This roblox iris ui library tutorial script walkthrough is going to change the way you look at building menus and debug tools in your games. If you've ever spent hours wrestling with the Roblox Explorer, manually tweaking UIGradients, constraints, and ZIndexes just to make a simple settings panel, you know how soul-crushing it can be. Iris changes that by bringing "Immediate Mode" UI to the platform, and honestly, once you start using it, it's hard to go back to the old way for technical projects.
What is Iris anyway?
Before we jump into the code, let's talk about why this library is such a big deal. Most Roblox UI is "Retained Mode." This means you create an object (like a Frame), set its properties, and it stays there until you change it or delete it. Iris is an "Immediate Mode" library, heavily inspired by the famous Dear ImGui used in C++ development.
In Iris, the UI is essentially "drawn" every single frame. You don't manage objects; you just tell the script, "Draw a button here," and the library handles the rest. This makes it incredibly fast to prototype tools, admin panels, or even complex cheat menus (if that's your thing). It's lightweight, it's modular, and it doesn't clutter your StarterGui with a million nested frames.
Getting Started: The Setup
First things first, you need the library itself. You can find Iris on GitHub or the Roblox Creator Store. Most people just grab the Model file or use a plugin to insert it. Once you have the Iris folder, drop it into ReplicatedStorage.
To get our roblox iris ui library tutorial script running, we need a basic LocalScript. You can put this in StarterPlayerScripts.
```lua local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage") local Iris = require(ReplicatedStorage.Iris)
-- We have to initialize Iris first Iris:Connect()
Iris:Loop(function() Iris.Window({"My First Menu"}, {size = Vector2.new(300, 200)}) Iris.Text({"Hello, world!"}) if Iris.Button({"Click Me"}).clicked then print("Button was pressed!") end Iris.End() end) ```
Notice how simple that is? There's no Instance.new, no Parent = something. You just call a function, and the UI appears. The Iris:Loop function is where the magic happens; it tells the library to run that block of code every time the UI refreshes.
Breaking Down the Basic Script
Let's look at what we actually did there. The Iris:Connect() call is mandatory—it sets up the underlying rendering engine. Without it, your script will just sit there doing nothing.
The Iris:Loop is the heart of your UI. Inside this loop, you define your layout. We started with Iris.Window. This creates a draggable, resizable window on the screen. The first argument is a table containing the title, and the second is a table for options like size or position.
Then we have Iris.Text. It does exactly what you'd expect. But the Iris.Button is where things get interesting. In standard Roblox UI, you'd have to connect a .MouseButton1Click event to a function. In Iris, you just check the .clicked property. It's "immediate." If the button was clicked during that specific frame, the code inside the if statement runs.
Working with State and Variables
Since Iris runs every frame, you can't just declare a variable inside the loop and expect it to work like a normal UI toggle. If you do local myValue = 0 inside the loop, it'll reset to 0 sixty times a second.
Instead, you use States. Iris has a built-in state management system that keeps track of your data across frames.
```lua local myNumber = Iris.State(0)
Iris:Loop(function() Iris.Window({"Counter App"}) Iris.Text({"Current Count: " .. myNumber:get()})
if Iris.Button({"Increment"}).clicked then myNumber:set(myNumber:get() + 1) end Iris.End() end) ```
By using Iris.State, we're telling the library to "remember" this value. This is crucial for things like checkboxes, sliders, and text inputs. If you don't use states, your UI will feel "stuck" because it'll constantly revert to its initial value.
Building a Real Tool: Sliders and Checkboxes
Let's get a bit more practical. Maybe you want to make a tool that changes your walkspeed or toggles a "God Mode" visual. This is where the roblox iris ui library tutorial script really shines because of how little code it takes to make functional inputs.
```lua local walkSpeed = Iris.State(16) local isBlue = Iris.State(false)
Iris:Loop(function() Iris.Window({"Player Tweaks"})
-- A slider for WalkSpeed Iris.SliderNum({"WalkSpeed", 16, 100}, {number = walkSpeed}) game.Players.LocalPlayer.Character.Humanoid.WalkSpeed = walkSpeed:get() -- A checkbox for a toggle Iris.Checkbox({"Blue Theme"}, {isChecked = isBlue}) if isBlue:get() then Iris.Text({"The theme is now blue!"}) end Iris.End() end) ```
The SliderNum function takes a range (16 to 100 in this case) and binds it to our walkSpeed state. Every time you drag that slider, the state updates, and the code immediately applies that new speed to the player's humanoid. No event listeners are needed. It's just there.
Organization with Folders and Collapsing Headers
If you're building a big admin panel, your window is going to get cluttered fast. Iris has some great layout tools to keep things tidy. Tree and CollapsingHeader are your best friends here.
```lua Iris:Loop(function() Iris.Window({"Admin Panel"})
if Iris.CollapsingHeader({"World Settings"}).state.isOpen then Iris.SliderNum({"Time of Day", 0, 24}) Iris.SliderNum({"Gravity", 0, 500}) end if Iris.CollapsingHeader({"Player List"}).state.isOpen then for _, player in pairs(game.Players:GetPlayers()) do Iris.Text({player.Name}) end end Iris.End() end) ```
The .state.isOpen check is a clever way to only run the code for the widgets inside the header if that header is actually expanded. This isn't just for looks; it can actually save a tiny bit of performance if you have thousands of widgets that don't need to be processed when they're hidden.
Styling Your UI
By default, Iris has a very "developer" look—dark grays and sharp corners. While it's perfect for tools, you might want to spruce it up. Iris allows for pretty deep customization of colors and padding.
You can use Iris.PushConfig to change the look of the widgets that follow it, and Iris.PopConfig to stop applying those styles. It's like a stack. If you push a red color, everything you draw after that is red until you pop it.
To be honest, most people stick with the default look because it's clean and professional for a back-end tool, but the option to go "neon purple" is always there if you're feeling adventurous.
Performance Considerations
You might be thinking, "Wait, running all this code 60 times a second? Won't that lag my game?"
Actually, no. Iris is surprisingly optimized. Because it's not creating and destroying real UI objects every frame, it's much lighter than you'd expect. It only updates the actual Roblox frames when something truly changes. However, you should still be mindful. Don't put heavy math operations or complex data sorting inside the Iris:Loop. Keep the logic focused on the UI, and do the heavy lifting in a separate thread or a different part of your script.
When to use Iris vs. Standard UI
Look, Iris is amazing, but it's not for everything. If you're making the main "Shop" UI for a polished simulator game, you probably want to stick to the standard Roblox UI tools. You need the fine control over animations, TweenService, and fancy 9-slice images that Retained Mode offers.
But, if you're building: 1. An Admin Command Menu 2. An In-game Debugger 3. A Map Editor 4. A Plugin GUI 5. Quick testing buttons for developers
then this roblox iris ui library tutorial script style is 100% the way to go. It saves you so much time that you can spend on actual gameplay features instead of pixel-pushing a button for forty minutes.
Final Thoughts
Mastering Iris takes a little bit of a mental shift. You have to stop thinking about "Events" and start thinking about "State." Once that click happens, you'll find yourself whipping up complex menus in minutes that used to take you hours.
Hopefully, this guide gave you a solid foundation to start building. The best way to learn is to just grab the library, open a baseplate, and start typing. See what happens when you nest windows, try out the different input types like InputText or Combo, and see how much faster your workflow becomes. Happy scripting!