--- name: IKControl last_updated: 2026-06-10T02:17:46Z inherits: - Instance - Object type: class memory_category: Animation summary: "Specifies a control to generate a procedural animation pose using Inverse Kinematics." --- # Class: IKControl > Specifies a control to generate a procedural animation pose using Inverse > Kinematics. ## Description **IKControl** instances generate procedural animation poses using Inverse Kinematics (IK). They allow you to make characters respond realistically to their environment. For example, you can make a character place its hand on a door handle exactly, and the character will do so independently of its position. [IKControls](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) provide the advantage of needing to create much fewer animations for your game while giving your experience a more realistic and polished feel. [IKControls](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) must be a child of a [Humanoid](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Humanoid.md) or [AnimationController](/docs/reference/engine/classes/AnimationController.md) with an [Animator](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Animator.md) and have all of their required properties set properly, otherwise they don't have any effect. The required properties are [Type](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md), [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md), [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md), [ChainRoot](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). As soon as those are set, the [IKControl](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) modifies the pose of your character as you specify. The following code sample demonstrates how to set up your first [IKControl](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) and get started with creating more realistic animations for your game. You can use [IKControls](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) to make a character: - Rotate its head and torso to look at a point of interest in the world. - Modify its feet positions to respond to dynamic terrain. Adjust its legs and feet to place them accordingly on terrain with rocks and slopes. - Hold a gun and place its hands appropriately on the grip without needing to create animations for each gun in the game. - Aim at a point in the world, so that the tip of the gun point exactly at what you want to shoot. Especially useful in third person shooters. - Place its hands on the steering wheel of a car and follow it when it rotates. - Much more! [IKControl](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) will override the animation for all the parts between the [ChainRoot](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) and the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). You can enable/disable it using [Enabled](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) or change how much they have an effect over the underlying animation using the [Weight](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). Be careful: if you do not set up your [IKControls](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) correctly, you might generate bad and unrealistic poses! ## Code Samples **IKControl setup** This sample shows the basic setup for an [IKControl](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) that moves a character's left arm to reach for a point in the world. ```lua local character = script.Parent.Character local humanoid = character.Humanoid local root = character.HumanoidRootPart -- Create a new attachment to use as the IKControl.Target local target = Instance.new("Attachment") target.CFrame = CFrame.new(-1, 0, -1) target.Parent = root local ikControl = Instance.new("IKControl") ikControl.Type = Enum.IKControlType.Position ikControl.EndEffector = character.LeftHand ikControl.ChainRoot = character.LeftUpperArm ikControl.Target = target ikControl.Parent = humanoid ``` ## Properties ### Property: IKControl.ChainRoot ```json { "type": "Instance", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": true, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Animation" ], "simulationAccess": true } ``` By specifying a [ChainRoot](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) and an [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md), you instruct the [IKControl](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) that it's allowed to move and rotate all parts between the two to move the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) to the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). For example, if you specify the LeftHand as [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) and LeftUpperArm as the [ChainRoot](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md), the control moves 3 parts: the LeftHand, the LeftLowerArm, and the LeftUpperArm. Avoid setting [ChainRoot](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) as the actual root of the character because that produces unrealistic results. ### Property: IKControl.Enabled ```json { "type": "boolean", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": true, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Animation" ], "simulationAccess": true } ``` This property allows you to toggle the IK control on and off. It's on by default. When [Enabled](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) is false, the IK control is off and isn't resolved by the underlying solver. ### Property: IKControl.EndEffector ```json { "type": "Instance", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": true, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Animation" ], "simulationAccess": true } ``` The [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) describes the last part in the chain of your character that you want to affect. For example, it could be the hand when you want to move the whole arm to reach a point. It can be a [BasePart](/docs/reference/engine/classes/BasePart.md) on a character, that has a [Motor6D](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Motor6D.md) as its child, a [Motor6D](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Motor6D.md) directly, a [Bone](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Bone.md), or a [Attachment](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Attachment.md). The pivot of the selected [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) moves to the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md), so you can use [Attachments](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Attachment.md) to modify which point of a [BasePart](/docs/reference/engine/classes/BasePart.md) should reach the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). ### Property: IKControl.EndEffectorOffset ```json { "type": "CFrame", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": true, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Animation" ] } ``` The end-effector offset is an additional [CFrame](/docs/reference/engine/datatypes/CFrame.md) applied on top of the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) [CFrame](/docs/reference/engine/datatypes/CFrame.md) that produces the final [CFrame](/docs/reference/engine/datatypes/CFrame.md) used to place the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). By default, it's the identity CFrame, so if you don't set it, it has no effect and the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) uses the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) [CFrame](/docs/reference/engine/datatypes/CFrame.md) directly, which is specified in the local space of the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). Alternatively, you can use Attachments by setting an Attachment as [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md), which moves it to the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) instead of the parts it's attached to, effectively obtaining the same result. You can also use [EndEffectorOffset](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) to modify which axis of the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) should point at the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) when using `LookAt` as [Type](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). ### Property: IKControl.Offset ```json { "type": "CFrame", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": true, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Animation" ] } ``` The offset is an additional [CFrame](/docs/reference/engine/datatypes/CFrame.md) applied on top of the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) [CFrame](/docs/reference/engine/datatypes/CFrame.md) that produces the final [CFrame](/docs/reference/engine/datatypes/CFrame.md) used to place the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). It's identity by default, so if you don't set it, it has no effect and the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) will use the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) [CFrame](/docs/reference/engine/datatypes/CFrame.md) directly. You can animate it to create procedural animations such as typing on a keyboard. It's useful when the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) and [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) aren't aligned and you need to fix it with an additional rotation or translation. ### Property: IKControl.Pole ```json { "type": "Instance", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": true, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Animation" ] } ``` The [Pole](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) is an optional [Instance](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Instance.md) that gives you control over how intermediate parts in your character should bend. It can be anything that has a position in the world, such as [BasePart](/docs/reference/engine/classes/BasePart.md), [Attachment](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Attachment.md), [Bone](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Bone.md), [Motor6D](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Motor6D.md). It is by default `nil`. When you specify it, the underlying solver will make the parts bend towards it. When it is `nil`, the solver will try to make elbows and knees bend appropriately based on the limb of the character. The limb will be "Arm" when you select as [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) either the _LeftHand_ or _RightHand_ and as [ChainRoot](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) the corresponding _LeftUpperArm_ or _RightUpperArm_, and it will be "Leg" when you select as [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) either the _LeftFoot_ or _RightFoot_ and as [ChainRoot](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) the corresponding _LeftUpperLeg_ or _RightUpperLeg_. In all other cases, if you don't specify a pole, the chain might not bend as you expect. ### Property: IKControl.Priority ```json { "type": "int", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": true, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Animation" ] } ``` When multiple controls are active on a character, the order in which they are solved by the underlying system affects the final generated pose. By changing this value, you specify the ordering in which controls are satisfied. Higher values have higher priority, and higher-priority controls are resolved later because their result might override the previous result of other controls. If you have multiple IK controls on a character and one is more important than the other, specify a lower priority for it. It is 0 by default, meaning all controls have the same priority. ### Property: IKControl.SmoothTime ```json { "type": "float", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": true, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Animation" ] } ``` This value specifies the average number of seconds that it takes for the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) to reach the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). The behavior is that of a critically-damped spring, where the rate of change is proportional to the distance to the target and no oscillations are present when approaching the target. Smaller values create a quicker convergence, and larger values create a slower convergence. A value of 0 disables smoothing. The default value is 0.05 to provide a very slight smoothing that makes the motion feel realistic. ### Property: IKControl.Target ```json { "type": "Instance", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": true, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Animation" ], "simulationAccess": true } ``` The [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) represents a point ([CFrame](/docs/reference/engine/datatypes/CFrame.md)) in the world that you want your [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) to reach. The exact behavior of reaching can be set via the [Type](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) property, and an additional [Offset](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) can be applied on top of it to modify it. If you set a [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) that will be moved either by physics or a script, at each frame the [IKControl](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) will try to satisfy it, automatically updating the point to reach. ### Property: IKControl.Type ```json { "type": "IKControlType", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": true, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Animation" ], "simulationAccess": true } ``` By changing the [Type](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md), you can change the behavior of the control. These are the available options: - Transform: it's a full 6-DoF constraint. Aligns the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) [CFrame](/docs/reference/engine/datatypes/CFrame.md) to that of the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). - Position: aligns the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) position to that of the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). - Rotation: aligns the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) rotation to that of the [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). - LookAt: moves and orients the whole chain to make an axis (by default the forward axis) on the [EndEffector](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) point at a position in the world specified by [Target](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md). ### Property: IKControl.Weight ```json { "type": "float", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": true, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Animation" ], "simulationAccess": true } ``` You can control how much a given control affects the character pose by using this property. Values should be in the [0, 1] range. 0 means no effect, and 1 means full effect of the IK control. Values outside this range are truncated. Smoothly varying this value allows you to blend in or out a specific control to avoid jarring motion. It is 1 by default. The weight determines the interpolation factor between the End-Effector and the IK target. Setting the weight to 0 doesn't disable the IK Control because other factors, including the SmoothTime smoothing factor and Pole, can still change the pose. To truly disable the IK Control, turn the [Enabled](/docs/reference/engine/classes/IKControl.md) property to false. ## Methods ### Method: IKControl:GetChainCount **Signature:** `IKControl:GetChainCount(): int` *Security: None · Thread Safety: Unsafe · Capabilities: Animation* **Returns:** `int` ### Method: IKControl:GetChainLength **Signature:** `IKControl:GetChainLength(): float` *Security: None · Thread Safety: Unsafe · Capabilities: Animation* **Returns:** `float` ### Method: IKControl:GetNodeLocalCFrame **Signature:** `IKControl:GetNodeLocalCFrame(index: int): CFrame` *Security: None · Thread Safety: Unsafe · Capabilities: Animation* **Parameters:** | Name | Type | Default | Description | |------|------|---------|-------------| | `index` | `int` | | | **Returns:** `CFrame` ### Method: IKControl:GetNodeWorldCFrame **Signature:** `IKControl:GetNodeWorldCFrame(index: int): CFrame` *Security: None · Thread Safety: Unsafe · Capabilities: Animation* **Parameters:** | Name | Type | Default | Description | |------|------|---------|-------------| | `index` | `int` | | | **Returns:** `CFrame` ### Method: IKControl:GetRawFinalTarget **Signature:** `IKControl:GetRawFinalTarget(): CFrame` *Security: None · Thread Safety: Unsafe · Capabilities: Animation* **Returns:** `CFrame` ### Method: IKControl:GetSmoothedFinalTarget **Signature:** `IKControl:GetSmoothedFinalTarget(): CFrame` *Security: None · Thread Safety: Unsafe · Capabilities: Animation* **Returns:** `CFrame` ## Inherited Members ### From [Instance](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Instance.md) - **Property `Archivable`** (`boolean`): Determines if an Instance and its descendants can be cloned using - **Property `archivable`** (`boolean`): *(deprecated, hidden)* - **Property `Capabilities`** (`SecurityCapabilities`): The set of capabilities allowed to be used for scripts inside this - **Property `Name`** (`string`): A non-unique identifier of the Instance. - **Property `Parent`** (`Instance`): Determines the hierarchical parent of the Instance. - **Property `PredictionMode`** (`PredictionMode`): - **Property `RobloxLocked`** (`boolean`): A deprecated property that used to protect CoreGui objects. *(hidden)* - **Property `Sandboxed`** (`boolean`): When enabled, the instance can only access abilities in its `Capabilities` - **Property `UniqueId`** (`UniqueId`): A unique identifier for the instance. - **Method `AddTag(tag: string): ()`**: Applies a tag to the instance. - **Method `children(): Instances`**: Returns an array of the object's children. *(deprecated)* - **Method `ClearAllChildren(): ()`**: This method destroys all of an instance's children. - **Method `Clone(): Instance`**: Create a copy of an instance and all its descendants, ignoring instances - **Method `clone(): Instance`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `Destroy(): ()`**: Sets the Instance.Parent property to `nil`, locks the - **Method `destroy(): ()`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `FindFirstAncestor(name: string): Instance?`**: Returns the first ancestor of the Instance whose - **Method `FindFirstAncestorOfClass(className: string): Instance?`**: Returns the first ancestor of the Instance whose - **Method `FindFirstAncestorWhichIsA(className: string): Instance?`**: Returns the first ancestor of the Instance for whom - **Method `FindFirstChild(name: string, recursive?: boolean): Instance?`**: Returns the first child of the Instance found with the given name. - **Method `findFirstChild(name: string, recursive?: boolean): Instance`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `FindFirstChildOfClass(className: string): Instance?`**: Returns the first child of the Instance whose - **Method `FindFirstChildWhichIsA(className: string, recursive?: boolean): Instance?`**: Returns the first child of the Instance for whom - **Method `FindFirstDescendant(name: string): Instance?`**: Returns the first descendant found with the given Instance.Name. - **Method `GetActor(): Actor?`**: Returns the Actor associated with the Instance, if any. - **Method `GetAttribute(attribute: string): Variant`**: Returns the value which has been assigned to the given attribute name. - **Method `GetAttributeChangedSignal(attribute: string): RBXScriptSignal`**: Returns an event that fires when the given attribute changes. - **Method `GetAttributes(): Dictionary`**: Returns a dictionary of the instance's attributes. - **Method `GetChildren(): Instances`**: Returns an array containing all of the instance's children. - **Method `getChildren(): Instances`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `GetDebugId(scopeLength?: int): string`**: Returns a coded string of the debug ID used internally by Roblox. - **Method `GetDescendants(): Instances`**: Returns an array containing all of the descendants of the instance. - **Method `GetFullName(): string`**: Returns a string describing the instance's ancestry. - **Method `GetStyled(name: string, selector: string?): Variant`**: Returns the styled or explicitly modified value of the specified property, - **Method `GetStyledPropertyChangedSignal(property: string): RBXScriptSignal`**: - **Method `GetTags(): Array`**: Gets an array of all tags applied to the instance. - **Method `HasTag(tag: string): boolean`**: Check whether the instance has a given tag. - **Method `IsAncestorOf(descendant: Instance): boolean`**: Returns true if an Instance is an ancestor of the given - **Method `IsDescendantOf(ancestor: Instance): boolean`**: Returns `true` if an Instance is a descendant of the given - **Method `isDescendantOf(ancestor: Instance): boolean`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `IsPropertyModified(property: string): boolean`**: Returns `true` if the value stored in the specified property is not equal - **Method `QueryDescendants(selector: string): Instances`**: - **Method `Remove(): ()`**: Sets the object's `Parent` to `nil`, and does the same for all its *(deprecated)* - **Method `remove(): ()`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `RemoveTag(tag: string): ()`**: Removes a tag from the instance. - **Method `ResetPropertyToDefault(property: string): ()`**: Resets a property to its default value. - **Method `SetAttribute(attribute: string, value: Variant): ()`**: Sets the attribute with the given name to the given value. - **Method `WaitForChild(childName: string, timeOut: double): Instance`**: Returns the child of the Instance with the given name. If the - **Event `AncestryChanged`**: Fires when the Instance.Parent property of this object or one of - **Event `AttributeChanged`**: Fires whenever an attribute is changed on the Instance. - **Event `ChildAdded`**: Fires after an object is parented to this Instance. - **Event `childAdded`**: *(deprecated)* - **Event `ChildRemoved`**: Fires after a child is removed from this Instance. - **Event `DescendantAdded`**: Fires after a descendant is added to the Instance. - **Event `DescendantRemoving`**: Fires immediately before a descendant of the Instance is removed. - **Event `Destroying`**: Fires immediately before (or is deferred until after) the instance is - **Event `StyledPropertiesChanged`**: Fires whenever any style property is changed on the instance, including ### From [Object](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Object.md) - **Property `ClassName`** (`string`): A read-only string representing the class this Object belongs to. - **Property `className`** (`string`): *(deprecated)* - **Method `GetPropertyChangedSignal(property: string): RBXScriptSignal`**: Get an event that fires when a given property of the object changes. - **Method `IsA(className: string): boolean`**: Returns true if an object's class matches or inherits from a given class. - **Method `isA(className: string): boolean`**: *(deprecated)* - **Event `Changed`**: Fires immediately after a property of the object changes, with some