C# basics

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C# support is a new feature available since Godot 3.0. As such, you may still run into some issues, or find spots where the documentation could be improved. Please report issues with C# in Godot on the engine GitHub page, and any documentation issues on the documentation GitHub page.

This page provides a brief introduction to C#, both what it is and how to use it in Godot. Afterwards, you may want to look at how to use specific features, read about the differences between the C# and the GDScript API and (re)visit the Scripting section of the step-by-step tutorial.

C# is a high-level programming language developed by Microsoft. In Godot, it is implemented with the Mono 6.x .NET framework, including full support for C# 8.0. Mono is an open source implementation of Microsoft's .NET Framework based on the ECMA standards for C# and the Common Language Runtime. A good starting point for checking its capabilities is the Compatibility page in the Mono documentation.

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This is not a full-scale tutorial on the C# language as a whole. If you aren't already familiar with its syntax or features, see the Microsoft C# guide or look for a suitable introduction elsewhere.

C# asennus Godotiin

Prerequisites

Install the latest stable version of .NET Core SDK (3.1 as of writing).

From Godot 3.2.3 onwards, installing Mono SDK is not a requirement anymore, except it is required if you are building the engine from source.

Godot bundles the parts of Mono needed to run already compiled games, however Godot does not include the tools required to build and compile games, such as MSBuild. These tools need to be installed separately. The required tools are included in the .NET Core SDK. MSBuild is also included in the Mono SDK, but it can't build C# projects with the new csproj format, therefore .NET Core SDK is required for Godot 3.2.3+.

In summary, you must have installed .NET Core SDK and the Mono-enabled version of Godot.

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Be sure to install the 64-bit version of the SDK(s) if you are using the 64-bit version of Godot.

If you are building Godot from source, install the latest stable version of Mono, and make sure to follow the steps to enable Mono support in your build as outlined in the Compiling with Mono page.

Configuring an external editor

C# support in Godot's built-in script editor is minimal. Consider using an external IDE or editor, such as Visual Studio Code or MonoDevelop. These provide autocompletion, debugging, and other useful features for C#. To select an external editor in Godot, click on Editor → Editor Settings and scroll down to Mono. Under Mono, click on Editor, and select your external editor of choice. Godot currently supports the following external editors:

  • Visual Studio 2019

  • Visual Studio Code

  • MonoDevelop

  • Visual Studio for Mac

  • JetBrains Rider

See the following sections for how to configure an external editor:

JetBrains Rider

After reading the "Prerequisites" section, you can download and install JetBrains Rider.

In Godot's Editor → Editor Settings menu:

  • Set Mono -> Editor -> External Editor to JetBrains Rider.

  • Set Mono -> Builds -> Build Tool to dotnet CLI.

In Rider:

  • Set MSBuild version to .NET Core.

  • Install the Godot support plugin.

Visual Studio Code

After reading the "Prerequisites" section, you can download and install Visual Studio Code (aka VS Code).

In Godot's Editor → Editor Settings menu:

  • Set Mono -> Editor -> External Editor to Visual Studio Code.

In Visual Studio Code:

Next, follow the instructions found in the Configuring Visual Studio Code for debugging section below.

Visual Studio (Windows only)

Download and install the latest version of Visual Studio. Visual Studio will include the required SDKs if you have the correct workloads selected, so you don't need to manually install the things listed in the "Prerequisites" section.

While installing Visual Studio, select these workloads:

  • Mobile development with .NET

  • .NET Core cross-platform development

In Godot's Editor → Editor Settings menu:

  • Set Mono -> Editor -> External Editor to Visual Studio.

Next, follow the instructions found in the Configuring VS 2019 for debugging section below.

Creating a C# script

After you successfully set up C# for Godot, you should see the following option when selecting Attach Script in the context menu of a node in your scene:

../../../_images/attachcsharpscript.png

Note that while some specifics change, most concepts work the same when using C# for scripting. If you're new to Godot, you may want to follow the tutorials on Skriptaus at this point. While some places in the documentation still lack C# examples, most concepts can be transferred easily from GDScript.

Project setup and workflow

When you create the first C# script, Godot initializes the C# project files for your Godot project. This includes generating a C# solution (.sln) and a project file (.csproj), as well as some utility files and folders (.mono and Properties/AssemblyInfo.cs). All of these but .mono are important and should be committed to your version control system. .mono can be safely added to the ignore list of your VCS. When troubleshooting, it can sometimes help to delete the .mono folder and let it regenerate.

Example

Here's a blank C# script with some comments to demonstrate how it works.

using Godot;
using System;

public class YourCustomClass : Node
{
    // Member variables here, example:
    private int a = 2;
    private string b = "textvar";

    public override void _Ready()
    {
        // Called every time the node is added to the scene.
        // Initialization here.
        GD.Print("Hello from C# to Godot :)");
    }

    public override void _Process(float delta)
    {
        // Called every frame. Delta is time since the last frame.
        // Update game logic here.
    }
}

As you can see, functions normally in global scope in GDScript like Godot's print function are available in the GD class which is part of the Godot namespace. For a list of methods in the GD class, see the class reference pages for @GDScript and @GlobalScope.

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Keep in mind that the class you wish to attach to your node should have the same name as the .cs file. Otherwise, you will get the following error and won't be able to run the scene: "Cannot find class XXX for script res://XXX.cs"

General differences between C# and GDScript

The C# API uses PascalCase instead of snake_case in GDScript/C++. Where possible, fields and getters/setters have been converted to properties. In general, the C# Godot API strives to be as idiomatic as is reasonably possible.

For more information, see the C# API differences to GDScript page.

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You need to (re)build the project assemblies whenever you want to see new exported variables or signals in the editor. This build can be manually triggered by clicking the word Mono at the bottom of the editor window to reveal the Mono panel, then clicking the Build Project button.

You will also need to rebuild the project assemblies to apply changes in "tool" scripts.

Current gotchas and known issues

As C# support is quite new in Godot, there are some growing pains and things that need to be ironed out. Below is a list of the most important issues you should be aware of when diving into C# in Godot, but if in doubt, also take a look over the official issue tracker for Mono issues.

  • Writing editor plugins is possible, but it is currently quite convoluted.

  • State is currently not saved and restored when hot-reloading, with the exception of exported variables.

  • Attached C# scripts should refer to a class that has a class name that matches the file name.

  • There are some methods such as Get()/Set(), Call()/CallDeferred() and signal connection method Connect() that rely on Godot's snake_case API naming conventions. So when using e.g. CallDeferred("AddChild"), AddChild will not work because the API is expecting the original snake_case version add_child. However, you can use any custom properties or methods without this limitation.

Exporting Mono projects is supported for desktop platforms (Linux, Windows and macOS), Android, HTML5, and iOS. The only platform not supported yet is UWP.

Performance of C# in Godot

According to some preliminary benchmarks, the performance of C# in Godot — while generally in the same order of magnitude — is roughly ~4× that of GDScript in some naive cases. C++ is still a little faster; the specifics are going to vary according to your use case. GDScript is likely fast enough for most general scripting workloads. C# is faster, but requires some expensive marshalling when talking to Godot.

Using NuGet packages in Godot

NuGet packages can be installed and used with Godot, as with any C# project. Many IDEs are able to add packages directly. They can also be added manually by adding the package reference in the .csproj file located in the project root:

    <ItemGroup>
        <PackageReference Include="Newtonsoft.Json">
          <Version>11.0.2</Version>
        </PackageReference>
    </ItemGroup>
    ...
</Project>

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By default, tools like NuGet put Version as an attribute of the `PackageReference` Node. You must manually create a Version node as shown above. This is because the version of MSBuild used requires this. (This will be fixed in Godot 4.0.)

Whenever packages are added or modified, run nuget restore (not dotnet restore) in the root of the project directory. To ensure that NuGet packages will be available for msbuild to use, run:

msbuild /t:restore

Profiling your C# code

Configuring VS 2019 for debugging

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Godot has built-in support for workflows involving several popular C# IDEs. Built-in support for Visual Studio will be including in future versions, but in the meantime, the steps below can let you configure VS 2019 for use with Godot C# projects.

  1. Install VS 2019 with .NET desktop development and Desktop development with C++ workloads selected.

  2. Ensure that you do not have Xamarin installed. Do not choose the Mobile development with .NET workload. Xamarin changes the DLLs used by MonoDebugger, which breaks debugging.

  3. Install the VSMonoDebugger extension.

  4. In VS 2019 --> Extensions --> Mono --> Settings:

    • Select Debug/Deploy to local Windows.

    • Leave Local Deploy Path blank.

    • Set the Mono Debug Port to the port in Godot --> Project --> Project Settings --> Mono --> Debugger Agent.

    • Also select Wait for Debugger in the Godot Mono options. This Godot Addon may be helpful.

  5. Run the game in Godot. It should hang at the Godot splash screen while it waits for your debugger to attach.

  6. In VS 2019, open your project and choose Extensions --> Mono --> Attach to Mono Debugger.

Configuring Visual Studio Code for debugging

To configure debugging, open Visual Studio Code and download the Mono Debug extension from Microsoft and the Godot extension by Ignacio. Then open the Godot project folder in VS Code. Go to the Run tab and click on create a launch.json file. Select C# Godot from the dropdown menu. Now, when you start the debugger in VS Code your Godot project will run.