roblox-server-data

Roblox Server & Shared Data

When to Load

Load for leaderboards, messaging, MemoryStore coordination, world state, seasons, or guilds. Player persistence: roblox-data; Open Cloud: 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.
• Request/response: {reqId} correlation, ack on the topic, timeout. No ack ≠ not executed — replay the same reqId, don't double-grant.

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.
• Sorted-map paging: last item's {key, sortKey} = next exclusive bound.

Cross-Server Patterns

• Register servers with expiring heartbeats; use MessagingService for notifications.

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 — use UpdateAsync for shared counters

Store selection and workflows: references/full.md