Source: Roblox Creator Hub · CC BY 4.0 · View source · Code samples: MIT Imported 2026-10-03. Formatting adapted for this site.
Debris
Inherits from: Instance → Object
The Debris service allows scheduling guaranteed destruction of an object without yielding.
Advantages
Besides creating a bit of a mess, objects that are no longer required can use up system memory and cause an experience to run slower over time. For this reason, it's always advised to call Instance:Destroy() on objects you no longer need. In some cases, however, an object may have a specific period of utility before it can be destroyed.
Consider a wall being smashed into individual bricks. If you want a brick to linger for 3 seconds before being destroyed, you can use the following code:
task.wait(3)
brick:Destroy()However, waiting causes the thread to yield which may be undesired. To avoid yielding, a callback function can be scheduled to run on a new thread after 3 seconds:
task.delay(3, function()
brick:Destroy()
end)Or in one line:
task.delay(3, brick.Destroy, brick)While this now avoids yielding, it has a potential drawback in that the scheduled callback will never run if the script is disabled or destroyed before the callback runs.
This is where Debris has a specific advantage, as it does not yield the current thread and runs outside the context of the script, guaranteeing the instance is eventually destroyed even if the script is disabled or destroyed. The following code does not yield and guarantees the instance will be destroyed:
Debris:AddItem(brick, 3)Note that Debris has a hardcoded maximum of 1,000 objects, so if more than 1,000 items are added, the oldest debris will be destroyed instantly to make room for new debris.
Inherits from: Instance
Memory category: Instances
Tags: NotCreatable, Service
Code samples: View on Creator Hub (Debris-AddItem).
Properties
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Debris.MaxItems | int | The maximum number of items that can be assigned to the Debris service at one time. |
Inherited from Instance
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Instance.Archivable | boolean | Determines if an Instance and its descendants can be cloned using Instance:Clone(), and can be saved/published. |
| Instance.archivable | boolean | |
| Instance.Capabilities | SecurityCapabilities | The set of capabilities allowed to be used for scripts inside this container. |
| Instance.IsInSandbox | boolean | Indicates whether the instance is inside a sandboxed container. |
| Instance.Name | string | A non-unique identifier of the Instance. |
| Instance.Parent | Instance | Determines the hierarchical parent of the Instance. |
| Instance.PredictionMode | PredictionMode | Reflects the client-side prediction mode applied to the instance under server-authoritative physics. |
| Instance.RobloxLocked | boolean | A deprecated property that used to protect CoreGui objects. |
| Instance.Sandboxed | boolean | When enabled, the instance can only access abilities in its Capabilities list. |
| Instance.UniqueId | UniqueId | A unique identifier for the instance. |
Inherited from Object
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Object.ClassName | string | A read-only string representing the class this Object belongs to. |
| Object.className | string |
Debris.MaxItems
Deprecated. This property is deprecated and should not be used in new work.
The maximum number of items that can be assigned to the Debris service at one time.
If this number is exceeded, objects are automatically destroyed in order from oldest to newest until the amount is less than or equal to MaxItems.
This property is currently restricted and will error if set. The value is hardcoded to 1,000 items.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| type | int |
| tags | ["Deprecated"] |
| security | {"read":"None","write":"None"} |
| thread safety | ReadSafe |
| category | Data |
| serialization | {"can_load":true,"can_save":true} |
| capabilities | ["Basic"] |
Methods
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Debris:AddItem | () | Schedules a given Instance for destruction within the specified lifetime. |
| Debris:addItem | () |
Inherited from Instance
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Instance:AddTag | () | Applies a tag to the instance. |
| Instance:children | Instances | Returns an array of the object's children. |
| Instance:ClearAllChildren | () | This method destroys all of an instance's children. |
| Instance:Clone | Instance | Create a copy of an instance and all its descendants, ignoring instances that are not Archivable. |
| Instance:clone | Instance | |
| Instance:Destroy | () | Sets the Instance.Parent property to nil, locks the Instance.Parent property, disconnects all connections, and calls Destroy() on all children. |
| Instance:destroy | () | |
| Instance:FindFirstAncestor | Instance? | Returns the first ancestor of the Instance whose Instance.Name is equal to the given name. |
| Instance:FindFirstAncestorOfClass | Instance? | Returns the first ancestor of the Instance whose Object.ClassName is equal to the given className. |
| Instance:FindFirstAncestorWhichIsA | Instance? | Returns the first ancestor of the Instance for whom Object:IsA() returns true for the given className. |
| Instance:FindFirstChild | Instance? | Returns the first child of the Instance found with the given name. |
| Instance:findFirstChild | Instance | |
| Instance:FindFirstChildOfClass | Instance? | Returns the first child of the Instance whose ClassName is equal to the given class name. |
| Instance:FindFirstChildWhichIsA | Instance? | Returns the first child of the Instance for whom Object:IsA() returns true for the given className. |
| Instance:FindFirstDescendant | Instance? | Returns the first descendant found with the given Instance.Name. |
| Instance:GetActor | Actor? | Returns the Actor associated with the Instance, if any. |
| Instance:GetAttribute | Variant | Returns the value which has been assigned to the given attribute name. |
| Instance:GetAttributeChangedSignal | RBXScriptSignal | Returns an event that fires when the given attribute changes. |
| Instance:GetAttributes | Dictionary | Returns a dictionary of the instance's attributes. |
| Instance:GetChildren | Instances | Returns an array containing all of the instance's children. |
| Instance:getChildren | Instances | |
| Instance:GetDebugId | string | Returns a coded string of the debug ID used internally by Roblox. |
| Instance:GetDescendants | Instances | Returns an array containing all of the descendants of the instance. |
| Instance:GetFullName | string | Returns a string describing the instance's ancestry. |
| Instance:GetStyled | Variant | Returns the styled or explicitly modified value of the specified property, or else the default property value if it hasn't been styled/modified. |
| Instance:GetStyledPropertyChangedSignal | RBXScriptSignal | Returns an event that fires when the given style property changes on the instance. |
| Instance:GetTags | Array | Gets an array of all tags applied to the instance. |
| Instance:HasTag | boolean | Check whether the instance has a given tag. |
| Instance:IsAncestorOf | boolean | Returns true if an Instance is an ancestor of the given descendant. |
| Instance:IsDescendantOf | boolean | Returns true if an Instance is a descendant of the given ancestor. |
| Instance:isDescendantOf | boolean | |
| Instance:IsPropertyModified | boolean | Returns true if the value stored in the specified property is not equal to the code-instantiated default. |
| Instance:QueryDescendants | Instances | Returns an array containing all descendants of the instance that match the selector string. |
| Instance:Remove | () | Sets the object's Parent to nil, and does the same for all its descendants. |
| Instance:remove | () | |
| Instance:RemoveTag | () | Removes a tag from the instance. |
| Instance:ResetPropertyToDefault | () | Resets a property to its default value. |
| Instance:SetAttribute | () | Sets the attribute with the given name to the given value. |
| Instance:WaitForChild | Instance | Returns the child of the Instance with the given name. If the child does not exist, it will yield the current thread until it does. |
Inherited from Object
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Object:GetPropertyChangedSignal | RBXScriptSignal | Get an event that fires when a given property of the object changes. |
| Object:IsA | boolean | Returns true if an object's class matches or inherits from a given class. |
| Object:isA | boolean |
Debris:AddItem
Schedules a given Instance for destruction within the specified lifetime. After the lifetime argument has elapsed, the object is destroyed in the same manner as Instance:Destroy(). Note that the lifetime argument is optional and defaults to 10 seconds.
Note that Debris has a hardcoded maximum of 1,000 objects, so if more than 1,000 items are added, the oldest debris will be destroyed instantly to make room for new debris. This means you should treat the lifetime parameter as a maximum lifetime, not an exact lifetime.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| item | Instance | The Instance to add to Debris. | |
| lifetime | double | 10 | Number of seconds before the Instance should be destroyed. |
Returns
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| () |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| security | None |
| thread safety | Unsafe |
| capabilities | ["Basic"] |
Code samples: View on Creator Hub (Debris-AddItem).
Debris:addItem
Deprecated. This function is a deprecated variant of Debris:AddItem() which should be used instead.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| item | Instance | ||
| lifetime | double | 10 |
Returns
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| () |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| tags | ["Deprecated"] |
| security | None |
| thread safety | Unsafe |
| capabilities | ["Basic"] |
Events
Inherited from Instance
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Instance.AncestryChanged | Fires when the Instance.Parent property of this object or one of its ancestors is changed. | |
| Instance.AttributeChanged | Fires whenever an attribute is changed on the Instance. | |
| Instance.ChildAdded | Fires after an object is parented to this Instance. | |
| Instance.childAdded | ||
| Instance.ChildRemoved | Fires after a child is removed from this Instance. | |
| Instance.DescendantAdded | Fires after a descendant is added to the Instance. | |
| Instance.DescendantRemoving | Fires immediately before a descendant of the Instance is removed. | |
| Instance.Destroying | Fires immediately before (or is deferred until after) the instance is destroyed via Instance:Destroy(). | |
| Instance.StyledPropertiesChanged | Fires whenever any style property is changed on the instance, including when a property is set to nil. |
Inherited from Object
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Object.Changed | Fires immediately after a property of the object changes, with some limitations. |