CLI usage

The simplest way to drive rodeo is from the shell.

Start the server

In one terminal:

rodeo serve

This starts the rodeo server and waits for Studio to connect. Open Studio (any place) and the installed plugin connects automatically.

Port

Every command that talks to the server resolves its port the same way: --port, then the RODEO_PORT environment variable, then 44872. The plugin’s WebSocket is on the next port up.

A project pins its port next to its rodeo version, so projects on different ports run independently, including different rodeo versions:

.mise.toml

[tools]
"ubi:revvy02/rodeo" = "1.5.0"

[env]
RODEO_PORT = "46800"

A .env file in the project works too. Projects that resolve to the same port share one serve, as before.

Run a one-shot script

In another terminal:

rodeo run --source 'print("hi from studio")'

The script executes inside the connected Studio instance. Output streams back to your terminal.

You can also run a file:

rodeo run script.luau

Launch a place

rodeo run can launch Studio for you:

# Launch by published place ID
rodeo run --place 12345 --source 'return game.PlaceId'

# Launch a local .rbxl file
rodeo run --place ./my-place.rbxl script.luau

Studio launches in the background and the script runs against it. By default rodeo closes the Studio it launched once the run finishes; pass --detach to keep it running.

Launch a detached Studio

Pass --detach to spawn a Studio that isn’t tied to the rodeo run process. Instead of closing the Studio when the script finishes, rodeo leaves it running:

# Launch a Studio and leave it up after the command exits
rodeo run --place 12345 --detach --source 'print("studio is up")'

The command returns, but the Studio stays open and connected to the server, so later rodeo run commands can target it without relaunching:

rodeo run --source 'return game.PlaceId'

When you’re done, quit the Studio yourself; because it’s detached, rodeo won’t close it for you.

Environment variables

Variable	Effect
RODEO_PORT	Master port when --port isn’t given. Default 44872. See Port.
RODEO_LAUNCH_TIMEOUT	Seconds a Studio that rodeo launched has to connect before the launch fails and rodeo closes that Studio. Default 120; 0 waits indefinitely.
RODEO_SKIP_VERSION_CHECK	1 turns a build mismatch between the CLI, the serve and the plugin from an error into a warning.
RODEO_PROFILE_FRAME_INTERVAL	With --profile, frames between microprofiler captures. Default 60.
RODEO_PROFILE_NUM_FRAMES	With --profile, frames in each microprofiler capture. Default 60.
RODEO_CAPTURE_DIR	Directory roblox.captureViewport reads Studio’s captures from. Default ~/Library/Roblox/tmp-capture-storage on macOS, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Roblox\tmp-capture-storage on Windows.
ROBLOX_STUDIO_PATH	Studio install to launch instead of the installed one: the .app bundle on macOS; on Windows a version folder, or %LOCALAPPDATA%\Roblox for its newest version.
RODEO_OPEN_CLOUD_API_KEY	Open Cloud API key with the asset:read permission, used to look up a published place’s latest version.
RODEO_VERBOSE	Any value: debug logging, as --verbose.
RUST_LOG	Log filter in tracing EnvFilter syntax, for example rodeo=trace. Overrides the default levels and RODEO_VERBOSE.
RODEO_NO_TIMESTAMPS	Any value: log lines on stderr have no timestamps.
NO_COLOR / FORCE_COLOR	Non-empty: colored log output off / on, whatever the terminal.
RODEO_LOG_DIR	Where the serve writes its log files. Default .rodeo/.temp/logs.
RODEO_STUDIOMCP_VERBOSE	Any value: StudioMCP (used by --context mcp) logs verbosely, alongside the serve’s logs.

The serve reads RODEO_LAUNCH_TIMEOUT, RODEO_PROFILE_*, ROBLOX_STUDIO_PATH, RODEO_LOG_DIR and RODEO_STUDIOMCP_VERBOSE when it starts. When rodeo run starts its own serve, set them for that command. That serve prints only its errors to the run’s terminal unless --verbose, RODEO_VERBOSE or RUST_LOG is set; its full log is in RODEO_LOG_DIR.

Where to go next

See the full CLI reference for every subcommand and flag, or move on to Runtime usage for what scripts can do inside Studio.