What is the difference between .rbxm and .rbxl?

An .rbxl is an entire Roblox place: the whole map and its settings. An .rbxm is a single model you insert into a place. You open the first and insert the second.

How do I insert an .rbxm into my game?

In Roblox Studio, right-click Workspace in the Explorer panel and choose Insert from File, then pick the .rbxm.

File extensions

How to open a .rbxm file

Roblox model file · Game development

An .rbxm file is a Roblox model, a single object or group rather than a whole place. Roblox Studio opens it, and you insert it into an existing place rather than opening it on its own.

What a .rbxm file actually is

RBXM holds one model: a part, a building, a scripted object, anything you would drop into a place. The .rbxmx variant is the same content stored as XML.

It is the companion to .rbxl, which is an entire place. That difference matters, because a model is inserted into a place rather than opened as one.

Why it will not open

Double-clicking an .rbxm often does nothing useful, because there is no place for the model to go. You have to open a place first and insert the model into it.

Step by step

Windows

01Open Roblox Studio and load or create a place.
02In the Explorer panel, right-click on Workspace and choose "Insert from File".
03Select the .rbxm. The model appears in the place, ready to position.
04If the file is .rbxmx you can also open it in a text editor to inspect the XML, though you still need Studio to use it.

macOS

01Roblox Studio for macOS works identically: open a place, then Insert from File.

What usually goes wrong

Models can contain scripts

An .rbxm from an untrusted source may include scripts that run inside your place. Before inserting a model you did not make, expand it in the Explorer panel and look for Script or LocalScript objects.

Why there is no download list here

We index 177 programs and none of them opens .rbxm files, so there is nothing for us to publish a verified download for. The software named in the steps above is the right answer for this format; we simply do not have its installer on record yet.

Common questions

What is the difference between .rbxm and .rbxl?: An .rbxl is an entire Roblox place: the whole map and its settings. An .rbxm is a single model you insert into a place. You open the first and insert the second.
How do I insert an .rbxm into my game?: In Roblox Studio, right-click Workspace in the Explorer panel and choose Insert from File, then pick the .rbxm.