Rojo Professional

Rojo bridges the filesystem and Roblox Studio: write code in external editors, live-sync to Studio via the plugin, build .rbxl/.rbxm files for deployment, and keep everything in Git.

Quick Reference

Essential Commands

# Initialize new project
rojo init my-game

# Start dev server (connects to Studio plugin)
rojo serve

# Serve specific project file
rojo serve dev.project.json

# Build standalone file
rojo build -o game.rbxl
rojo build deploy.project.json -o game.rbxl

# Generate sourcemap (for luau-lsp type checking)
rojo sourcemap default.project.json -o sourcemap.json

# Install Studio plugin
rojo plugin install

File Naming Conventions

Project File Structure

{
  "name": "MyGame",
  "tree": {
    "$className": "DataModel",
    "ReplicatedStorage": {
      "$className": "ReplicatedStorage",
      "Shared": { "$path": "src/Shared" },
      "Packages": { "$path": "Packages" }
    },
    "ServerScriptService": {
      "$className": "ServerScriptService",
      "Server": { "$path": "src/Server" }
    },
    "ReplicatedFirst": {
      "$className": "ReplicatedFirst",
      "Client": { "$path": "src/Client" }
    },
    "StarterPlayer": {
      "$className": "StarterPlayer",
      "StarterPlayerScripts": {
        "$className": "StarterPlayerScripts",
        "$path": "src/StarterPlayerScripts"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tree Node Properties

• $className - Roblox class (required for services, optional with $path)
• $path - Filesystem path to sync
• $properties - Instance properties
• $ignoreUnknownInstances - Don't delete untracked instances (useful for terrain)
• Any other key - Child instance name

Optional Project Settings

{
  "servePort": 34872,
  "servePlaceIds": [123456789],
  "placeId": 123456789,
  "gameId": 987654321,
  "globIgnorePaths": ["**/*.spec.luau", "**/test/**"],
  "emitLegacyScripts": true
}

Project setup and multi-environment patterns: references/patterns.md. Sync troubleshooting: references/sharp_edges.md.

Common Patterns

Multi-Project Setup (Dev/Prod)

project/
├── default.project.json    # Development (rojo serve)
├── deploy.project.json     # Production build
├── src/
├── Packages/
└── ...

Library/Package Distribution

Minimal config for distributing a standalone module:

{
  "name": "my-library",
  "tree": {
    "$path": "src"
  }
}

Setting Instance Properties

{
  "$className": "Part",
  "$properties": {
    "Anchored": true,
    "Size": [4, 1, 2],
    "Color": [1, 0, 0],
    "BrickColor": { "BrickColor": "Bright red" },
    "Material": { "Enum": "Material.Neon" }
  }
}

Preserving Studio-Created Instances

{
  "Workspace": {
    "$className": "Workspace",
    "$ignoreUnknownInstances": true,
    "GameContent": { "$path": "src/Workspace" }
  }
}

Integration with Toolchain

Aftman (Tool Management)

# aftman.toml
[tools]
rojo = "rojo-rbx/rojo@7.6.1"
wally = "UpliftGames/wally@0.3.2"
stylua = "JohnnyMorganz/StyLua@2.0.0"
selene = "Kampfkarren/selene@0.27.0"
luau-lsp = "JohnnyMorganz/luau-lsp@1.30.0"

Wally (Package Management)

# wally.toml
[package]
name = "author/my-game"
version = "1.0.0"
realm = "shared"
registry = "https://github.com/UpliftGames/wally-index"

[dependencies]
Promise = "evaera/promise@4.0.0"
Signal = "sleitnick/signal@2.0.0"

Packages install to Packages/ and must be mapped in project file.

Type Checking Setup

# Generate sourcemap for luau-lsp
rojo sourcemap default.project.json -o sourcemap.json

# Generate Wally package types
wally-package-types --sourcemap sourcemap.json Packages

After Cloning a Repo

If Packages/ is missing or you see "path does not exist" errors:

wally install                                           # Install packages from wally.toml
rojo sourcemap default.project.json -o sourcemap.json   # Regenerate sourcemap

Packages/ is gitignored - it must be regenerated after every clone.

Anti-Patterns

DON'T:

• Edit files in Studio while Rojo is connected (changes will be overwritten)
• Use spaces in file/folder names (use PascalCase or snake_case)
• Forget $className for Roblox services
• Mix .lua and .luau extensions inconsistently
• Put server code in ReplicatedStorage (security risk)
• Commit Packages/ to git (it's generated by wally install)
• Forget to run wally install after cloning (Packages/ won't exist)

DO:

• Use .luau extension consistently (Roblox's official Lua dialect)
• Keep sourcemap updated after changing project structure
• Use init.luau for folder-as-module pattern
• Add Packages/ to .gitignore
• Use multi-project setup for different environments