If you're looking to add a bit of realism to your game, setting up a solid roblox stamina bar script is probably high on your to-do list. It's one of those core mechanics that just makes a game feel more "complete." Whether you're making a horror game where the player needs to run away from a monster or a fighting game where every swing of a sword drains energy, stamina adds a layer of strategy that keeps players from just spamming the sprint key forever.
Setting this up isn't nearly as intimidating as it might seem. You don't need to be a math genius or have years of Luau experience to get a functional system running. Honestly, the hardest part is usually just making the UI look nice. Let's walk through how to put one together from scratch, focusing on making it feel smooth and responsive.
Getting the UI Ready
Before we even touch a line of code for our roblox stamina bar script, we need something to actually show the player. You can't have a bar without, well, a bar.
Head over to the StarterGui in your Explorer window and add a ScreenGui. Inside that, you'll want a Frame to act as the background (maybe make it a dark gray or black) and another Frame inside that one to represent the actual stamina level (usually green or light blue).
A little pro tip: rename the inner frame to "StaminaFill" and the outer one to "Background." This makes your life a lot easier when you start scripting. Make sure the AnchorPoint of the StaminaFill is set to (0, 0.5) and its position is at the start of the background frame. This ensures that when we change its size, it shrinks toward the left rather than the center.
Setting Up the Variables
Now, let's talk logic. For any roblox stamina bar script to work, we need to track a few specific numbers. We need a maximum stamina value, a current stamina value, and a rate at which it drains and regenerates.
I usually like to keep these in a LocalScript inside the ScreenGui we just made. You could handle some of this on the server for security—to prevent exploiters from having infinite sprint—but for the sake of getting a working prototype, a LocalScript is the easiest way to see immediate results.
You'll want to define your constants at the top. Something like: * MaxStamina = 100 * CurrentStamina = 100 * DrainRate = 20 (how much disappears per second) * RegenRate = 10 (how fast it comes back)
Using variables like this instead of "hard-coding" numbers directly into your loops makes it way easier to tweak the feel of your game later. If the sprint feels too short, you just change one number at the top and you're good to go.
Handling the Sprint Logic
The core of a roblox stamina bar script is detecting when the player wants to run. Most Roblox games use the Left Shift key for this. We'll use UserInputService to listen for when that key is pressed and when it's released.
But here's a mistake I see a lot of people make: they let the player "sprint" even when they're standing still. It looks silly when the stamina bar drains while someone is just idling. To fix that, we need to check the player's MoveDirection. If the magnitude of their move direction is greater than zero, it means they're actually trying to walk.
Inside a RunService.Heartbeat loop (which runs every single frame), we can check two things: 1. Is the Shift key being held down? 2. Is the player actually moving?
If both are true, we subtract a tiny bit from our CurrentStamina based on the DrainRate. If they aren't sprinting, we add a bit back until they hit the MaxStamina cap. It's a simple "if-else" logic that handles about 90% of the work.
Making the UI Look Smooth
If you just change the size of the stamina bar directly in the loop, it might look a bit "choppy," especially if the player's frame rate is fluctuating. To make your roblox stamina bar script feel high-quality, you should use TweenService.
Instead of saying "make the bar this wide right now," you tell Roblox "smoothly transition the bar to this width over 0.1 seconds." This creates a fluid motion that looks much more professional. Even a very fast tween makes a world of difference. It gives the UI a sense of weight and responsiveness that players subconsciously appreciate.
Adding a "Cooldown" State
One thing that really improves the feel of a stamina system is an exhaustion mechanic. If a player completely empties their stamina bar, you probably don't want them to be able to tap Shift and start sprinting again immediately. It feels "glitchy."
Instead, you can add a boolean variable called isExhausted. When stamina hits zero, set isExhausted to true and force the player's speed back to normal. Don't let them sprint again until the stamina has recharged to at least 20% or 30%.
You can even change the color of the bar to red while they're exhausted to give them a visual cue that they need to wait. It's a small detail, but it's the difference between a basic script and a polished game mechanic.
Why LocalScripts vs. ServerScripts?
I touched on this earlier, but it's worth a deeper dive. If you put your entire roblox stamina bar script in a LocalScript, it will be incredibly responsive. The moment the player hits Shift, they move faster. There's zero lag.
However, the downside is that a clever exploiter could technically change their walk speed or freeze their stamina value. If you're making a highly competitive game, you'll eventually want to move the "speed" part of the script to a ServerScript. The LocalScript would still handle the UI and the input, but it would send a "RemoteEvent" to the server saying, "Hey, I'm trying to sprint."
The server then checks if the player actually has enough stamina and adjusts their WalkSpeed on the backend. It's a bit more work to set up, but it keeps the game fair. For a single-player or casual game, though? A LocalScript is usually more than enough to get started.
Finishing Touches and Customization
Once the basic roblox stamina bar script is running, you can start having some fun with it. Maybe the stamina drains faster if the player is jumping? You can check for the Jumping state in the Humanoid and take a chunk of stamina out every time they leave the ground.
You could also add sound effects—maybe a heavy breathing sound that starts playing when the stamina gets below 20%. Or, you could make the camera shake slightly while sprinting to give a sense of speed.
The great thing about scripting in Roblox is that once you have the foundation down, adding these extra features is pretty straightforward. You're just adding more "if" statements or triggering new effects based on the numbers you're already tracking.
Don't be afraid to experiment with the numbers. Some games feel better with a huge stamina pool that drains slowly, while others (like "souls-like" games) benefit from a small pool that recharges almost instantly. It all depends on the "flow" you want for your specific project.
Just remember to keep your code organized. Use comments to remind yourself what each section does, especially the math parts. You'll thank yourself later when you come back to the script three months from now to add a new feature and actually understand how it works!