If you're trying to figure out how to make a door script, you've probably realized that something as "simple" as a piece of wood swinging on a hinge is actually a bit of a headache when you're first starting out. It's one of those classic game dev milestones. Once you get a door working, you suddenly feel like you can build an entire mansion. But until that script clicks, you're just staring at a static block that won't budge.
Most people start by trying to just change the rotation of a part, but then they realize the door rotates around its center like a propeller instead of swinging from the side. Or worse, the door works once and then refuses to close. We've all been there. Let's break down the logic so you can actually get your doors moving smoothly without pulling your hair out.
Why doors are harder than they look
In a vacuum, moving an object is easy. You just change its coordinates. But a door needs to feel "physical." It needs a pivot point. If you don't set a pivot, the game engine doesn't know the difference between a swinging door and a spinning top.
Before you even touch the code, you need to make sure your door model is set up correctly. Most modern engines, like Roblox or Unity, allow you to set a Pivot Point. You want that pivot to be right on the edge where the hinges would be. If the pivot is in the middle, your door script is going to look very goofy.
Getting the logic straight
When you're learning how to make a door script, you need to think about the "state" of the door. Is it open? Is it closed? Is it currently moving?
If you don't track these things, your script will get confused. Imagine a player clicking the door ten times in a second. If you don't have a "debounce" (a fancy word for a cooldown), the door will try to play the opening and closing animations at the same time, usually resulting in the door vibrating violently or flying off into space.
The basic variables
You'll usually need a few key pieces of information in your script: * The Door Part: The actual object that moves. * The State: A simple true/false (boolean) variable to track if it's open. * The Debounce: Another true/false to check if the door is currently in the middle of an animation. * The Goal: The rotation or position you want the door to reach.
Using TweenService for smooth motion
If you're working in an environment like Roblox, TweenService is your best friend. Instead of manually updating the door's position every frame, you tell the engine, "I want this door to be at 90 degrees in 1.2 seconds," and the engine handles all the math in between. It makes the motion look professional instead of robotic.
Here's a rough idea of how that looks in practice. You define the "TweenInfo," which handles the speed and the easing style (like "Elastic" or "Sine"). Then you create the tween and play it. It's much cleaner than using a while loop to slowly increment the rotation.
The Proximity Prompt approach
Back in the day, we used to use "ClickDetectors" or invisible touch-boxes to trigger doors. Nowadays, Proximity Prompts are the way to go. They're those little UI pop-ups that say "Press E to Open." They're built-in, they work on mobile and console automatically, and they make your game feel way more modern.
When you're figuring out how to make a door script, hooking it up to a Proximity Prompt is usually the easiest way to handle user input. You just listen for the Triggered event. When the player hits the key, your script checks: "Is the door moving? No? Okay, is it open? If it's open, close it. If it's closed, open it."
Writing the actual code
Let's look at a conceptual workflow for a basic swinging door. You don't need to be a math genius, but you do need to understand how to toggle a state.
First, you set your variables. You grab the door part and the prompt. You create a variable called isOpen and set it to false.
Next, you create the function. Inside that function, you first check if a isBusy variable is true. If it is, you return (exit the function) so the script doesn't overlap. Then, you set isBusy to true.
Now comes the toggle. You use an if statement. If isOpen is false, you play the "Open" animation and set isOpen to true. If isOpen was already true, you do the opposite. Finally, you wait for the animation to finish and set isBusy back to false.
Adding some polish
Once you've mastered the basics of how to make a door script, you can start adding the "juice." A silent door is a boring door. Adding a simple Sound Effect can make a huge difference.
You can trigger a "creak" sound when the tween starts and a "thud" sound when it finishes. You can even vary the pitch slightly each time so it doesn't sound repetitive. These small touches are what separate a "test project" from a real game.
Dealing with multiple parts
What if your door has a handle, a glass window, and a frame? You don't want to script every single piece individually. The best way to handle this is by using a Model and a PrimaryPart.
You weld all the secondary parts (like the handle) to the main door slab. Then, in your script, you only move the main slab. Because everything is welded together, the whole door moves as one solid unit. This keeps your code clean and prevents the handle from floating in mid-air while the door swings away.
Common pitfalls to avoid
One of the biggest mistakes people make when learning how to make a door script is using Absolute Positions. If you tell your door to move to coordinates (10, 5, 20), that door will only ever work in that one specific spot in your map. If you copy and paste that door to a different house, it will fly across the map back to the original coordinates the moment someone clicks it.
Instead, use Relative Rotation or CFrame offsets. You want to tell the door to "rotate 90 degrees from where you currently are," not "move to this specific spot in the world." This makes your script reusable, which is the golden rule of programming.
Double doors and sliding doors
Once you've got the swinging door down, sliding doors are actually even easier. Instead of changing the rotation, you're just changing the position on one axis. If you're doing double doors (like grocery store entrance doors), you just need to trigger two tweens at the same time—one moving left and one moving right.
The logic remains exactly the same. You're still checking if it's open, still using a debounce, and still using a prompt. The only thing that changes is the "Goal" you're giving to the TweenService.
Final thoughts
Learning how to make a door script is really about learning how to manage "states" and "animations." Don't get discouraged if the door spins out of control the first three times you run the code. Check your pivots, make sure your welds are solid, and always use a debounce to prevent the "vibration of doom."
Once you get that first door swinging smoothly, you'll realize that the same logic applies to almost everything else in game dev—elevators, chests, drawers, and gates. It's all just moving parts from Point A to Point B based on a player's input. Stick with it, keep your code organized, and you'll have a house full of working doors in no time.