With the current state of the Roblox Plugin Marketplace, it’s almost essential to verify the source of any plugin you install that isn’t purchased with Robux. While there are many excellent free plugins, some attempt to infect your game with malicious intents. There are a few different ways to fetch the source of plugins, however, they aren’t widely known; especially since it isn’t natively possible on the website.
Method 1: Using DataModel:GetObjects() in Studio’s Command Bar
This is often the primary choice of most people and the DevHub actually has an article on it (last code example) so I won’t spend too much time repeating. The DataModel:GetObjects() function can be used to fetch entire plugins and insert them into Studio without running their contents for easy inspection, provided they’re freely available or you own them. I thought the code example from the DevHub was a bit excessive, so I whipped up this barebones system for inserting any public-domain plugin:
--Simple example to insert plugins from their AssetId, also works for models, decals, meshes
--Note: This can only be run in the command bar; putting in a script will error
for _, object in pairs(game:GetObjects("rbxassetid://ASSETID")) do
object.Parent = workspace
end
Method 2: Using Studio’s Local Plugin Cache
This method is less practical than all of the other methods, so I’d recommend using them instead since this method requires the plugin in question to be installed prior.
Whenever you install a plugin, it’s stored locally on your machine. This means that all you have to do is locate it and then insert it into Studio. I’ve formulated a basic guide to help locate such files on both macOS & Windows 10 (I don’t have a device running Windows 7, but I’m sure it’s quite similar):
macOS
It’s fairly simple to find Roblox’s local plugin cache on macOS.
- Open up a new Finder window.
- Navigate to your user’s documents folder or use
Command + Shift + Gand type in~/Documentswhich should take you to your Documents folder. - Locate the
Robloxfolder and open it. It should look something like this
- Select the folder that’s named with a bunch of numbers. This number should be your UserId, if you’ve signed in with multiple accounts you’ll need to select the appropriate one.
- Open the
InstalledPluginsfolder. Inside this folder, you’ll see more folders with numbers. These numbers correspond to the AssetId of the plugins. Pick the appropriate one.
- This next step may be different for some. Either you’ll see more folders with numbers, or you’ll see the
plugin.rbxlfile of the plugin. If you see the plugin file, proceed to the next step. Otherwise, you should see something like below. Select the folder with the greatest number; I believe these numbers represent the different versions of the plugin it has updated. So the highest number would be the latest version.
- Just drag the file into Studio and you’ll now be able to inspect the plugin exactly like Method 1!
Windows 10
I’m a Mac user so I don’t have the greatest knowledge of Windows, but I know enough to get around.
- Open Studio and right-click the place in the Explorer you want to plugin to insert to. Click on
Insert from File.... - Now in the address bar, enter
%LocalAppData%. This should take you to a location likeC:\Users\USER\AppData\Local.
- Select the Roblox folder.
- Next, open the folder that consists of a bunch of numbers. This is your Roblox UserId so if you’ve signed in with multiple accounts, you’ll need to pick yours.
- You’ll now see a lot of folders housing all of your installed plugins. All of these numbers represent the AssetId of the plugin. Find your appropriate folder and open it; we’re just about done.
- This step may vary for some. If you see the
Plugin.rbxlfile, skip to the next step. Otherwise, you’ll probably see something like this. I believe these numbers represent the version of the plugin (if it has updated). Pick the biggest number; it should be the most recent version of the plugin.
- Finally, we’ve reached the plugin file! Select it and open it up; it should insert where you previously selected! Now you can inspect it just like in Method 1!
Method 3: Using BTRoblox
BTRoblox is a free, open-source plugin made by @AntiBoomz0r for both Chrome and Firefox. It includes a lot of things I enjoy, but I’m just going to focus on two additions to the item details page.
As you see, there are two new buttons here that appear for any public-domain asset. The first one may be fairly self-explanatory, but it downloads the asset in a
.rbxl file. This means that you can simply insert it into Studio just like that!
I personally use this second button multiple times per day. It opens up a basic explorer and properties window of the asset. I find this feature helpful for a quick peek at anything without the need to open up Studio.
By double-clicking a script, a new tab is created with a plain text copy of the source. This is my goto for verifying all of my plugins.
Method 4: Using Plugin Importer
@ClockworkSquirrel has also created a plugin available for free to insert plugins very easily. Just paste the link or AssetId and you’ll be greeted with the plugin in ServerStorage.
Conclusion
Hopefully this clears some of the confusion around checking the source of plugins. If you have any questions or concerns, drop them below and I’ll do my best to answer them. Happy safe plugin searching 
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