Godot Engine

What it is

Godot Engine is a cross-platform engine for making 2D and 3D games and applications, built by the Godot Engine contributors. Its README calls it feature-packed, with one unified interface, and says games export with one click to desktop, mobile, the web and consoles. The editor holds a code editor, an animation editor, a tilemap editor, a shader editor, a debugger and a profiler. You write game code in GDScript or C#, and the docs add that C++ and other languages work through GDExtension without rebuilding the engine.

1. Download the editor for your system and unzip it
2. Open it and create a project in the Project Manager
3. Build scenes from nodes and add scripts
4. Press F5 to run the project, F6 to run one scene
5. Install export templates and export from Project > Export

Who it suits

People who want to make 2D or 3D games or tools and have good programming foundations, or are ready to build them first. The docs say you need good programming foundations to make the most of Godot. They point complete beginners to a free GDScript course that runs in a browser. It also suits developers who want an engine they can read and rebuild, since the engine is MIT-licensed.

For a console release, the introduction says you need strong programming skills or a developer to port the game for you. The consoles page says you must be approved by the platform holder and use its official SDKs. Skip the web editor for real projects, because its page calls it preliminary and not recommended for production work.

Where to use it

The FAQ lists where the editor runs and where exported games run.

• The editor: Windows, macOS and Linux or BSD, plus an experimental Android editor and an experimental editor in a web browser
• Exported games: Windows, macOS, Linux or BSD, Android, iOS and the web
• Consoles: the consoles page says you need the platform holder’s approval and its official SDKs, then build the tools yourself or use licensed middleware
• iOS: the system requirements page says it cannot run the editor, and the iOS export page says you export from a Mac with Xcode installed

C# projects cannot be exported to the web in Godot 4.

How to set it up

Get it saves a zip of Mindket’s setup notes in your downloads folder, with a note for each system and task from the Godot website and docs. For the editor the route is short. You download it, unzip it and run it.

1. Open the Godot download page. It is godotengine.org/download, with a page each for Windows, Linux, macOS and Android.
2. Pick the standard or the .NET editor. Take .NET if you want C#, and install the .NET SDK as well.
3. Extract the download and run it. The page says Godot is self-contained and needs no installation.
4. Create a project in the Project Manager. You can also import one you already have.

To run it from a terminal as godot, the command line page gives Scoop lines for Windows and a Homebrew line for macOS. On Linux you put the binary in /usr/local/bin and name it godot.

scoop bucket add extras
scoop install godot

brew install godot

How to use it

You work in scenes. A scene is a tree of nodes, you add scripts to nodes, and nodes talk to each other through signals. These keys run your work from the editor.

Example

You make a first scene in a new project. In the Scene dock you press Other Node, pick Label and press Create. In the Inspector you type Hello World into the Text property and drag the label to the middle of the view. You save the scene as scene.tscn. Then, in a terminal in the project folder, you test that one scene:

godot scene.tscn

A game window opens and shows Hello World. In the editor, F6 does the same for the scene you have open. F5 runs the whole project, and the first time it asks you to pick a main scene.

For newcomers and experts

If you are new. A game in Godot is a tree of nodes. Nodes are the building blocks: there are dozens of kinds that can display an image, play a sound, represent a camera and much more. You group nodes into scenes, such as a character or a menu, and scenes nest inside each other. Read the Introduction to Godot page first, then the key concepts page and the Nodes and Scenes lesson. If you have never programmed, start with GDQuest’s Learn GDScript From Zero. It is free and runs in your browser.

For experts. The binary you build holds the whole engine. Use target=editor for the editor, and target=template_debug or target=template_release for export templates. The dev_build option turns optimization off and writes debug symbols. The production option turns on link-time optimization where the docs say it works. These two lines build the editor on Linux and start it with no window.

scons platform=linuxbsd target=editor
./bin/godot.linuxbsd.editor.x86_64 --headless

For CI, the command line page exports with a preset named Linux/X11. It needs installed export templates and an existing target folder.

godot --headless --export-release "Linux/X11" /var/builds/project

The Export as dedicated server mode strips visuals out of the pack. A ZIP pack opens with ordinary tools, but it needs a launcher script that passes --main-pack. The file export_presets.cfg can go in version control. The file .godot/export_credentials.cfg holds passwords and keys, so keep it out.

Good to know

Most of what you run here is a program on your own computer. A few things sit outside it.

• License: MIT. The Godot binary you ship is a copy of the software, so your documentation must carry its copyright notice and license. The license page says a link to godotengine.org/license in your game documentation or credits is an acceptable way to meet the license terms. The engine’s license does not cover the content you make
• Privacy: for privacy reasons the Project Manager does not access the internet by default. Go Online in its Asset Library tab, or the network mode in its Settings, turns it on
• Web editor: it cannot export, debug, or run C# or GDExtension. Its files live in the browser’s own storage, not in a folder, so use Download Project Source to keep them
• Android editor: the page calls it experimental, the touch interface is not adapted yet, and it has no C# support
• C# and stores: C# needs the .NET editor. The itch.io, Steam and Epic Games Store versions do not include it
• Docs version: the notes follow the latest docs, which can name a version newer than your download. Check the stable docs if a step differs
• Third-party parts: the license page says the libraries inside Godot carry their own licenses and are compatible with MIT
• Not an endorsement: Mindket wrote these notes, and the Godot project did not make or endorse them