Source: Roblox Creator Hub · CC BY 4.0 · View source · Code samples: MIT Imported 2026-10-03. Formatting adapted for this site.
ServiceProvider
Inherits from: Instance → Object
A ServiceProvider is an abstract base class that manages a registry of singleton service instances. The DataModel (accessible in Lua as game) is the primary ServiceProvider in an experience. Services are created lazily the first time they are requested via ServiceProvider:GetService() and remain available for the lifetime of the DataModel.
You do not create ServiceProvider instances directly; instead you interact with its members through the DataModel.
Inherits from: Instance
Descendants: DataModel, GenericSettings
Memory category: Instances
Tags: NotCreatable, NotBrowsable
Methods
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ServiceProvider:FindService | Instance | Returns the service specified by the given className if it's already created, errors for an invalid name. |
| ServiceProvider:GetService | Instance | Returns the service with the requested class name, creating it if it does not exist. |
| ServiceProvider:getService | Instance | |
| ServiceProvider:service | Instance |
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 |
ServiceProvider:FindService
Returns the service with the given class name only if it has already been created. Unlike ServiceProvider:GetService(), this method does not create the service when it does not yet exist; it returns nil instead. If className is not a valid service name, the method throws an error.
This method is thread-safe and can be called from any thread context. It is useful when you need to check whether a service is present without triggering its initialization, for example during cleanup or conditional logic that should not force service creation.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| className | string | The class name of the service to find. |
Returns
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Instance | The service instance if it has already been created, or nil if the service does not yet exist. |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| security | None |
| thread safety | Safe |
Code samples: View on Creator Hub (ServiceProvider-FindService1).
ServiceProvider:GetService
Returns a service with the class name requested. When called with the name of a service (such as Debris) it will return the instance of that service. If the service does not yet exist it will be created and the new service is returned. This is the only way to create some services, and can also be used for services that have unusual names, e.g. RunService's name is "Run Service".
Note:
- This function will return
nilif the className parameter is an existing class, but the class is not a service. - If you attempt to fetch a service that is present under another Object, an error will be thrown stating that the "singleton serviceName already exists".
Parameters
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| className | string | The class name of the requested service. |
Returns
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Instance | An instance of the requested service. |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| security | None |
| thread safety | Unsafe |
Code samples: View on Creator Hub (ServiceProvider-GetService1).
ServiceProvider:getService
Deprecated. This deprecated function is a variant of ServiceProvider:GetService() which should be used instead.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| className | string |
Returns
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Instance |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| tags | ["Deprecated"] |
| security | None |
| thread safety | Unsafe |
ServiceProvider:service
Deprecated. This item has been superseded by ServiceProvider:GetService() which should be used in all new work.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| className | string |
Returns
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Instance |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| tags | ["Deprecated"] |
| security | None |
| thread safety | Unsafe |
Events
| Name | Type / Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ServiceProvider.Close | Fires when the current place is exited. | |
| ServiceProvider.ServiceAdded | Fired when a service is created. | |
| ServiceProvider.ServiceRemoving | Fired when a service is about to be removed. |
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. |
ServiceProvider.Close
Fires when the game instance is shutting down, immediately before services and instances are torn down. On the server this occurs when the last player leaves or the server is closed; on the client it fires when the player leaves the experience.
Connect to this event to perform final cleanup such as saving player data with DataStoreService. Handlers run synchronously — the engine waits for all connected callbacks to return before proceeding with shutdown.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| security | None |
Code samples: View on Creator Hub (ServiceProvider-Close1).
ServiceProvider.ServiceAdded
Fires after a service is added to the DataModel. The service parameter is the Instance of the newly added service. Because services are created lazily (the first time ServiceProvider:GetService() is called for them), this event lets you react to a service becoming available without polling for it.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| service | Instance | The instance of the service that was added. |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| security | None |
ServiceProvider.ServiceRemoving
Fires just before a service is removed from the DataModel. The service parameter is the Instance that is about to be removed. This event fires during DataModel teardown, giving listeners a chance to disconnect from the service or release references before the service is destroyed.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| service | Instance | The Instance of the service that is about to be removed. |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| security | None |
Properties
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 |