If you're building a stealth game or a spooky horror map, getting a solid roblox crawl script up and running is probably high on your priority list. It's one of those small mechanical details that instantly changes how a game feels. Without it, your players are just walking around at full height, which makes sneaking through vents or hiding under beds pretty much impossible.
The cool thing about Roblox is that while the default character controller is great for running and jumping, it's basically a blank slate for anything else. Adding a crawling mechanic isn't just about changing the camera height; it involves a mix of character physics, animations, and some logic to make sure players don't get stuck in walls or stand up while they're still inside a tiny tunnel.
Why bother with a custom crawl system?
You might wonder if it's worth the effort to script this from scratch or if you should just use a basic crouch. Let's be real: a "crouch" is usually just a slightly lowered walk speed and a shorter torso. A proper crawl, though? That's immersive. It changes the player's hitbox, lets them access areas that are physically blocked otherwise, and sets a specific pace for the gameplay.
If you're making a tactical shooter, crawling might be necessary for better aim or staying behind low cover. In a survival horror game, it's the difference between being seen by the monster and narrowly escaping. It's all about giving the player more ways to interact with the environment you've built.
The basic logic behind the script
When you start looking at a roblox crawl script, you're essentially looking at three main components: input detection, animation playback, and physical property changes.
First, you need to catch when the player actually wants to crawl. Most people map this to the "C" key or the "Left Control" key. You'll use the UserInputService to listen for those specific key presses. Once that signal is caught, the script needs to tell the game, "Hey, this player is now in crawl mode."
The second part is the animation. This is where a lot of people get tripped up. If you just change the player's speed and height without an animation, they'll look like they're just sliding across the floor in a standing pose. You need a looping animation where the character is actually on their hands and knees or belly.
Lastly, there's the Humanoid properties. You have to slow down the WalkSpeed. Nobody crawls as fast as they run. You also need to adjust the HipHeight. This is a property on the Humanoid that determines how far above the ground the character's torso sits. If you don't lower the HipHeight, your character will look like they're hovering six inches off the floor while they crawl.
Setting up the animations
Before you even touch the code, you really need to have your animations ready. You can find some free ones in the Roblox library, but if you want your game to stand out, making your own in the Animation Editor is the way to go.
When you're making a crawl animation, make sure it's set to "Looping." You'll also want to set the AnimationPriority to "Action" or "Movement." This ensures that the crawl animation overrides the default idle or walking animations. Once you've published your animation to Roblox, grab that Asset ID—you're going to need it for the script to know which movement to play.
Writing the script: The core parts
You'll usually want to handle this in a LocalScript inside StarterCharacterScripts. This ensures the script runs for every player when their character loads into the game.
The script starts by defining the variables: the player, the humanoid, and the animation object. You'll load the animation onto the humanoid using Humanoid:LoadAnimation(yourAnimationObject).
Then comes the toggle logic. You don't want the player to have to hold the key down forever (unless that's a specific design choice you like), so a toggle is usually better. When the key is pressed, you check a boolean variable—let's call it isCrawling. If it's false, you turn it true, play the animation, drop the WalkSpeed to maybe 4 or 6, and lower the HipHeight. When they press it again, you reverse everything.
Dealing with the "Low Ceiling" problem
This is the part that separates a "meh" roblox crawl script from a professional one. Imagine a player crawls into a vent that's only two studs high. While they're inside, they get bored or panicked and hit the crawl key again to stand up.
If you don't have a check in place, their character will try to stand up, their head will clip through the ceiling, and they might get launched into the void or get stuck in the geometry. It's a mess.
To fix this, you use something called Raycasting. Every time the player tries to stop crawling, the script should fire an invisible "ray" straight up from the character's head. If that ray hits a part (the ceiling) within a certain distance, you prevent the player from standing up. You can even send a small UI message saying "Not enough room to stand!" It adds a layer of polish that players really appreciate.
Refining the movement feel
Sometimes, just changing the speed makes the movement feel "floaty." To fix this, some developers like to adjust the camera offset. When the character crawls, the camera should naturally drop lower to the ground to match their new eye level.
You can do this by tweaking the Humanoid.CameraOffset. Moving it down on the Y-axis when crawling starts makes the transition feel much more physical. It gives the player that sense of being "grounded" and small, which is exactly what you want when they're sneaking around.
Common bugs to look out for
Even with a simple roblox crawl script, things can go sideways. One common issue is the animation "stuttering." This usually happens if the script is constantly trying to play the animation every frame instead of just playing it once when the state changes. Always make sure your code checks if the animation is already playing before telling it to start.
Another annoying bug is the "sliding" glitch. If a player is moving while they toggle the crawl, they might slide for a second with their old velocity. You can usually fix this by briefly stopping the character or using a smooth transition (Lerping) for the speed change, though just setting the speed directly works for 90% of games.
Making it work for mobile players
Don't forget about your mobile audience! A keyboard-based script won't do anything for someone on a phone. If you want your roblox crawl script to be universal, you'll need to add a GUI button.
Using ContextActionService is a great way to handle this. It allows you to bind an action to a key (like "C") and automatically create a touch button for mobile players at the same time. It keeps your code clean and ensures everyone can use the mechanics of your game, regardless of what device they're on.
Final thoughts on getting it right
At the end of the day, a roblox crawl script is more than just a few lines of code; it's a tool for level design. Once you have it working perfectly, you can start building your world around it. You can create secret passages that only crawling players can find or create tension-filled stealth segments where staying low is the only way to survive.
Take your time with the animations and the Raycasting checks. Those are the details that make the mechanic feel like a native part of the game rather than a clunky add-on. Once you see your character smoothly sliding into a dark tunnel with the camera dropping down low, you'll realize how much that extra effort was worth it. Happy scripting!