Exporting Your Godot Mission to Home windows and Linux

On the subject of desktop gaming, Home windows dominates the market. Based on the Steam {hardware} survey, practically 97% of customers are on Home windows. Linux takes second place with round 2% of customers, with the bulk utilizing a Steam Deck. This market distribution highlights the significance of making exports for each Home windows and Linux to achieve the widest doable viewers.

In case you’re focused on focusing on the Steam Deck particularly, try the tutorial on focusing on the Steam Deck with Godot.

Getting Began

For this tutorial, you may both use your personal venture or obtain the pattern venture to comply with alongside.

If you wish to use the pattern venture, obtain the starter supplies zip from the hyperlink on the high or backside of this tutorial and extract it. Subsequent, open Godot and import the starter venture. The venture is a small 2D shoot-em-up recreation referred to as Aerixa.

Go forward and run the venture if you wish to take a look at it.

What’s Exporting?

In Godot, exporting a venture is the method of packaging your venture together with a binary that accommodates the Godot engine code. The binary is compiled otherwise for every goal platform, permitting your venture to run on techniques that don’t have Godot put in.

Each supported platform has its personal export template, which is a group of recordsdata Godot makes use of to package deal and debug your exported venture. They’re important as a result of they comprise the Godot engine code compiled for every goal platform, permitting your venture to run on techniques that don’t have Godot put in.

With the binaries in hand, you may then distribute your venture on platforms like Steam, itch.io, the App Retailer and Google Play.

Getting the Export Templates

If that is the primary time you’re exporting for the model of Godot you’re utilizing, you’ll must obtain and set up the export templates.
You possibly can verify when you’ve got the templates put in by deciding on Editor ▸ Handle Export Templates within the high menu.

It will open the Export Template Supervisor, a small software to handle your export templates.

On the high left, you may see the model of Godot you’re utilizing; 4.3.secure in my case.
In case you don’t have the export templates put in but, you’ll see a crimson textual content seem subsequent the model as is the case within the screenshot above. To put in the lacking templates, click on the Obtain and Set up button on the high proper.
Doing so will obtain the templates for the model of Godot you’re utilizing and set up them regionally.

As soon as the obtain finishes, you may see the place Godot put in your new export templates.

Word: In case you have export templates put in within the Different Put in Variations part for a model of Godot you’re not planning on utilizing anymore, click on the garbage can icon subsequent to the model title to delete them and get better some disk house.

With the templates put in, now you can export your venture!
I like to recommend going via the all sections under even in case you’re solely focused on exporting for Home windows as they comprise common details about the export course of that I’ll reference to later.

Including an Export Preset

Exporting initiatives is easy, however understanding the main points of the method helps you make knowledgeable choices about your export settings.

To begin off, open the Export window by deciding on Mission ▸ Export within the high menu.

The Export window will probably be nearly empty at this level.

So as to add a Linux export, click on the Add… button on the high and select Linux.

It will add a brand new Linux entry within the Presets listing and permits the choices on the suitable aspect of the window.

Export Settings

Time to take a more in-depth have a look at the varied settings Godot presents you with for exports.

Shared Choices

First up are the shared choices on the high, this contains the Title and Export Path fields. These are the identical for all platforms.

From high to backside, the choices are as follows:

• Title: A reputation in your export preset. That is helpful as you may configure totally different presets for a similar platform, so the totally different names make it simpler to tell apart between them.
• Superior Choices: For some platforms like Android and iOS, further choices can be found. Toggling this on will present choices meant for energy customers.
• Runnable: If checked, this can allow one-click deploy for the export preset, enabling you to shortly deploy the preset through a single button click on. The precise operate of one-click deploy will depend on the platform. For desktop platforms like Linux, macOS and Home windows, it means that you can deploy exports over SSH as soon as configured. For cellular platforms like Android and iOS, it means that you can set up the export in your machine or emulator. Lastly, for internet exports, it’s going to begin an area internet server and host the exported venture. For extra data on one-click deploy, see Godot’s One-click deploy documentation.
• Export Path: The file path the place the venture will probably be exported to.

Choices Tab

Subsequent, check out the Choices tab.

Once more, from high to backside, the choices are as follows:

• Customized Template: Right here you may set a path to customized export templates for each the Debug and Launch exports. In case you compiled your personal export templates from the engine supply code, you may set them right here. This can be utilized to optimize your exports for dimension or velocity by stripping out the 3D engine for instance.
• Export Console Wrapper: When enabled, an additional executable will probably be included subsequent to the exported venture that may run your venture within the console. That is helpful for debugging and testing your venture.
• Embed PCK: A PCK file is an archive file much like a ZIP. It bundles the venture’s property like scripts, scenes and textures collectively in a single file. If allow this setting, the PCK file will probably be embedded within the exported venture as an alternative of being a separate file.
• Structure: This units the CPU structure of the exported venture. On desktop platforms, the most typical CPU structure is x86_64, which is the 64-bit model of x86. I like to recommend leaving this on the default worth. The export templates that Godot offers solely help the x86_32 and x86_64 architectures. If it’s essential export for a unique structure, you’ll must construct your personal export template. You could find extra data on that on the Constructing from supply web page.
• Texture Format: With these, you may select how textures are saved. Each choices right here mix two texture codecs into one. The S3TC and BPTC codecs are primarily used for desktop platforms and consoles, whereas ETC2 and ASTC are used for cellular platforms, embedded gadgets and the net.
• SSH Distant Deploy: This selection means that you can deploy your exported venture over SSH. This may be helpful to check your venture on a distant machine.

For many initiatives, you may depart these at their default values, however I hope you’ll agree it’s helpful to know what you should use these choices for.
Time to try the Assets tab.