If you're tired of the standard player list, setting up a roblox custom leaderboard script is the best way to give your game a unique look. The default leaderboard that Roblox provides is fine for basic projects, but it really lacks personality. If you're building a stylized simulator, a high-stakes horror game, or a competitive FPS, that generic gray box in the top-right corner just doesn't cut it.
Creating your own system gives you total control over what information you show and how it looks. You aren't just stuck with "Name" and "Stage." You can add profile pictures, custom rank icons, prestige levels, or even a player's current team color with much better formatting. It's one of those small touches that makes a game feel "premium."
Why bother with a custom leaderboard?
The biggest reason most developers look for a roblox custom leaderboard script is aesthetics. When a player joins your game, the UI is the first thing they interact with. If your UI looks like everyone else's, the game feels a bit generic. A custom board lets you match the font, colors, and layout to your game's specific theme.
Beyond looks, there's the functionality. The default leaderboard has a habit of getting crowded if you have too many stats. With a custom script, you can decide to only show the top ten players, or maybe create a "Friends Only" view. You can also add interactive elements, like clicking a player's name to open a trade menu or view their detailed stats. You just can't do that easily with the built-in system.
Setting up the UI foundation
Before you even touch a script, you need a place for the data to live. Usually, this starts with a ScreenGui in StarterGui. Inside that, you'll want a Frame to act as your main container.
A common mistake I see people make is trying to hard-code every player slot. Don't do that. Instead, create a single "Template" frame. This template should represent what one single player's row looks like. Put a text label for the name, a text label for the score, and maybe an ImageLabel for their avatar thumbnail.
Keep this template in a safe spot, like a folder inside your script or in ReplicatedStorage. Your script will then clone this template for every player who joins the game. This makes your UI dynamic; it doesn't matter if there's one player or fifty, the board will adjust accordingly.
The logic behind the script
The heart of a roblox custom leaderboard script is how it handles player data. You generally want a script in StarterGui (a LocalScript) that listens for when players join or leave.
Here is the basic workflow: 1. Hide the default leaderboard: You have to tell Roblox to get out of the way. You do this using SetCoreGuiEnabled. 2. Clear and Rebuild: Whenever the player list changes, you usually want to clear the current list and rebuild it based on the current players in the server. 3. Update Stats: You need a way to listen for when a player's stats (like "Gold" or "Level") change so the board updates in real-time.
Using a PlayerAdded and PlayerRemoving connection is the standard way to trigger these updates. But don't forget the players who are already in the server when the script first runs! You'll want to loop through game.Players:GetPlayers() right at the start to make sure everyone is accounted for.
Sorting players by rank
A leaderboard isn't much use if the person with zero points is at the top. This is where a lot of people get stuck. To sort players, you'll want to put all the player objects into a table and then use Lua's table.sort function.
Inside that sort function, you compare the values of whatever stat you're tracking. If you want the highest score at the top, you'd check if PlayerA's score is greater than PlayerB's score. Once the table is sorted, you loop through it and parent your UI templates to the main frame in that specific order.
If you use a UIListLayout inside your main frame, Roblox handles the positioning for you. You just have to make sure the LayoutOrder of each template matches its position in your sorted table. It's a much cleaner way to handle things than trying to calculate Y-positions manually.
Making it look smooth with Tweens
Let's be real: a static list that just snaps into existence is a bit jarring. If you want your roblox custom leaderboard script to feel professional, you should add some animations.
When a player joins, don't just make their row appear. Use TweenService to fade it in or slide it from the side of the screen. When someone moves up in rank because they gained points, you can tween the LayoutOrder or the actual position to show them "climbing" the board. These little movements make the game feel alive and responsive. It's the difference between a "starter" project and a polished experience.
Handling data and performance
One thing to keep in mind is performance. If you have a 50-player server and everyone's "Gold" value is changing every second, you don't want to rebuild the entire leaderboard 50 times a second. That's a one-way ticket to lag city.
Instead of a full refresh, try to target specific updates. You can set up a listener on each player's stats using the .Changed event. When a specific player's score changes, your script only needs to update that one specific text label in your UI. You only really need to re-sort the whole list every few seconds or when a significant change happens.
Also, be careful with RemoteEvents. If your leaderboard needs to pull data from the server, don't spam requests. Ideally, the server should update a StringValue or NumberValue inside the player object, and the client-side script should just watch those values.
Dealing with the "Leaderstats" folder
Most developers use the standard "leaderstats" folder because it's easy and integrates with a lot of other systems. Your roblox custom leaderboard script can absolutely still use this.
Your script just needs to look inside player:WaitForChild("leaderstats") to find the values it needs to display. This is great because it means you don't have to rewrite your entire saving and loading system just to have a custom UI. You keep the back-end the same and just swap out the front-end.
Common pitfalls to avoid
I've seen plenty of scripts break because they didn't account for players leaving too quickly. If a player leaves while your script is in the middle of a "wait" or a "tween," it might try to reference a player object that doesn't exist anymore. Always use if player then checks before trying to grab names or thumbnails.
Another big one is memory leaks. If you keep creating new templates but never Destroy() the old ones when a player leaves, your game will eventually slow down and crash. Always clean up after your script. Use the PlayerRemoving event to find that player's specific UI row and get rid of it properly.
Wrapping things up
Building a roblox custom leaderboard script might seem like a lot of work compared to just toggling a setting, but the payoff is worth it. It gives your game a distinct identity and allows you to communicate information to your players much more effectively.
Start simple. Get a basic list of names appearing on the screen first. Once you have that working, add the stats. Once the stats are working, add the sorting logic. Finally, polish it up with some nice colors, fonts, and animations. By the time you're done, you'll have a UI element that looks exactly how you imagined it, rather than just settling for what Roblox gives you out of the box. Happy scripting!