Introduction to Roku development

With the the #1 selling smart TV streaming OS in the US, Canada, and Mexico ¹ and 35.4 billion hours watched last quarter, Roku is at the forefront of the streaming revolution. The Roku OS is built specifically for streaming, which means developers can seamlessly build intuitive, high-performance streaming apps designed especially for the TV. If you have a video catalog ready for distribution, this document will help you get started building a Roku app.

Programming languages

Creating a Roku app involves two programming languages: SceneGraph and BrightScript. These languages are used together similarly to how HTML and JavaScript are used for designing Web pages. SceneGraph is Roku's proprietary object-oriented XML framework. It is used to design the app UI. BrightScript is Roku's scripting language that is used to define the app behavior.

Build your first Roku app

Tools

Roku provides developers with a suite of tools to make developing an app fast and easy. This includes a layout editor to help design the app UI, resource monitoring and profiling tools to help improve app performance, and a test framework for automating UI tests.

The Roku developer community also provides a number of popular tools that streamline Roku development, including the BrightScript extension for the Visual Studio Code IDE. This IDE features direct client-side validation, interactive debug sessions, automatic code formatting, in-editor telnet log, symbol navigation, and many other features that make Roku development easier.

Explore the Roku developer tools

Get the BrightScript VSCode extension

Resources

The journey from novice to guru may not be without challenges, but Roku is here to help you master app development. Resources to help get you started on your journey include an online video course that guides you on each step in the app development process, a vast library of sample apps that demonstrate how to build an app and integrate key features, up-to-date documentation, and a passionate, dedicated developer community that has built some of the best Roku development tools to help new Roku developers work in SceneGraph.

Start learning how to build Roku apps with SceneGraph

Check out the sample apps in the Roku GitHub repository

Visit the Roku Developer forum

Terms for development tools and apps

When publishing development tools and apps for the Roku platform, observe the developer terms to ensure compliance with the specified legal responsibilities, best practices, and guidelines. The developer terms includes a link to the Roku Trademark Guidelines, which specify rules for using Roku Marks and Roku Design Marks that must be adhered to.