Persistence (Save/Load)

What's automatic (ScriptedScreens hosts)

On motherboard consoles, circuit boards, tablet cartridges, and the programmable visor, ScriptedScreens saves a UI snapshot with the world:

• Element definitions (type, rect, style, props)
• Canvas pixel buffers
• Scroll positions

That snapshot is restored when you load the save. Vanilla IC circuit housings do not run ScriptedScreens UI - only the four hosts above do.

Script state: use ic.persist

Lua locals and globals are not saved by the game. For tabs, counters, drag offsets, game state, and anything your script owns, use StationeersLua ic.persist (string key/value store). It survives world save/load, housing power cycles, and chip pull/reinsert when the source code is unchanged.

local KEY = "ui_state"

local function load_state()
    if not ic.persist.has(KEY) then return nil end
    local raw = ic.persist.get(KEY)
    if type(raw) ~= "string" then return nil end
    local ok, t = pcall(util.json.decode, raw)
    return ok and t or nil
end

local function save_state(t)
    local ok, raw = pcall(util.json.encode, t)
    if ok and raw then ic.persist.set(KEY, raw) end
end

local currentTab = "main"
local saved = load_state()
if saved and saved.tab then currentTab = saved.tab end

function tick(dt)
    save_state({ tab = currentTab })
    ss.ui.activate(currentTab)
end

Read keys at module level after load - ic.persist is ready before your script's top-level code runs. See StationeersLua persistence and ic.persist API.

Portable themes on a Data Disk

To move a look between computers, store it on a vanilla Data Disk with ic.disk. See Examples/DataDiskPortableTheme.lua. A Configuration Disk only opens config mode - it is not used for storage.

Editing chip source clears the host UI

When you change a chip's source code in the IC editor (or sync new code over the network), the host's on-screen UI is cleared before the new script compiles. The new script's init() / first draw builds a fresh layout. This avoids leftover buttons and labels from an old version of the script.

Same-source power off/on or pull/reinsert does not clear the UI snapshot - only an actual source change does.

Legacy serialize() / deserialize(blob) - deprecated

Deprecated. Both functions still work, but new scripts should use ic.persist directly. You can restore state at module level without waiting for a deserialize() callback.

Examples that have been migrated: Examples/VisorHudPong.lua (drag offsets), Examples/SampleUI/RocketControlDemo.lua (structured JSON state).