**Rojo** is a flexible multi-tool designed for creating robust Roblox projects.
It's designed for power users who want to use the **best tools available** for building games, libraries, and plugins.
## Features
Rojo lets you:
* Work on scripts from the filesystem, in your favorite editor
* Version your place, library, or plugin using Git or another VCS
* Sync JSON-format models from the filesystem into your game
Later this year, Rojo will be able to:
* Sync `rbxmx` models between the filesystem and Roblox Studio
* Package projects into `rbxmx` files from the command line
## Installation
Rojo has two components:
* The server, a binary written in Rust
* The plugin, a Roblox Studio plugin written in Lua
It's important that the plugin and server are compatible. The plugin will show errors in the Roblox Studio Output window if there is a version mismatch.
To install the server, either:
* If you have Rust installed, use `cargo install rojo`
* Or, download a pre-built Windows binary from [the GitHub releases page](https://github.com/LPGhatguy/rojo/releases)
To install the plugin, either:
* Install the plugin from the [Roblox plugin page](https://www.roblox.com/library/1211549683/Rojo).
* This gives you less control over what version you install -- you will always have the latest version.
* Or, download the latest release from [the GitHub releases section](https://github.com/LPGhatguy/rojo/releases) and install it into your Roblox plugins folder
* You can open this folder by clicking the "Plugins Folder" button from the Plugins toolbar in Roblox Studio
## Server Usage
For more help, use `rojo help`.
### New Project
Create a new folder, then use `rojo init` inside that folder to initialize an empty project:
```sh
mkdir my-new-project
cd my-new-project
rojo init
```
Rojo will create an empty project file named `rojo.json` in the directory.
The default project file is:
```json
{
"name": "my-new-project",
"servePort": 8000,
"partitions": {}
}
```
### Start Dev Server
To start the Rojo dev server, use:
```sh
rojo serve
```
The tool will tell you whether it found an existing project. You should then be able to connect and use the project from within Roblox Studio!
### Migrating an Existing Roblox Project
[Bi-directional script syncing](https://github.com/LPGhatguy/rojo/issues/5) is on the roadmap for Rojo this year, but isn't implemented.
In the mean-time, manually migrating scripts is probably the best route forward.
### Syncing into Roblox
In order to sync code into Roblox, you'll need to add one or more *partitions* to your configuration. A partition tells Rojo how to map directories on your filesystem to Roblox objects.
Each entry in the `partitions` map has a unique name, a filesystem path, and the full name of the Roblox object to sync into.
For example, if you want to map your `src` directory to an object named `My Cool Game` in `ReplicatedStorage`, you could use this configuration:
```json
{
"name": "rojo",
"servePort": 8000,
"partitions": {
"game": {
"path": "src",
"target": "ReplicatedStorage.My Cool Game"
}
}
}
```
The `path` parameter is relative to the project file.
The `target` parameter is a path to a Roblox object to link the partition to, starting at `game`. If any objects don't exist along the way, Rojo will try to create them.
**Any objects in a partition may be wiped away by Rojo after syncing! If this is not desired, use multiple, smaller partitions.**
Run `rojo serve` in the directory containing this project, then press the "Sync In" or "Toggle Polling" buttons in the Roblox Studio plugin to sync into your game.
### Sync Details
The structure of files and diectories on the filesystem are preserved when syncing into game.
Creation of Roblox instances follows a simple set of rules. The first rule that matches the file name is chosen:
| File Name | Instance Type | Notes |
| -------------- | -------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| `*.server.lua` | `Script` | `Source` will contain the file's contents |
| `*.client.lua` | `LocalScript` | `Source` will contain the file's contents |
| `*.lua` | `ModuleScript` | `Source` will contain the file's contents |
| `*.model.json` | *Varies* | See the example below |
| `*` | `StringValue` | `Value` will contain the file's contents |
Any directories on the filesystem will turn into `Folder` objects.
Any directory containing one of these files will instead be a `ModuleScript`, `Script`, `LocalScript` containing the directory's contents:
* `init.lua`
* `init.server.lua`
* `init.client.lua`
For example, this file tree:
* my-game
* init.client.lua
* foo.lua
Will turn into these instances in Roblox:
* `my-game` (`LocalScript` with source from `my-game/init.client.lua`)
* `foo` (`ModuleScript` with source from `my-game/foo.lua`)
`*.model.json` files are a way to represent simple Roblox instances on the filesystem until `rbxmx` and `rbxlx` support is implemented in Rojo.
This feature is intended for small instances, like `RemoteEvent` or `*Value` objects.
JSON Model files are strict, with every property being required. They look like this:
```json
{
"Name": "hello",
"ClassName": "Model",
"Children": [
{
"Name": "Some Part",
"ClassName": "Part",
"Children": [],
"Properties": {}
},
{
"Name": "Some StringValue",
"ClassName": "StringValue",
"Children": [],
"Properties": {
"Value": {
"Type": "String",
"Value": "Hello, world!"
}
}
}
],
"Properties": {}
}
```
## Inspiration
There are lots of other tools that sync scripts into Roblox or provide other tools for working with Roblox places.
Here are a few, if you're looking for alternatives or supplements to Rojo:
* [Studio Bridge by Vocksel](https://github.com/vocksel/studio-bridge)
* [RbxRefresh by Osyris](https://github.com/osyrisrblx/RbxRefresh)
* [RbxSync by evaera](https://github.com/evaera/RbxSync)
* [CodeSync](https://github.com/MemoryPenguin/CodeSync) and [rbx-exteditor](https://github.com/MemoryPenguin/rbx-exteditor) by [MemoryPenguin](https://github.com/MemoryPenguin)
* [rbxmk by Anaminus](https://github.com/anaminus/rbxmk)
I also have a couple tools that Rojo intends to replace:
* [rbxfs](https://github.com/LPGhatguy/rbxfs), which has been deprecated by Rojo
* [rbxpacker](https://github.com/LPGhatguy/rbxpacker), which is still useful
## Contributing
Pull requests are welcome!
All pull requests are run against a test suite on Travis CI. That test suite should always pass!
## License
Rojo is available under the terms of the MIT license. See [LICENSE.md](LICENSE.md) for details.
