Up to date

This page is up to date for Godot 4.3. If you still find outdated information, please open an issue.

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)

using Godot;

public partial class MySpecialPlugin : EditorImportPlugin
{
    public override string _GetImporterName()
    {
        return "my.special.plugin";
    }

    public override string _GetVisibleName()
    {
        return "Special Mesh";
    }

    public override string[] _GetRecognizedExtensions()
    {
        return new string[] { "special", "spec" };
    }

    public override string _GetSaveExtension()
    {
        return "mesh";
    }

    public override string _GetResourceType()
    {
        return "Mesh";
    }

    public override int _GetPresetCount()
    {
        return 1;
    }

    public override string _GetPresetName(int presetIndex)
    {
        return "Default";
    }

    public override Godot.Collections.Array<Godot.Collections.Dictionary> _GetImportOptions(string path, int presetIndex)
    {
        return new Godot.Collections.Array<Godot.Collections.Dictionary>
        {
            new Godot.Collections.Dictionary
            {
                { "name", "myOption" },
                { "default_value", false },
            }
        };
    }

    public override Error _Import(string sourceFile, string savePath, Godot.Collections.Dictionary options, Godot.Collections.Array<string> platformVariants, Godot.Collections.Array<string> genFiles)
    {
        using var file = FileAccess.Open(sourceFile, FileAccess.ModeFlags.Read);
        if (file.GetError() != Error.Ok)
        {
            return Error.Failed;
        }

        var mesh = new ArrayMesh();
        // Fill the Mesh with data read in "file", left as an exercise to the reader.
        string filename = $"{savePath}.{_GetSaveExtension()}";
        return ResourceSaver.Save(mesh, filename);
    }
}

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

Tutorials¶

Import plugins

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

public void _GetOptionVisibility(string option, Godot.Collections.Dictionary options)
{
    // Only show the lossy quality setting if the compression mode is set to "Lossy".
    if (option == "compress/lossy_quality" && options.ContainsKey("compress/mode"))
    {
        return (int)options["compress/mode"] == CompressLossy; // This is a constant 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 can 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.