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GDExtensionTemplate

This project is meant as a starting point for creating new C++/CMake-based Godot 4 extensions. The goal is to lower the barrier to entry to building a GDExtension using CMake.

It is currently set up to work with the Godot 4.2 release (see tags for previous versions).

Since the majority of C++ open source projects use CMake, I wanted to offer an alternative to the scons system for building Godot extensions (if you use scons, check out Nathan Franke's gdextension template or Patrick's GDExtensionSummator template).

Note: This project is not meant to be a dependency. It is intended to be copied (not forked) and made into your own project. Git itself doesn't provide a nice way to do this (as far as I can tell), but GitHub provides a Use this template button (beside where you clone a repo). This will create a copy for you without all the history.

Features

This template project sets up a lot of the build details so you can get started and focus on your code:

  • includes godot-cpp as a submodule and links it statically to your shared library
  • creates <project>.gdextension files based on your project name
  • copies over any support files from the support_files directory into your extension directory
  • includes example of adding custom icons to your classes/nodes (see below)
  • automatically generates a Version.h header file which:
    • includes a preprocessor macro for conditional compilation 
      #if GDEXTENSIONTEMPLATE_VERSION < GDEXTENSIONTEMPLATE_VERSION_CHECK(2, 1, 0)
  // do stuff
#endif
    • includes git information in the version strings (e.g. GDExtensionTemplate v1.0.1-gf6446f8)
    • includes an example which exposes the version string to GDScript so you can call it like this 
      print( GDExtensionTemplate.version() )
    • keeps itself up-to-date when the git branch/tag/HEAD changes
  • uses ccache (if available) for faster rebuilds
  • builds universal library (x86_64 and arm64) on macOS
  • provides cmake targets:
    • install: install all files with the correct structure to CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX
    • clang-format: runs clang-format on all sources
  • includes GitHub workflows (CI) for:
    • building the extension on Linux x86_64 (gcc), macOS universal (clang), and Windows x86_64 (MSVC)
    • generating debug & release packages on each commit
    • using ccache to improve CI build times when available
    • checking code formatting using clang-format

Prerequisites

To use this locally on your machine, you will need the following:

  • CMake v3.22+
  • C++ Compiler with at least C++17 support (any recent compiler)
  • (optional) ccache for faster rebuilds
  • (optional) clang-format for linting and automatic code formatting (CI uses clang-format version 15)

The GitHub actions (CI) are set up to include all of these tools. To see how to download them on your platform, take a look at the workflow file.

How To Use

Setup

To use this for your own project:

  • copy this repository and rename the directory to the name of your extension

    GitHub provides a Use this template button (beside where you clone a repo). This will create a copy for you without all the history.

  • in CMakeLists.txt, change GDExtensionTemplate in the project macro to the name of your extension 
    project( <your_extension_name_here>
  LANGUAGES
      CXX
  VERSION
      0.1.0
)
    If you also have plain C files in your project, add C to the languages.
  • replace the example code in src with your own (I would suggest keeping RegisterExtension.cpp and using it to register your classes)

    Note: If you change the entry symbol (GDExtensionInit) in RegisterExtension.cpp, you will need to update your templates/*.gdextension.in files.

  • replace CHANGELOG.md with your own (I would encourage adhering to Semantic Versioning and the use of Keep a Changelog )
  • replace this README.md with your own
  • replace custom node icon (see below)

Optional:

  • contribute to the project (it's not just 💰!)
  • change the platforms/architectures you want to support:
    • edit the gdextension templates (templates/*.gdextension.in)
    • change the GitHub workflows to build the right stuff
  • change the .clang-format config file to fit your C++ style (option documentation)
  • change the compiler warnings you want to enforce (see CompilerWarnings.cmake)
  • change the LICENSE

Custom Node Icons

I have included a custom icon for the Example node (icon is CC0 from SVGRepo), so you will want to remove or modify it for your own classes/nodes.

The icon itself is in support_files/icons it is referenced in the templates/*.gdextension.in files.

To add an icon for your custom node:

  • add the icon file to support_files/icons and name it after your node (e.g. MyNode.svg)
  • in each of the templates/*.gdextension.in files add an entry for your node in the [icons] section: 
    MyNode = "icons/MyNode.svg"

Everything in the support_files directory is copied into your extension, so if you don't want to use icons, remove that directory and remove the [icons] section from the templates/*.gdextension.in files.

Build & Install

Here's an example of how to build & install a release version (use the terminal to run the following commands in the parent directory of this repo):

Not MSVC

$ cmake -B GDExtensionTemplate-build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=GDExtensionTemplate-install GDExtensionTemplate
$ cmake --build GDExtensionTemplate-build --parallel
$ cmake --install GDExtensionTemplate-build

MSVC

$ cmake -B GDExtensionTemplate-build -G"Visual Studio 17 2022"  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=GDExtensionTemplate-install GDExtensionTemplate
$ cmake --build GDExtensionTemplate-build --config Release
$ cmake --install GDExtensionTemplate-build

This tells CMake to use Visual Studio 2022. There is a list of Visual Studio generators on the CMake site - pick the one you are using.

Cmake Options

This template defines the following additional CMake options:

Option Description Default
CCACHE_PROGRAM Path to ccache for faster rebuilds This is automatically set ON if ccache is found. If you do not want to use it, set this to "".
CLANG_FORMAT_PROGRAM Path to clang-format for code formatting. This is automatically set ON if clang-format is on. If you do not want to use it, set this to "".
${PROJECT_NAME_UPPERCASE}_WARN_EVERYTHING (e.g. FOO_WARN_EVERYTHING) Turns on all warnings. (Not available for MSVC.) OFF (too noisy, but can be useful sometimes)
${PROJECT_NAME_UPPERCASE}_WARNING_AS_ERROR (e.g. FOO_WARNING_AS_ERROR) Turns warnings into errors. ON

Ongoing Updates

Once your project is up and running you might want to keep up with newer versions of Godot & godot-cpp.

The key thing is that the version of godot-cpp must match the version of Godot you are using (see the godot-cpp Versioning section). So if you want to use Godot 4.0 stable, then you need to match that with the correct tag in godot-cpp.

Once you know the correct version of godot-cpp, change the submodule (extern/godot-cpp) in your extension to point at that version.

Updating the submodule and making any necessary changes to your code due to changes in the API are the only things you need to pin to a specific version of Godot.

How To Contribute

These are some of the things you can do to contribute to the project:

✍ Write About The Project

If you find the project useful, spread the word! Articles, mastodon posts, tweets, blog posts, instagram photos - whatever you're into.

⭐️ Add a Star

If you found this project useful, please consider starring it! It helps me gauge how useful this project is.

☝ Raise Issues

If you run into something which doesn't work as expected, raising an issue with all the relevant information to reproduce it would be helpful.

🐞 Bug Fixes & 🧪 New Things

I am happy to review any pull requests. Please keep them as short as possible. Each pull request should be atomic and only address one issue. This helps with the review process.

Note that I will not accept everything, but I welcome discussion. If you are proposing a big change, please raise it as an issue first for discussion.

💰 Financial

Given that I'm an independent developer without funding, financial support is always appreciated. If you would like to support the project financially, you can use GitHub sponsors or Ko-fi for one-off or recurring support. Thank you!