How would I check if a certain instance has a parent?

Help and Feedback Scripting Support
#1
  1. What do you want to achieve?
    I want to verify if a part/component has a parent.
    For eg:
    If we wanted to find a child of an object we would do: FindFirstChild()
    But what if i wanted to check if an object has a parent?
  2. What is the issue? Include screenshots / videos if possible!
    I cant seem to find a way to verify if a part has a parent
  3. What solutions have you tried so far? Did you look for solutions on the Developer Hub?
    I have tried to look up forum posts.
    Thanks in Advance!
1 Like
#2 
local part = --wherever it is

if part:IsA(class) then
    if part.Parent then

    end
end
#3

local part = something:FindFirstChild(“something”)

if part.Parent then

end

#4

You can check if the parent is equal to nil, if it is there is no parent, like the following:

You could put a script inside a part like so:

if script.Parent.Parent ~= nil then --Has a parent
print(“Has a parent”)
end

1 Like
#5

Here to bump the post,

Upon trying your script I get the error, Attempt to Index nil with ‘Parent’.
I assume the script thinks it has a parent. In my case I am using a tool, and when you click it detects the Target of the player’s mouse, then see’s if it has a parent. However if you point the tool into the sky and click, it will output this error, (assuming because the sky does not have a parent.)

From what I’ve seen it doesn’t seem that there is a clear way to check if an object has a parent, but I left my code here to see if anyone has a solution :slight_smile:

tool.Activated:Connect(function()
	if canRun then
		canRun = false
		
		animationTrack.Priority = Enum.AnimationPriority.Action
		animationTrack:Play()
		
		tool.Handle.Swing:Play()
		
		if mouse.Target.Parent ~= nil then -- attempt to index nil with 'Parent'
			hit:FireServer(mouse.Target, mouse.Hit)
		end
		wait(debounceTime)
		canRun = true
	end
end)
#6

This error happens as your mouse is not hitting anything, check if the target exists.
You shouldn’t have to check if the parent exists as if theres no parent, the mouse wouldn’t hit it anyways

tool.Activated:Connect(function()
	if canRun then
		canRun = false
		
		animationTrack.Priority = Enum.AnimationPriority.Action
		animationTrack:Play()
		
		tool.Handle.Swing:Play()
		
		local Target = mouse.Target
		if Target ~= nil then -- attempt to index nil with 'Parent'
			hit:FireServer(Target, mouse.Hit)
		end
		wait(debounceTime)
		canRun = true
	end
end)
1 Like
#7

Ah, alright I see. It works! Thank you so much. :slightly_smiling_face: