Extending the Editor with Plugins in Godot

Plugins are an effective way so as to add performance to Godot’s editor with minimal effort. They will let you add options like customized instruments, helpful shortcuts, and menu objects to hurry up your workflow. This text will information you thru the method of making your individual plugins to unlock the complete potential of Godot.

Notice: This text assumes you’re aware of Godot’s editor and have a very good understanding of GDScript.

Getting Began

To get began, obtain the undertaking supplies through the Obtain Supplies hyperlink on the prime and backside of this web page. Subsequent, open the EditorPlugins undertaking you discover within the starter folder and open it in Godot.
Earlier than delving into plugins, I’ll give a fast tour of the undertaking. It comes with a single scene named fundamental.tscn and a few sprites. Open the fundamental scene and try the nodes inside.

There’s a set of StaticBody2D and RigidBody2D nodes right here that make up a non-interactive physics scene. When you direct your consideration to the Scene dock, you’ll see there are all named in response to their perform.

Discover that solely the highest degree nodes could be chosen and moved, whereas their youngsters are locked. That is intentional to keep away from shifting the collision shapes and sprites by themselves accidentally.

Now strive working the undertaking by urgent F5 and see what occurs.

Shortly after working the undertaking, you’ll see the little blue avatar falling down on a purple field, whereas the opposite purple field falls off a platform. There’s no precise gameplay concerned right here as the main focus is on extending the editor.
Now you recognize your means across the scene, it’s time to study plugins!

Plugin Overview

In Godot, plugins are scripts that reach the performance of the editor. You possibly can write these scripts utilizing GDScript or C# and there’s no have to recompile the engine to make them work. Apart from the primary plugin script, you possibly can add scenes and additional scripts to the plugin to make it much more versatile. These work the identical means like the remainder of your undertaking, which means you should use your present information of Godot to increase it!

You need to use plugins so as to add buttons, shortcuts and even complete new screens to the editor. Listed below are some examples of what you are able to do with plugins:

• Create a dialog supervisor
• Combine Google Sheets into your undertaking to load knowledge from
• Add customized useful resource importers
• Make your individual node varieties
• Robotically create the fitting dimension of colliders for sprites

These are only a handful of concepts to offer you a style of what you are able to do with plugins. When you ever thought of a characteristic you’d need in Godot, there’s a very good probability you will discover it in a plugin or create your individual.

Creating Your First Plugin

To your first plugin, you’ll add a button to the toolbar that toggles the visibility of a particular node.

Scaffolding

Plugins want three issues to work:

Fortunately, Godot makes it simple to create new plugins because it’s constructed into the editor. To get began, open the Challenge Settings through Challenge ▸ Challenge Settings… within the prime menu. Now choose the Plugins tab and it is best to see an empty listing.

• They must be in a folder named addons within the root of the undertaking
• They want a file named plugin.cfg containing the metadata
• They want not less than one script that derives from EditorPlugin

Now click on the Create New Plugin button and the Create a Plugin dialog window will pop up.

Godot will create the required information for you primarily based on the data you present, fairly neat! For this visibility button plugin, fill within the following info:

• Plugin Title: Visibility Button
• Subfolder: visibility_button
• Description: Simply present and conceal a particular node.
• Creator: Your identify or username
• Script Title: visibility_button.gd

Right here’s what it ought to appear like:

Subsequent, click on the Create button to let Godot create the required information for you. This may also routinely open the visibility_button.gd script within the script editor.
Earlier than modifying the script, check out the information and folders Godot has created for you within the FileSystem dock.

There’s a brand new folder named addons now that accommodates a folder for the plugin named visibility_button. Inside that folder, there’s a file named plugin.cfg and a script named visibility_button.gd. plugin.cfg accommodates the metadata for the plugin, whereas the script accommodates the precise code.

Notice: Chances are you’ll be questioning why the addons folder isn’t named plugins as a substitute. In Godot, it’s doable so as to add add-ons that reach the performance of the editor, however aren’t plugins. Plugins are editor plugins particularly, which use a script that derives from EditorPlugin.

Sufficient scaffolding, time to check out the code!

Taking a Nearer Look

The visibility_button.gd script that Godot generated for you accommodates the next code:

@software # 1
extends EditorPlugin # 2


func _enter_tree() -> void: # 3
    # Initialization of the plugin goes right here.
    move


func _exit_tree() -> void: # 4
    # Clear-up of the plugin goes right here.
    move

I took the freedom so as to add some numbered feedback to make it simpler to elucidate what every line does:

1. The @software annotation turns an everyday script right into a software script. Which means any code within the script will likely be executed within the editor. That is highly effective, however it additionally makes it simple to interrupt complete scenes when not cautious. You’ll study extra in regards to the @software annotation in one other article. If you wish to know extra about it within the meantime, take a look at the Working code within the editor web page of Godot’s documentation.
2. All editor plugins should inherit from EditorPlugin. This class comes with a ton of helpful capabilities to entry and edit Godot’s editor.
3. The _enter_tree perform is named if you activate the plugin. This the place you arrange all wanted variables and references for later use.
4. The _exit_tree perform is named if you disable the plugin. That is the place you clear up all references.

Dealing with Node Choice

For the visibility button plugin, you received’t want the _enter_tree and _exit_tree capabilities so delete them. You’ll be dealing with the initialization and cleanup with different capabilities. Now add the perform beneath within the place of the eliminated ones:

func _handles(object) -> bool:
    return object is Node

Godot calls the _handles perform when you choose an object. The Object class is the bottom class for all different courses in Godot. This perform returns true if the chosen object could be dealt with by your plugin. On this case, the plugin solely edits nodes, so it returns true if the chosen object is a Node class, or derives from it.

You’ll have to preserve monitor of the chosen node your self, so add a brand new variable above the _handles perform named node_to_edit:

var node_to_edit : Node

With this variable in place, add the _edit perform beneath the _handles perform:

func _edit(object: Object) -> void: # 1
    if !object: # 2
        return

    node_to_edit = object # 3

The _edit perform is named by Godot proper after the _handles perform returns true. It requests the editor to edit the given object and it’s the right place to retailer a reference to the chosen object. Right here’s an outline of what’s occurring right here:

1. The _edit perform will get handed the chosen object, a Node in case of this plugin.
2. There’s a risk that the chosen object is null, so it’s worthwhile to examine if it’s not. If it’s null, return from the perform and don’t do something.
3. Retailer a reference to the chosen object for later use.

To examine if this code is working accurately, add a brief print assertion on the finish of the _edit perform:

print(node_to_edit)

Now save the script and take a look at deciding on some nodes within the scene tree. You must see the identify of the chosen node within the console.

As you possibly can see, the plugin already works!

Notice: When you choose a root node like Most important on this case, the console will name _edit twice. Fortunately, this received’t have an effect on the performance of the plugin.

Now take away or remark out the print assertion you’ve added and save the script once more. The final perform to convey all of it collectively is the _make_visible perform, add it beneath the _edit perform:

func _make_visible(seen: bool) -> void: # 1
    if seen: # 2
        _add_button()
    else: # 3
        _remove_button()

Just like the _edit perform, Godot calls the _make_visible perform after the _handles perform returns true. It handles the displaying and hiding of the plugin UI. It additionally will get known as when disabling the plugin. When displaying the button, you’ll create it and add it to the toolbar. When hiding the button, you’ll take away it from the toolbar and destroy it. That is a substitute for utilizing the _enter_tree and _exit_tree capabilities for initialization and cleanup.
Right here’s the code above in additional element:

1. The _make_visible perform will get handed a boolean worth, seen to inform the UI to point out or disguise.
2. If seen is true, add the button to the toolbar through the _add_button perform.
3. If seen is false, take away the button from the toolbar through the _remove_button perform.

After including the code, you’ll get some errors as you haven’t added the _add_button and _remove_button capabilities but. Add these empty capabilities to eliminate the errors:

func _add_button() -> void:
    move


func _remove_button() -> void:
    move

These will act as placeholders for now. Within the subsequent part you’ll add the logic.