Working with a roblox studio core gui script usually starts with the realization that the default Roblox UI doesn't always fit the vibe of your game. You've got your beautiful, atmospheric horror game ready to go, and then—bam—a bright green health bar and a chunky chat box pop up, totally killing the mood. It's one of those things every developer hits eventually. You want your game to look unique, but Roblox's built-in systems are persistent. To get around this, you have to learn how to talk to the CoreGui system, which is basically the "official" layer of the user interface that Roblox controls.
If you've spent any time in the Explorer window, you've probably noticed that you can't just click on the health bar and hit delete. It's protected. That's where the scripting comes in. You aren't really editing the CoreGui directly—since that's locked down for security reasons—but you are sending requests to the engine to hide, show, or modify certain parts of it.
What Exactly is the CoreGui?
Before we dive into the code, let's talk about what we're actually dealing with. The CoreGui is where all the "essential" Roblox stuff lives. We're talking about the player list (the leaderboard on the top right), the backpack (where your tools live), the chat window, and that classic health bar.
When you use a roblox studio core gui script, you're essentially interacting with the StarterGui service. Even though the stuff you want to change is in the CoreGui service, Roblox wants you to use StarterGui:SetCoreGuiEnabled() or StarterGui:SetCore() to make changes. It feels a bit backward at first—why am I talking to StarterGui to change a Core system?—but that's just how the API is wired up.
How to Disable the Default UI
Most people looking for a roblox studio core gui script just want to turn everything off so they can build their own custom HUD. It's actually pretty simple, but there's a right way and a wrong way to do it.
If you want to nuking everything from orbit, you'd put a LocalScript inside StarterPlayerScripts (or StarterGui) and write something like this:
```lua local StarterGui = game:GetService("StarterGui")
-- This turns off EVERYTHING StarterGui:SetCoreGuiEnabled(Enum.CoreGuiType.All, false) ```
But honestly, you usually don't want to turn everything off. If you disable "All," you lose the escape menu functionality (sometimes) and other vital bits. Usually, you'll want to be more surgical. Maybe you want to keep the chat but get rid of the backpack and the health bar. In that case, you'd call the function multiple times for specific elements like Enum.CoreGuiType.Health or Enum.CoreGuiType.Backpack.
The "Not Ready Yet" Problem
Here is a mistake I see all the time: you write the perfect script, hit play, and nothing happens. Or worse, you get an error in the output saying the CoreGui isn't registered yet. This happens because your script is running faster than the Roblox engine can initialize the Core systems.
To fix this, you've got to be a bit patient. You can't just fire the command immediately. Most experienced devs use a pcall (protected call) wrapped in a loop or a small delay. It looks something like this:
```lua local StarterGui = game:GetService("StarterGui") local success = false
while not success do success = pcall(function() StarterGui:SetCoreGuiEnabled(Enum.CoreGuiType.All, false) end) task.wait(0.1) end ```
This basically tells the script: "Hey, try to turn off the UI. If it fails because the game isn't ready, wait a tenth of a second and try again." It's a much cleaner way to handle the race condition between your script and the game engine.
Customizing With SetCore
Now, disabling stuff is easy. But what if you want to do something cooler, like sending a custom notification or changing the way the leaderboard behaves? That's where SetCore comes in. Unlike SetCoreGuiEnabled, which is like a light switch, SetCore is more like a control panel with a bunch of knobs.
For instance, if you want to send a custom system message that looks official, you'd use SendNotification. It's a great way to tell players they've found a secret or that the server is restarting without building a whole custom UI for it. You just pass a dictionary of settings (title, text, duration) to the script, and Roblox handles the rest.
Another popular use for a roblox studio core gui script is to mess with the "Reset Character" button. In some games, like an intense obby or a story-driven RPG, you might not want players to be able to reset. You can actually disable that specific button in the escape menu using SetCore("ResetButtonCallback", false). It's a small touch, but it makes the game feel way more polished and controlled.
Why You Should Build Your Own UI
You might be wondering: "Is it really worth the effort to hide all the Roblox stuff?" In my opinion, absolutely. If you're trying to make a game that feels like a standalone experience rather than just "another Roblox game," the UI is the first thing you should change.
The default health bar is iconic, sure, but it's also very green. If your game has a sci-fi aesthetic with blues and purples, that green bar is going to stick out like a sore thumb. By using a roblox studio core gui script to hide the defaults, you give yourself a blank canvas.
Once the defaults are gone, you can use ScreenGuis and Frames to build something that actually matches your game's color palette. It's a bit more work because you'll have to script the health bar logic yourself (connecting it to the Humanoid.HealthChanged event), but the result is a game that looks ten times more professional.
Dealing With the Chat System
The chat is a whole other beast. With the rollout of "TextChatService," the way we handle the chat UI has changed a bit. In the old days, you'd just disable the chat CoreGui and call it a day. Now, you have a lot more built-in control over the chat's appearance and behavior without having to fully disable it.
However, if you're going for a truly immersive "no-HUD" experience, you'll still use the same methods to hide the chat window. Just remember that if you hide the chat, you need to make sure your players have some way to communicate, or you're going to have a very quiet (and possibly frustrated) player base.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
There are a few traps you might fall into when messing with these scripts. First, remember that CoreGui scripts must be LocalScripts. Since the UI is specific to each player, the server doesn't care about it. If you try to run these commands in a regular Script on the server, nothing will happen because the server doesn't "see" the player's screen.
Second, don't overdo it. I've played games where the developer disabled the player list, the chat, the backpack, and even the escape menu functionality (which you shouldn't really do). It made the game feel claustrophobic. Only disable what you are actually planning to replace. If you don't have a custom backpack system ready, don't disable the default one, or your players won't be able to use their items!
Wrapping It Up
At the end of the day, using a roblox studio core gui script is all about taking control of the player's experience. It's one of the first steps in moving from "beginner" to "intermediate" developer. It shows that you're thinking about the presentation and the "feel" of your game, not just the mechanics.
It might feel a little intimidating to mess with the engine's core settings at first, but once you get the hang of SetCore and SetCoreGuiEnabled, you'll realize it's actually pretty straightforward. Just remember to use pcall to avoid those annoying startup errors, and always have a plan for what you're going to put in place of the elements you remove.
Happy scripting, and go make something that looks awesome! Whether you're building a minimalist horror game or a flashy simulator, getting that UI right is going to make a world of difference.