
# Wally dep via the bridge
React = { wally = "jsdotlua/react", version = "^17.1.0" }

[dev_dependencies]
Jest = { wally = "jsdotlua/jest", version = "^3.10.0" }

Commands

pesde init        # scaffold pesde.toml
pesde add SCOPE/NAME   # add + install a dep
pesde install     # install all deps; writes pesde.lock
pesde run         # run [scripts] entries (uses Lune)
pesde publish

Layout

  • Native pesde deps install into a target-named folder (roblox_packages/, luau_packages/, etc.).
  • Wally bridge deps still resolve through the wally-index repo.
  • pesde.lock is the lockfile — commit it.
  • For Roblox projects, pesde generates a Rojo-compatible sourcemap via a script package; pair with rojo sourcemap.

When to pick which

Need Choice
Mature, Roblox-only, large existing ecosystem Wally
Multi-runtime (Lune CLI tools, Roblox, plain Luau) Pesde
Cargo-style ergonomics Wally
npm/pnpm-style ergonomics + Wally bridge Pesde
Existing project on Wally with no pain Stay

Wally and Pesde aren't drop-in equivalents — manifest formats and resolution semantics differ. Don't switch mid-project without reason.

Sourcemap (Luau LSP)

Luau LSP needs to know where files map to in the DataModel for proper autocomplete and require() resolution. Rojo generates the map.

# Watch mode — regenerates on filesystem change
rojo sourcemap --watch --output sourcemap.json default.project.json

# One-shot
rojo sourcemap --output sourcemap.json default.project.json

Then point luau-lsp at it. Editor-specific:

  • VS Code (luau-lsp extension): "luau-lsp.sourcemap.sourcemapFile": "sourcemap.json" in .vscode/settings.json (or workspace-level config).
  • Neovim / Helix / Sublime: pass the sourcemap path as an LSP startup arg (--definitions=... / --sourcemap=...) or via your LSP client's settings; the luau-lsp binary documents the flags.
  • CLI mode: luau-lsp analyze --sourcemap sourcemap.json .... Verify the exact flag against your installed luau-lsp --help.

Regenerate after:

  • Adding/removing files in the project.
  • Running wally install (new package paths).
  • Changing default.project.json mounts.

A common workflow: run rojo sourcemap --watch in a terminal alongside rojo serve. Both run for the duration of your session.

sourcemap.json is generated output — .gitignore it.

LSP setup details: references/luau-lsp-setup.md.

Linting & Formatting

StyLua (formatter)

# stylua.toml
column_width = 100
line_endings = "Unix"
indent_type = "Tabs"          # or "Spaces" with indent_width = 4
quote_style = "AutoPreferDouble"
call_parentheses = "Always"

[sort_requires]
enabled = true                # alphabetize the require block; pairs with luau-expert guidance

Run via stylua src/. Most editors auto-format on save once the StyLua extension is installed.

selene (linter)

# selene.toml
std = "roblox"                # roblox stdlib definitions

# Optional: per-rule tweaks
[config]
incorrect_standard_library_use = "warn"

std = "roblox" is the key bit — without it, selene flags every Instance.new and task.wait. Run via selene src/.

Luau LSP (type-checker)

luau-lsp powers in-editor type checking, hover info, autocomplete. Combine with --!strict per-file (see luau-expert skill) for max coverage.

Project-level config (.luaurc):

{
  "languageMode": "strict",
  "lint": {
    "*": true
  }
}

Verify the schema against luau.org/lint — .luaurc fields evolve.

CI

A minimum-viable CI run:

  1. Setup Rokit (rokit install) to install pinned tool versions.
  2. wally install --locked — fail if lockfile drift.
  3. stylua --check src/ — fail if formatting drift.
  4. selene src/ — lint.
  5. rojo sourcemap --output sourcemap.json default.project.json — generate map.
  6. luau-lsp analyze with the sourcemap — type-check. Exact flag depends on installed version (--sourcemap or --definitions); check luau-lsp --help.
  7. rojo build default.project.json --output build/place.rbxl — build artifact.
  8. (Optional) Upload place.rbxl as artifact / publish.

Each step short-circuits the next. A green CI run means: pinned tools, locked deps, formatted, lint-clean, type-clean, builds.

GitHub Actions example sketched in examples/ci.yml.

Verification Rules

  • Don't quote .project.json field names from memory beyond name, tree, $className, $path, $properties. The full schema is short — check references/project-format.md before committing to less-common fields.
  • Don't quote Wally version semantics from memory. Wally follows Cargo-style SemVer with ^ default; specifics for ~, =, * should be checked against Wally docs before recommending non-default version specifiers.
  • emitLegacyScripts default has shifted across releases. Confirm what version of Rojo the project uses (rojo --version) before assuming the Script vs Script(RunContext=Server) distinction.
  • Editor configs differ. This skill covers the Luau LSP layer — .vscode/settings.json examples in references are illustrative; users on Neovim/Helix/Sublime configure equivalent fields.
  • Don't conflate Rojo with the engine. RunContext placement / replication / DataModel semantics belong to roblox-dev. This skill stops at "the file ends up at this DataModel path".

Anti-Patterns

❌ Don't ✅ Do
Globally-installed rojo / wally / stylua Pin per-project via rokit.toml
New projects on Aftman or Foreman Rokit (drop-in successor; community-maintained, faster)
Hand-edit Packages/ Treat as generated; wally install regenerates
Commit Packages/ / ServerPackages/ / DevPackages/ .gitignore them
Commit sourcemap.json .gitignore; regenerate on demand
Forget wally.lock in git Commit it; CI uses --locked
Multiple init.* in one folder One init script per dir; use submodules instead
init.client.luau placed in ServerScriptService mount Match script type to container
selene without std = "roblox" Always set; otherwise every Roblox API trips lint
Edit Studio + filesystem simultaneously Filesystem is canonical; close Studio when not running rojo serve
rojo build producing a place file checked in CI artifact only; binary place files don't diff
Mounting Packages only under ReplicatedStorage and using server deps Mount ServerPackages separately under server containers
Bare *.luau in a StarterPlayerScripts mount expecting client behavior *.client.luau (legacy) or Script with RunContext=Client
Manually rerun rojo sourcemap after every save Use --watch in a long-running terminal
wally publish from a dirty working tree Tag a clean commit; publish from CI
luau-lsp without sourcemap Generate sourcemap; LSP requires it for require() resolution

Examples