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HELIX is in Early Access Preview. Some features and documentation may be non-functional or out of date.

Authority Concepts#

What Is Authority?#

In multiplayer scripting, authority refers to which side (Client or Server) has control over a spawned class or entity. Some classes can only be spawned on the Server, some only on the Client, and others can be spawned on either side. The side that spawns a class is considered the Authority of that object.

Method and Event Availability by Authority#

Some API methods and events are restricted to specific authority contexts:

Server Side Only#

Methods and events that can only be called from the Server.

Client Side Only#

Methods and events that can only be called from the Client.

Authority Side#

Methods and events that can only be used on the side that originally spawned the entity.

Network Authority Side#

Methods and events that can be used by: - The Server - The Client, if the Local Player is the Network Authority of the entity

Both Sides#

Methods and events that can be safely called on either the Client or Server.

Tip

  • All entities spawned on the Server are automatically synchronized with Clients. This means Clients can interact with server-spawned entities without manually syncing them.
  • However, entities spawned only on the Client exist exclusively for that Client and cannot be accessed by the Server — attempting to do so will result in errors.

What Is Network Authority?#

Your platform uses a Distributed Network Authority model. This means that physics and AI calculations are automatically assigned to appropriate Clients instead of always being computed on the Server.

The Network Authority is the player responsible for calculating and syncing the behavior of an entity. This assignment is dynamic and decided by the server based on specific conditions.

When Does a Player Become the Network Authority?#

A player becomes the Network Authority of an object when:

  • Their character is close to the object
  • They are grabbing a prop
  • They are handling a pickable object
  • They are driving a vehicle
  • They have fired a weapon that interacted with it

Overriding Network Authority#

You can manually assign a new Network Authority using:

  • :SetNetworkAuthority()

To disable automatic reassignment to other players:

  • :SetNetworkAuthorityAutoDistributed(false)

Tip

  • You can check if an entity supports network authority override by calling :IsNetworkDistributed().

Warning

  • Always remember to re-enable automatic authority distribution after manual overrides by calling :SetNetworkAuthorityAutoDistributed(true).
  • If you forget, the entity may behave unpredictably.

Checking Authority in Code#

Use these methods to determine what type of authority your script is running under:

  • :IsAuthority() Returns true if the current context owns the actor (i.e., it was spawned on this side or this side is responsible for it). This is useful for gating logic to run only on the authoritative side (like spawning effects or triggering server-only logic).

  • :IsLocallyControlled() Returns true if the current context is the local player’s controlling side. This can be true on the Client for the player's own character, even if the Server has general authority over most game logic.

Tip

Use :IsAuthority() to check ownership or authoritative control of actors. Use :IsLocallyControlled() to check if the local player should control or see certain behavior, such as camera effects or input-based interactions.

Behavior Limited to the Network Authority#

Only the current Network Authority of an actor will execute certain actions, such as:

  • Physics sync (e.g., calling :SetForce())
  • AI/NPC movement using :MoveTo() or :Follow()

Debugging Network Authority#

Enable Network Debug mode in:

Settings → Debug → Draw Network Debug

This will display colored squares and movement traces over networked entities.

Square Colors (Entity Authority State)#

Color Meaning
Blue You are the Network Authority for this entity
White You are not the Network Authority; the entity is idle
Green You are not the Authority; sync is good
Orange You are not the Authority; sync is okay (< 100ms delay)
Red You are not the Authority; sync is poor (> 100ms delay or packet loss)

Trace Colors (Sync Accuracy)#

If you're not the Network Authority, you'll see arrows showing sync offsets.

Color Meaning
Green Sync is good
Orange Sync has minor delay (< 100ms)
Red Sync is poor (> 100ms)

Visual Example: Network Debug Visualizer