Source: Roblox Creator Hub · CC BY 4.0 · View source · Code samples: MIT Imported 2026-10-03. Formatting adapted for this site.
Layered accessory caging best practices
Caging is a complex process required to define the inner and outer surface of a layered accessory. Properly caged assets allow your layered accessories to stretch and layer in combination with each other. Cages that are improperly configured can lead to cosmetic issues with the look and feel of your layered accessory.
A properly configured cage typically includes a tight layering of the inner cage, clothing mesh, and the outer cage.
The t-shirt stretches and fits naturally over a base body.
Other layered accessories, such as a jacket, should stretch and fit naturally over a target body and any other caged assets.
In extreme cases, improper cages may interfere with gameplay or social elements on Roblox. If your asset includes improper cages, Roblox may prevent you from uploading them to the Marketplace and may remove existing assets with improper cages from the catalog.
Note
Roblox is enforcing a stricter set of validation rules to improve the overall quality of layered accessories in the Marketplace.
The following best practices and common issues are useful for avatar asset creators of all levels and can elevate the quality of your layered accessory creations and save time with troubleshooting.
Best practices
Always start any caging work with one of Roblox's provided caging templates. These templates include an inner cage and outer cage with properly set UVs.
Note
You should not edit the cage UVs since this will introduce visual artifacts.
When caging your layered accessories, use these important universal guidelines:
Any clothing mesh positioned between the inner cage and outer cage will be deformed by the layering system. This is the typical configuration for nearly all layered accessory assets.
The t-shirt mesh fits snugly between the inner and outer cage.
The correctly configured t-shirt naturally stretches over a target body.
Other layered accessory assets should stretch and fit naturally over a target body and any equipped caged assets.
- You must follow the naming conventions for the layered accessory geometry and the cage.
- Many caging issues start from incorrect outer cage setup. See working with outer cages for specific details.
- Do not modify areas of your cage that are unrelated to the layered accessory you are caging. For example, do not modify the inner or outer cages of the lower leg areas when caging a t-shirt.
- Review any specific best practices for form-fitting clothes, bulky clothes, and clothing with protrusions.
- If troubleshooting any issues, review common issues to help identify problematic layered accessories or specific validation errors.
Working with outer cages
As long as the clothing mesh properly fits over the inner cage and under the outer cage, you can edit the outer cage in various ways depending on the final visual effect you intend to achieve.
When working with the outer cage, use the following guidelines when possible:
Move vertices outwards in the normal's direction.
Keep the outer cage as close to the clothing mesh as possible.
Work symmetrically as much as possible to save time.
Do not alter the UVs in any way.
Do not stack your vertices.
Two vertices stacked directly over each other. This will introduce visual artifacts when layering other layered accessories on top.
Keep the vertex, edge, and face count exactly the same as when you started.
Keep your cage's edge spacing as evenly as possible.
Note
Outer cage with even spacing whenever possible on the faces.
<img src="https://prod.docsiteassets.roblox.com/assets/accessories/caging-best-practices/10-Even-Spacing-B.png" width="100%" alt=""/>Note
Outer cage with uneven spacing throughout the torso area. Uneven cages can create visual artifacts and uneven deformations.
Keep your cage's break lines between body parts lined up to the joint's position as possible. For example, try to align the elbow to where the LowerArm joint is located.
Proportional changes can help improve animation and posing quality.
Caging form-fitting clothing
Form-fitting clothing, like t-shirts, yoga pants, shorts, sweaters and slim jackets, are the most common type of layered accessory.
In this case, the outer cage needs to completely envelop the layered accessory with minimal gaps between inner cage, clothing mesh, and outer cage.
- Move outer cage vertices outwards to completely cover the layered accessory, while maintaining the silhouette of the clothing mesh as much as possible.
- Do not move outer cage vertices that don't contribute to covering the layered accessory. For example, don't move outer cage vertices in the lower leg when the layered accessory is a t-shirt.
- The entire layered accessory should be located in-between the outer and inner cages.
Caging bulky clothing
Bulky clothing, like puffy jackets, sweat pants, and hoodies, require additional displacement of the outer cage vertices to envelop the bulky asset. The outer cage should still completely wrap the external surface of a bulky item.
- Pay special attention to the direction neighboring outer cage vertices are moved.
- Move along vertex normal directions as much as possible.
- Move vertices nearby each other more or less along the same directions (smooth relative displacements).
- Avoid moving vertices that are not covered by the layered accessory, such as moving vertices in the arm region if you are making pants.
Caging protrusions
Some clothing items have assets that protrude or extend past the rest of the clothing. Examples include clothing with puffy hoods, shoulder pads, and spikes.
Like all layered accessories, clothing with protrusions should fit over inner cages.
Note
Setting the outer cage below the puffy hood allows the hood to be visible even when equipping other layered accessories.
Note
Setting the outer cage above the puffy hood causes additional layered accessories to stretch and cover the protrusion which is often undesired.
To ensure that the protruded region stays visible independent of the number of layers:
- Leave the protruded region outside the outer cage. Alternatively, edit the outer cage to pass under the regions that are meant to be visible and undeformed.
- Avoid moving vertices that are not covered by the layered accessory.
Common issues
Improper caging can cause various rendering and deformation issues. The following common examples can help diagnose and troubleshoot any caging issues you may encounter.
Uneven caging
Unexpected outer cage shapes cause issues when other layered accessories are equipped. While the layered accessory may fit correctly on a target body, any additional layers will fail to stretch and deform appropriately.
The outer cage of the black shirt is set up with uneven vertices producing an undulated caging surface.
Any layered accessory fit on top will have visual artifacts even if the layered accessory itself looks fine.
Identical inner and outer cage
If the inner cage and outer cage are exactly the same, the layered accessory system cannot properly determine the accessory and may not deform or deform unexpectedly.
An example of an identical inner and outer cages.
The tshirt deforms in an unexpected manner and fails to render in its original shape or placement.
Clothing inside inner cage
Any part of the clothing mesh positioned inside the inner cage will introduce visual artifacts when the layered accessory is layered on top of other clothing. You should always avoid this type of configuration.
<img src="https://prod.docsiteassets.roblox.com/assets/accessories/caging-best-practices/3-Clothing-Under-Inner-A.png" width="80%" alt=""/>The clothing mesh intersects and is positioned within the inner cage at the shoulders and abdomen areas.
<img src="https://prod.docsiteassets.roblox.com/assets/accessories/caging-best-practices/3-Clothing-Under-Inner-B.png" width="80%" alt=""/>When equipped, the t-shirt does not fit properly, exposing the problematic areas in the shoulders and abdomen.
Clothing partially outside outer cage
Any part of the clothing mesh positioned outside the outer cage will not be deformed by the layered system. This configuration can sometimes be intentional for effect, such as when caging layered accessories that include protrusions.
<img src="https://prod.docsiteassets.roblox.com/assets/accessories/caging-best-practices/4-Outer-Not-Fully-Covering-A.png" width="80%" alt=""/>The outer cage of the tshirt is positioned within the clothing mesh near the abdomen.
<img src="https://prod.docsiteassets.roblox.com/assets/accessories/caging-best-practices/4-Outer-Not-Fully-Covering-B.png" width="80%" alt=""/>When equipped, layered accessories fail to fit properly at the affected areas.
Oversized outer cage
Ensure that the gap between the layered accessory and the outer cage is not too large. This can cause severe deformation issues when combined with other layered accessories.
Collapsed cage vertices
When cage vertices are collapsed into one vertex or a small region, any additional layer placed on top of your layered accessory will have weird artifacts near the collapsed region.
Most 3D applications can indicate if vertices are directly overlapping
Note
This setup will be rejected during validation.
Cages with missing limbs
The cage is meant to match the shape of the template body used to model your layered accessory. Cages without heads or missing limbs won't work properly with the layered accessory system.
Note
This setup will be rejected during validation.
Outer cage inside the inner cage
Setting the outer cage inside the inner cage creates a layered accessory that can't properly layer with other assets.
Note
This setup will be rejected during validation.
Mesh outside of outer cage
Layered accessories placed outside their outer cages do not deform. If the layered accessory is completely outside then it will behave similar to a rigid accessory.
<img src="https://prod.docsiteassets.roblox.com/assets/accessories/caging-best-practices/15-Orbitting-Accessory-B.png" width="80%" alt=""/>Layered accessories outside of their cage meshes are not supported.
<img src="https://prod.docsiteassets.roblox.com/assets/accessories/caging-best-practices/15-Orbitting-Accessory-A.png" width="80%" alt=""/>Even with a correct hierarchy, layered accessories outside the cages will not deform.
Note
This setup will be rejected during validation.