If you are trying to get a roblox legacy chat system script working in your game today, you have probably realized that Roblox has changed quite a bit over the last couple of years. Back in the day, the chat was entirely Lua-based and lived right in your game hierarchy where you could mess with it easily. Now, Roblox pushes the new "TextChatService" by default, which is great for performance but can be a real pain if you prefer the old-school look or have specific scripts that rely on the legacy architecture.
Why stick with the legacy chat anyway?
You might wonder why anyone would bother with an older system when something new is available. Honestly, it mostly comes down to control and nostalgia. The legacy chat system, which ran on the Lua Chat System framework, was incredibly flexible. It allowed developers to dive deep into the ChatModules and ClientChatModules to change exactly how messages were processed.
If you're building a "retro" Roblox game or trying to fix an older project that's been broken by updates, you need that specific roblox legacy chat system script functionality. Many older admin commands and custom chat tags were built specifically for the legacy system. When you switch to the modern version, all those custom "Owner" tags or rainbow chat colors usually stop working because the underlying API is completely different.
How to actually enable the legacy system
Before you start hunting for a complex script to paste into your game, you should check the built-in toggle. Roblox hasn't completely deleted the legacy code; they've just hidden it behind a setting.
- Open your game in Roblox Studio.
- Look at the Explorer window and find the service named
TextChatService. - In the Properties window for that service, find the property called
ChatVersion. - Change it from
TextChatServicetoLegacyChatService.
Once you do this, the game will stop using the modern UI and go back to the classic one we all remember. This is the first step in getting any legacy-related scripts to actually function. If this isn't set correctly, your custom scripts will likely just sit there doing nothing because the game isn't even looking for them.
Working with the roblox legacy chat system script
Now, if you want to modify how the chat behaves—like adding custom colors or filtering certain words—you're going to need to work with the ChatSettings script. When the game runs, Roblox clones a bunch of folders into the Chat service. To customize them, you usually have to "force" them to appear in Studio so you can edit them.
The easiest way to do this is to play-test your game in Studio, go into the Chat service in the Explorer, copy the folder named ClientChatModules, then stop the play-test and paste that folder back into the Chat service. Inside that folder, you'll find a script called ChatSettings. This is the "brain" of your roblox legacy chat system script setup.
Customizing the look and feel
Once you have the ChatSettings script in your hand, you can change almost anything. Want to disable bubble chat? There's a line for that. Want to change the background transparency of the chat window so it doesn't block the view? You can do that too.
For example, look for a line that says module.WindowDraggable = false. If you change that to true, players can actually drag the chat box around their screen. It's a small detail, but it's the kind of thing the legacy system made very easy to implement.
Adding chat tags and colors
One of the biggest reasons people search for a roblox legacy chat system script is to give special players (like VIPs or developers) a cool tag next to their name. In the legacy system, this is usually handled by a ChatService runner script.
You'd typically create a Script (not a LocalScript) inside ServerScriptService. You'd then use require on the ChatService module to grab the player's speaker object and add "ExtraData" to it. It sounds a bit technical, but once you see the code, it's basically just telling the game: "Hey, if this person's ID matches mine, give them a bright red tag that says 'Creator'."
Common bugs and how to dodge them
Since the legacy system isn't the "standard" anymore, it can sometimes be a bit buggy when interacting with newer Roblox features. One common issue is the chat window overlapping with the new top-bar UI. Since Roblox updated the top-bar design recently, the old chat position can sometimes look a bit crowded.
Another thing to watch out for is filtering. You must never, ever try to bypass the Roblox filtering system with a custom script. Even if you're using the legacy system, you have to make sure Chat:FilterStringAsync() is being used if you're doing anything custom with text. If you don't, your game could get flagged, and nobody wants their project taken down over a chat mistake.
Is the legacy system going away forever?
There's always a bit of worry in the developer community that Roblox will eventually "sunset" the legacy chat entirely. While they've been pushing the new system hard, the legacy scripts are still deeply embedded in millions of older games. If they removed it entirely, a huge chunk of Roblox history would essentially break.
That said, it's a good idea to keep your scripts as clean as possible. If you are using a roblox legacy chat system script, try to document what you're changing. That way, if you ever do have to migrate to the new TextChatService, you'll know exactly what features you need to recreate.
Wrapping things up
Using the legacy chat isn't just about being stubborn or hating change. It's about using the tools that give you the most creative freedom. Whether you're trying to recreate a 2016-era obstacle course or you just really like the way the old bubble chat looks, the legacy system is still a totally valid choice for developers.
Just remember to toggle that ChatVersion setting first, or you'll be staring at your code for hours wondering why it isn't doing anything. It's usually the simplest things that trip us up! If you're stuck, the developer forums are still full of old threads from the years when the legacy system was the only option, and most of that advice still holds up perfectly today.
Keep experimenting, keep breaking things, and eventually, you'll get that chat system looking and working exactly the way you want it to. It's your game, after all—the chat should feel like it belongs there.