Source: Roblox Creator Hub · CC BY 4.0 · View source · Code samples: MIT Imported 2026-10-03. Formatting adapted for this site.
PVInstance
Inherits from: Instance → Object
A PVInstance is an abstract class that cannot be created. It is the base for all objects that have a physical location in the world.
Inherits from: Instance
Descendants: Camera, BasePart, Model
Memory category: Instances
Tags: NotCreatable, NotBrowsable
Properties
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PVInstance.Origin | CFrame | Editor-only property that reads and sets the world CFrame of the PVInstance's pivot, moving the entire instance when changed from the Studio Properties window. |
| PVInstance.Pivot Offset | CFrame | Editor-only property that displays and edits the pivot's CFrame relative to the instance, moving only the pivot and leaving the instance in place. |
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 |
PVInstance.Origin
Editor-only property, shown in the Studio Properties window as Origin Position and Origin Orientation under Transform. Its value is the world-space CFrame of the instance's pivot; reading it returns the same CFrame as PVInstance:GetPivot(). It has no stored value of its own and always reflects the current pivot.
Setting it from the Properties window moves the whole instance so its pivot lands at the new CFrame, much like PVInstance:PivotTo(). Editing through the Properties window temporarily disables WeldConstraints to other objects for the move; PivotTo does not modify joints.
Not available to scripts; use PVInstance:GetPivot() and PVInstance:PivotTo() at runtime instead.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| type | CFrame |
| tags | ["NotReplicated","NotScriptable"] |
| security | {"read":"None","write":"None"} |
| thread safety | ReadSafe |
| category | Transform |
| serialization | {"can_load":false,"can_save":false} |
PVInstance.Pivot Offset
Editor-only property, shown in the Studio Properties window as Pivot Position and Pivot Orientation under Pivot. It is the CFrame of the pivot relative to the instance's own frame.
Changing it from the Properties window moves the pivot relative to the instance while leaving the instance in place, unlike Origin, which moves the whole instance. For a BasePart, the offset defaults to the identity CFrame, so the pivot coincides with the part's center. For a Model, this property appears only when the model has a PrimaryPart; it then reflects and edits that part's PivotOffset, and Model:GetPivot() aliases the primary part's pivot.
Not available to scripts; scripts read and write the equivalent through the concrete class, such as BasePart.PivotOffset.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| type | CFrame |
| tags | ["NotReplicated","NotScriptable"] |
| security | {"read":"None","write":"None"} |
| thread safety | ReadSafe |
| category | Pivot |
| serialization | {"can_load":false,"can_save":false} |
Methods
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PVInstance:GetPivot | CFrame | Gets the pivot of a PVInstance. |
| PVInstance:PivotTo | () | Transforms the PVInstance along with all of its descendant PVInstances such that the pivot is now located at the specified CFrame. |
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 |
PVInstance:GetPivot
This function gets the pivot of a PVInstance. This is often used with PVInstance:PivotTo() to move a model.
Models and BaseParts are both PVInstances ("Position Velocity Instances") and so both have this function.
Returns
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| CFrame | The world-space CFrame of the instance's pivot. |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| security | None |
| thread safety | Safe |
| simulationAccess | true |
Code samples: View on Creator Hub (simple-character-teleportation).
PVInstance:PivotTo
Transforms the PVInstance along with all of its descendant PVInstances such that the pivot is now located at the specified CFrame. This is the primary function that should be used to move Models via scripting.
BaseParts are moved in this way by having their CFrame transformed by the necessary offset. Models are moved in this way by having their Model.WorldPivot transformed by the necessary offset.
Note that for efficiency purposes, Object.Changed events are not fired for Position and Orientation of BaseParts moved in this way; they are only fired for CFrame.
When calling PivotTo on Models, the offsets of the descendant parts and models are cached, such that subsequent calls to PivotTo on the same model do not accumulate floating point drift between the parts making up the model.
Models and BaseParts are both PVInstances ("Position Velocity Instances") and so both have this function.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| targetCFrame | CFrame | The CFrame that the PVInstance pivot should equal after moving it. |
Returns
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| () |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| security | None |
| thread safety | Unsafe |
| simulationAccess | true |
Code samples: View on Creator Hub (simple-character-teleportation).
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. |