goldstrap / first run
Your first launch
Goldstrap opens a small menu instead of Roblox. Everything below happens between pressing Play and seeing the Roblox window.
The launch menu
| Element | What it does |
|---|---|
| Play Roblox | Downloads or repairs the client if needed, applies your settings, then starts Roblox. |
| Roblox Studio | Same, for Studio. Only shown once Goldstrap knows a Studio build exists. |
| Settings | Opens the settings window described across this manual. |
| Profile row | Your name, avatar, badge and daily streak. Purely cosmetic; can be turned off in Appearance. |
| About | Version, credits and the licences of the libraries used. |
What Play actually does
- Checks the deployment. Goldstrap asks Roblox's deployment service which client version is current for your channel, and tries several download mirrors until one answers.
- Downloads what is missing. Packages are fetched in parallel and every file is verified against the MD5 hash in Roblox's package manifest. A mismatched download is thrown away and retried.
- Extracts, then applies your files. Your mods folder is copied over the client, and your Fast Flags are written to
ClientAppSettings.json. - Starts the client. With the launch arguments Roblox gave the link, plus anything Goldstrap needs to add.
- Starts the watcher. A second, small process that watches the Roblox log so the tray icon, Discord status, server details and auto-close integrations work.
The progress window is the bootstrapper itself; its style is chosen in Appearance. Cancel is always available, and cancelling during a download leaves no half-installed client behind.
Roblox links open Goldstrap
Roblox's Play button on the website uses a roblox-player: link. During installation Goldstrap registers itself as the handler, so the link arrives at Goldstrap with the original launch arguments intact — place, server, access code and channel.
Studio links and .rbxl files are handled the same way once Studio has been launched through Goldstrap at least once.
The tray icon
While Roblox runs, Goldstrap sits in the notification area. Right-click it for:
- Server details — instance id, server type, location and uptime, if server details are enabled.
- Copy invite link — a joinable link to the server you are in, when the server is public.
- Game history — the last servers you played on, with a rejoin action.
- Player log — opens the Roblox log file the watcher is reading.
- Close Roblox — asks once, then closes the client.
The icon disappears when Roblox closes. If it stays, the watcher could not attach; see Troubleshooting.
Subsequent launches
Later launches skip most of step 2: the packages are cached, the client version is unchanged, and only your mods and flags are re-applied. A typical warm start is the bootstrapper checking the version, copying a handful of files, and handing over to Roblox.
If another Goldstrap process is already running a bootstrapper, the new one waits for it instead of starting a second download. That is why pressing Play twice does not corrupt anything — it just queues.