Attention: Here be dragons

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EditorImportPlugin

Inherits: ResourceImporter < RefCounted < Object

Registers a custom resource importer in the editor. Use the class to parse any file and import it as a new resource type.

Description

EditorImportPlugins provide a way to extend the editor's resource import functionality. Use them to import resources from custom files or to provide alternatives to the editor's existing importers.

EditorImportPlugins work by associating with specific file extensions and a resource type. See _get_recognized_extensions and _get_resource_type. They may optionally specify some import presets that affect the import process. EditorImportPlugins are responsible for creating the resources and saving them in the .godot/imported directory (see ProjectSettings.application/config/use_hidden_project_data_directory).

Below is an example EditorImportPlugin that imports a Mesh from a file with the extension ".special" or ".spec":

@tool
extends EditorImportPlugin

func _get_importer_name():
    return "my.special.plugin"

func _get_visible_name():
    return "Special Mesh"

func _get_recognized_extensions():
    return ["special", "spec"]

func _get_save_extension():
    return "mesh"

func _get_resource_type():
    return "Mesh"

func _get_preset_count():
    return 1

func _get_preset_name(preset_index):
    return "Default"

func _get_import_options(path, preset_index):
    return [{"name": "my_option", "default_value": false}]

func _import(source_file, save_path, options, platform_variants, gen_files):
    var file = FileAccess.open(source_file, FileAccess.READ)
    if file == null:
        return FAILED
    var mesh = ArrayMesh.new()
    # Fill the Mesh with data read in "file", left as an exercise to the reader.

    var filename = save_path + "." + _get_save_extension()
    return ResourceSaver.save(mesh, filename)

To use EditorImportPlugin, register it using the EditorPlugin.add_import_plugin method first.

Tutorials

Methods

bool

_can_import_threaded() virtual const

Array[Dictionary]

_get_import_options(path: String, preset_index: int) virtual const

int

_get_import_order() virtual const

String

_get_importer_name() virtual const

bool

_get_option_visibility(path: String, option_name: StringName, options: Dictionary) virtual const

int

_get_preset_count() virtual const

String

_get_preset_name(preset_index: int) virtual const

float

_get_priority() virtual const

PackedStringArray

_get_recognized_extensions() virtual const

String

_get_resource_type() virtual const

String

_get_save_extension() virtual const

String

_get_visible_name() virtual const

Error

_import(source_file: String, save_path: String, options: Dictionary, platform_variants: Array[String], gen_files: Array[String]) virtual const

Error

append_import_external_resource(path: String, custom_options: Dictionary = {}, custom_importer: String = "", generator_parameters: Variant = null)


Method Descriptions

bool _can_import_threaded() virtual const

Tells whether this importer can be run in parallel on threads, or, on the contrary, it's only safe for the editor to call it from the main thread, for one file at a time.

If this method is not overridden, it will return true by default (i.e., safe for parallel importing).


Array[Dictionary] _get_import_options(path: String, preset_index: int) virtual const

Gets the options and default values for the preset at this index. Returns an Array of Dictionaries with the following keys: name, default_value, property_hint (optional), hint_string (optional), usage (optional).


int _get_import_order() virtual const

Gets the order of this importer to be run when importing resources. Importers with lower import orders will be called first, and higher values will be called later. Use this to ensure the importer runs after the dependencies are already imported. The default import order is 0 unless overridden by a specific importer. See ImportOrder for some predefined values.


String _get_importer_name() virtual const

Gets the unique name of the importer.


bool _get_option_visibility(path: String, option_name: StringName, options: Dictionary) virtual const

This method can be overridden to hide specific import options if conditions are met. This is mainly useful for hiding options that depend on others if one of them is disabled. For example:

func _get_option_visibility(option, options):
    # Only show the lossy quality setting if the compression mode is set to "Lossy".
    if option == "compress/lossy_quality" and options.has("compress/mode"):
        return int(options["compress/mode"]) == COMPRESS_LOSSY # This is a constant that you set

    return true

Returns true to make all options always visible.


int _get_preset_count() virtual const

Gets the number of initial presets defined by the plugin. Use _get_import_options to get the default options for the preset and _get_preset_name to get the name of the preset.


String _get_preset_name(preset_index: int) virtual const

Gets the name of the options preset at this index.


float _get_priority() virtual const

Gets the priority of this plugin for the recognized extension. Higher priority plugins will be preferred. The default priority is 1.0.


PackedStringArray _get_recognized_extensions() virtual const

Gets the list of file extensions to associate with this loader (case-insensitive). e.g. ["obj"].


String _get_resource_type() virtual const

Gets the Godot resource type associated with this loader. e.g. "Mesh" or "Animation".


String _get_save_extension() virtual const

Gets the extension used to save this resource in the .godot/imported directory (see ProjectSettings.application/config/use_hidden_project_data_directory).


String _get_visible_name() virtual const

Gets the name to display in the import window. You should choose this name as a continuation to "Import as", e.g. "Import as Special Mesh".


Error _import(source_file: String, save_path: String, options: Dictionary, platform_variants: Array[String], gen_files: Array[String]) virtual const

Imports source_file into save_path with the import options specified. The platform_variants and gen_files arrays will be modified by this function.

This method must be overridden to do the actual importing work. See this class' description for an example of overriding this method.


Error append_import_external_resource(path: String, custom_options: Dictionary = {}, custom_importer: String = "", generator_parameters: Variant = null)

This function can only be called during the _import callback and it allows manually importing resources from it. This is useful when the imported file generates external resources that require importing (as example, images). Custom parameters for the ".import" file can be passed via the custom_options. Additionally, in cases where multiple importers can handle a file, the custom_importer ca be specified to force a specific one. This function performs a resource import and returns immediately with a success or error code. generator_parameters defines optional extra metadata which will be stored as generator_parameters in the remap section of the .import file, for example to store a md5 hash of the source data.


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