Roblox Server & Shared Data

When to Load

Load for server-level or cross-server data: leaderboards (OrderedDataStore), cross-server messaging (MessagingService), queues and sorted maps (MemoryStoreService), shared world state, non-player persistence, season or guild data. For player data, use roblox-data; for Open Cloud, use roblox-cloud.

Quick Reference

OrderedDataStore (Leaderboards)

Sortable DataStore. Keys are strings (tostring(UserId)); values are integers used for sorting.
GetSortedAsync(ascending, pageSize, minValue, maxValue) → sorted pages
BatchGetAsync(keys): multi-key read, ordered stores only; missing keys are omitted
Budget: poll GetRequestBudgetForRequestType(OrderedWrite) before bursts (per server: 30 + numPlayers x 5 writes/min)
For leaderboards only, never for player saves
Keep the user ID a static substring in keys (player_<UserId>) so RTBF templates match; hashed keys make erasure manual

MessagingService (Cross-Server)

SubscribeAsync / PublishAsync; no delivery or ordering guarantee, so design for idempotency.

GlobalDataStore (Shared State)

Persistent non-player state (guilds, seasons, counters). Use UpdateAsync; never for player session data.

MemoryStoreService (Temporary Coordination)

Queues and sorted maps for expiring matchmaking, leases, coordination.
Remove a read batch only after successful, idempotent processing.

Cross-Server Patterns

User Identity

New code identifies users with player.User (User.Id, DomainType, DomainId); UserId stays valid. Domain IDs are per-experience, so keep cross-server keys on UserId and never mix the two.

Pitfalls

MessagingService: fire-and-forget, unordered, cross-server latency; not for time-critical work
GlobalDataStore: same rate limits as player DataStores
Never store Instances; serialize to primitives first
SetAsync overwrites without reading; use UpdateAsync for shared counters

Need more detail? Load references/full.md for the complete reference with code examples, API tables, and edge cases.

roblox-server-data