Studio Bridge
The Studio Bridge is a small companion plugin that connects Roflow to your open Roblox Studio session, so Roflow can push its changes into your place, run playtests, and see what actually happens while your game runs.
What the Studio Bridge is
The Studio Bridge is the link between the Roflow app and Roblox Studio. It's a lightweight plugin that installs into Studio, and once it's connected, Roflow can:
- Sync your changes into the place you have open in Studio.
- Start and stop playtests for you, the same as pressing Play or Run yourself.
- Read what happens in-game — the console output, and a screenshot of the viewport — so it can tell whether its work behaved.
Roflow works alongside Roblox Studio, not instead of it. Studio is still where your game lives, runs, and gets published. The Bridge simply lets Roflow drive Studio for you — syncing edits, running tests, and reading the results — so you keep building in the tool you already use.
Why you need it
Most of what makes Roflow feel hands-off depends on the Bridge. With it connected, Roflow can test its own work in your real place: it makes a change, syncs it in, runs a playtest, reads the console, and adjusts until things behave — all in your own Studio window. See How Roflow Works for that full loop, and Playtesting for running tests.
Without the Bridge, Roflow can still read, write, and change your source files and run local commands — but it can't run a playtest or check how the game looks. In that case it flags the missing Studio connection as a blocker rather than claiming a running game was verified.
The Bridge connects Roflow to Studio; it doesn't replace it. Keep Roblox Studio installed and open the game you want to work on there.
Installing and enabling the Bridge
The first-run setup wizard walks you through this the first time you open Roflow. If you ever need to run it again, you can reopen it from the command palette with Roflow: Open Setup Wizard.
The setup involves three things: turning on HTTP requests in Studio, activating the plugin, and confirming the connection.
1. Turn on Allow HTTP Requests in Studio
So the Bridge can talk to Roflow, Roblox Studio needs HTTP requests enabled for your place:
- In Roblox Studio, open File > Game Settings.
- Go to the Security tab.
- Turn Allow HTTP Requests on.
- Click Save.
You set Allow HTTP Requests once for each place. If Roflow can't connect, this is the first thing to check.
2. Activate the plugin in Studio
The companion plugin appears in Studio's toolbar and in the Plugins tab as Roflow Studio Bridge. Roflow's onboarding guides you through getting it in place; if you need to add it manually, the command palette entry Open Roflow Plugin Page opens the plugin's page on the Roblox Creator Hub so you can install it.
After the plugin is first installed or updated, fully close and reopen Roblox Studio so it loads.
3. Confirm the connection
Once the plugin is running, it connects to Roflow on its own — you don't normally have to click anything. If it doesn't connect automatically, click the toolbar button to open the Bridge panel and press Connect. When everything is linked, Roflow's status bar shows Studio connected in green.
Open the specific game you want Roflow to work on in Studio. If several places are open, or the open place doesn't match your Roflow project, Roflow holds off syncing to avoid writing to the wrong game — just leave only the matching game open.
Confirming you're connected
You can check the connection from either side — in Studio, or inside Roflow.
In Studio: the Bridge panel
Click the Bridge's toolbar button to open a small panel titled Roflow Studio Bridge. It shows the current status at a glance, and the toolbar button's icon changes color to match:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Red — Disconnected / OFFLINE | Not linked to Roflow yet. |
| Yellow — Connecting | Linking up; give it a moment. |
| Green — Connected / ONLINE | Fully linked — Roflow can sync and test. |
The panel also has a Connect / Disconnect button if you ever need to reconnect manually. You don't normally need to change anything else in the panel; it connects on its own.
In Roflow: status indicators
Roflow shows the same connection in a few places:
- Projects page — a Studio Bridge status pill near the top reads Connected, Checking, or Disconnected.
- Status bar — a Studio indicator at the bottom of the window; hover it for the current sync state. It turns green once Studio is linked.
- Settings — the Studio connection area shows the connection state, the plugin version, and the connected place. See Managing Your Account.
- Game Dashboard > Test tab — shows a disconnected state with a Connect action when Studio isn't linked; you must connect Studio before you can run a playtest.
When you connect a place you've already imported into Roflow, Roflow can reopen that project for you automatically, so you land right back where you were.
Keeping the plugin up to date
If the plugin falls out of date relative to your Roflow app, it stays connected but shows a yellow banner in the panel prompting you to update. Update the plugin, then fully close and reopen Studio so the new version loads.
If it won't connect
Most connection problems come down to a few things. Run through these in order:
- Is your game open in Studio? Roflow can only connect to a Studio place that's actually open.
- Is Allow HTTP Requests on? Check File > Game Settings > Security for the place (see above).
- Did you restart Studio after installing or updating the plugin? A full close and reopen is required for the plugin to load.
- Is the plugin connected? Open the Bridge panel and, if it isn't green, press Connect.
- Is the right place open? If the open place doesn't match your Roflow project — or several places are open — leave only the matching game open.
If you're still stuck, see Connection Problems for more detailed troubleshooting.
What connecting unlocks
Once the Bridge is green, Roflow can do its full test-and-fix loop in your place. From here:
- Playtesting — run solo and multiplayer tests, and read the console while the game runs.
- Fixing Issues — how Roflow diagnoses and repairs problems it finds in a test.
- Publishing Your Game — publishing happens in Studio (File > Publish to Roblox); Roflow doesn't publish for you.