Why do keys have to be strings when transferring data between server and client?

[IdiomicLanguage]

https://devforum.roblox.com/t/datastore-keys-must-be-strings/24837/2

"Keys Must Be Strings"

You’re right! The problem isn’t with the JSON parser, but with the Lua table parser on the C-Side, which is using a specific data-class that can only accept strings as a key. Modifying the JSON parser to not use this class is perhaps an option.

To summarize the above two posts, it could be for two reasons. First is that the tables are formatted as JSON for transfer, which natively only supports arrays and objects with string keys. The second as @quenty suggests, is that supporting keys other than strings would require refactoring on the C side.

Is there a reason this isn’t possible? No, theoretically with the right transfer formats and internals, this could work.