Roblox leaderboard gui script implementation is one of those things that separates a "work-in-progress" hobby project from a game that actually feels like a finished product. Let's be honest, the default player list provided by Roblox is okay for a start, but it's pretty bland. It's that same grey box we've been looking at for years. If you want your game to stand out, you need a custom UI that shows off player stats in a way that fits your game's vibe, whether that's a neon-soaked synthwave world or a gritty medieval simulator.
The good news is that while it might look complicated, setting up a custom leaderboard is actually pretty logical once you break it down. You basically have two parts: the data (the numbers going up) and the display (the pretty UI that shows those numbers). We're going to walk through how to glue those two things together so your players can finally see exactly how much better they are than their friends.
First Things First: The Backend (Leaderstats)
Before we even touch a roblox leaderboard gui script, we need some data to actually display. In Roblox, we usually handle this through a folder called leaderstats. If you don't have this set up, your GUI won't have anything to read.
You'll want to drop a regular Script into ServerScriptService. Don't use a LocalScript here, because stats need to be handled by the server to prevent easy cheating. The script is simple: you listen for whenever a player joins, create a folder named "leaderstats" inside that player, and then put some values in there—like "Coins" or "Kills."
It's important that the folder is named exactly "leaderstats" (all lowercase). Roblox looks for this specific name. Once you have that, any IntValue or NumberValue you put inside that folder will technically be trackable. Now that the server is keeping track of the numbers, we can move on to the visual stuff.
Designing the GUI Layout
Now, head over to StarterGui. This is where the creative part happens. You'll want to create a ScreenGui and, inside that, a Frame that will serve as your leaderboard container.
A pro tip here: use a ScrollingFrame instead of a regular Frame for the area where the player names will go. Why? Because if your game suddenly gets popular and you have 30 people in a server, a static frame is going to cut off half the names. A ScrollingFrame lets players scroll down to see who is at the bottom of the pile.
Inside your scrolling frame, you're going to need a "Template." This is just a smaller frame that represents a single player's row. It'll have a TextLabel for the player's name and another TextLabel for their score. Make this template look exactly how you want one row to look, then drag it into a folder or just disable its visibility—we'll be cloning it with our script later.
To keep everything tidy, add a UIListLayout to your scrolling frame. This is a lifesaver. It automatically stacks your rows on top of each other so you don't have to manually calculate the Y-position for every single player label.
Writing the Roblox Leaderboard GUI Script
This is the "brain" of the operation. We need a LocalScript (since UI is local to the player) that talks to the game, sees who is playing, and updates our list. You'll usually put this script inside the ScreenGui you created.
The logic follows a pretty standard loop: 1. Clear the current list in the GUI. 2. Get a list of all players currently in the game. 3. For every player found, clone that "Template" we made earlier. 4. Fill the template with the player's name and their stats from the leaderstats folder. 5. Parent that clone to the ScrollingFrame.
Now, you could do this once when the player joins, but players' stats change constantly. You have two options here. You can either run this loop every few seconds (the "lazy" but effective way), or you can use "Events." Using .Changed events on the stats is much more efficient because the leaderboard only updates when a number actually changes. If you're worried about lag—especially in big servers—using events is definitely the way to go.
Making It Sort Correcty
A leaderboard isn't much of a "leader" board if the person with 0 points is at the top while the pro with 1,000,000 points is hidden at the bottom. This is where a lot of people get stuck with their roblox leaderboard gui script.
To fix this, you need to use a bit of table sorting in Luau (Roblox's version of Lua). Before you start creating the UI rows, you put all the players into a table. Then, you use table.sort(). This function allows you to compare two players and say, "Hey, if Player A has more coins than Player B, put Player A higher in the list."
Once the table is sorted, you run your loop through that sorted table. Because the UIListLayout adds items in the order they are parented, your leaderboard will magically appear with the highest scores at the top. It's a small extra step that makes the whole thing feel ten times more professional.
Adding Some Visual Polish
If you've got the basics down, you might notice the UI feels a bit "static." You can spice things up by using TweenService. Instead of the names just snapping into existence, you could make the bars fade in or slide from the side.
Another cool touch is highlighting the "LocalPlayer." When a player looks at the board, it's nice if their own name is a different color (maybe a light gold or blue). In your script, you just add a simple check: if player == game.Players.LocalPlayer then. If that's true, change the background color of that specific template clone. It helps the user find themselves instantly in a crowded list.
Don't forget about UI constraints! Using UIAspectRatioConstraint ensures that your leaderboard doesn't look like a squashed pancake on mobile devices or super-wide monitors. Roblox players use everything from iPhones to 4K TVs, so your roblox leaderboard gui script needs to handle those layout changes gracefully.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Sometimes things go sideways. If your leaderboard is empty, the first thing to check is the Output window (View -> Output). Most of the time, it's a simple naming error. Maybe you called the folder "LeaderStats" with a capital S, but your script is looking for "leaderstats."
Another common headache is the "Infinite Yield" warning. This happens if your script is looking for the leaderstats folder before the server has actually created it. Using player:WaitForChild("leaderstats") is a much safer bet than just trying to access it directly. It tells the script, "Hang on a sec, wait for this to exist before you try to read it."
Also, keep an eye on performance. If you have a server with 50 players and you're updating the entire leaderboard every time someone gets a single coin, you might see some UI flickering or frame drops. Try to batch your updates or only update the specific row that changed rather than rebuilding the whole list from scratch every time.
Wrapping It Up
Building a custom roblox leaderboard gui script is a fantastic way to learn how the client and server communicate. You're taking raw data from the server, passing it to the client, and turning it into something visual and interactive.
Once you get the hang of the Template/List pattern, you can use it for all sorts of things—inventory systems, shop menus, or even server browsers. The logic is pretty much the same. So, get in there, mess around with the colors and the sorting, and make something that your players will actually enjoy looking at while they're grinding for those top spots. It takes a bit of patience to get the sorting and the UI layout perfect, but the end result is always worth the effort. Happy scripting!