Godot Tools Enhanced CSharp

Enhanced Godot 4 tooling with full C# support. Based on godot-vscode-plugin (godot-tools), with additional C# features.

Headless LSP Behavior

When godotToolsCsharp.lsp.headless is enabled, each VS Code window starts its own headless Godot LSP process for the opened workspace. Opening the same Godot project in multiple VS Code windows can therefore create multiple headless Godot processes.

By default, the extension only starts or connects the Godot LSP when the workspace contains a project.godot file. This avoids spawning Godot LSP processes for plain C#, JavaScript, C++, or other non-Godot folders. You can opt out and keep the previous always-attempt behavior with:

"godotToolsCsharp.lsp.autoDetectGodotProject": false

The detection signal is project.godot, which is Godot's canonical project file.

🎯 Key Features

1. C# Drag & Drop Code Generation

Drag nodes from the Scene Preview panel directly into your C# scripts to automatically generate node reference code.

How to Use

1. Open a .tscn file to see the Scene Preview in the sidebar
2. Open your C# script (.cs file)
3. Drag any node from the Scene Preview into your script
4. Code is automatically generated based on your preferred style

Code Styles

Primary & Secondary Styles

• Normal drag → Uses your primary style
• Ctrl + drag → Uses secondary style (shows "[Alt Style]" in preview)

Smart NodePath Auto-Assignment

When using [Export] styles (exportPublic or exportPrivate), the extension does more than just generate C# code — it also updates the .tscn scene file to wire up the NodePath automatically.

What happens on drop:

1. The C# [Export] property is inserted into your script
2. The .tscn file is updated with the correct NodePath assignment
3. A "Rebuild C#" banner appears in the Scene Preview panel

After dropping:

1. Click Rebuild in the Scene Preview banner (runs dotnet build) IMPORTANT: YOU MUST Rebuild from within VSCode before going back to Godot.
2. In Godot, click "Reload from disk" when prompted

Note: lazyField and expressionBodied styles use GetNode<T>() at runtime, so no scene file modification is needed — they just work.

Configuration

Set your preferred styles in VS Code settings:

Settings > Godot Tools Enhanced CSharp > C# > Node Reference Style
Settings > Godot Tools Enhanced CSharp > C# > Secondary Node Reference Style

Or in settings.json:

"godotToolsCsharp.csharp.nodeReferenceStyle": "exportPublic",
"godotToolsCsharp.csharp.secondaryNodeReferenceStyle": "lazyField"

Options: exportPublic, exportPrivate, lazyField, expressionBodied

Tip: When dropping on an empty line, your default style is used automatically. No dialog needed!

2. Scene Preview Panel

The Scene Preview panel gives you a full view of your .tscn scene tree directly inside VS Code — no need to switch to Godot.

Features

• Search & Filter — Type in the search bar to quickly find nodes by name
• Scene Selector — Use the dropdown to switch between scenes in your project without opening .tscn files manually
• Instanced Scenes — Children of instanced scenes are shown recursively, so you can see the full tree
• Node Badges — Visual indicators for script-attached nodes, unique names (%), and instanced scenes
• Lock/Unlock — Lock the panel to a specific scene so it doesn't change when you switch editor tabs
• Drag to Code — Drag any node from the Scene Preview directly into your C# or GDScript files (see Drag & Drop above)

Auto-Detection

The Scene Preview automatically shows the relevant scene when you're editing:

• A .tscn file → shows that scene
• A .cs or .gd script → finds and shows the matching scene (configurable: same folder, any folder, or off)

Configure in settings.json:

"godotToolsCsharp.scenePreview.previewRelatedScenes": "anyFolder"

Options: anyFolder, sameFolder, off

3. Active Scene Tree for C# Debugging

View the running scene tree and inspect node properties during C# debugging - features previously only available in the Godot Editor for GDScript.

Setup for Scene Tree Monitor

Step 1: Add --remote-debug to your launch.json:

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Play",
            "type": "coreclr",
            "request": "launch",
            "preLaunchTask": "build",
            "program": "${env:GODOT4}",
            "args": [
                "--remote-debug",
                "tcp://127.0.0.1:6007"
            ],
            "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
            "stopAtEntry": false
        }
    ]
}

Step 2: Press F5 to debug. The Scene Tree Monitor auto-starts.

Step 3: Click the eye icon on any node to inspect its properties.

Settings

4. Live Property Editing on Node Inspector

Right-click any property in the Node Inspector and select "Edit Value" to modify it at runtime.

Supported types: int, float, bool, string, Vector2, Vector3, Vector4, Color, Transform3D, and more.

5. Advanced Debug Controls

Full debug control panel for C# projects:

6. Auto-Rebuild with dotnet watch

Enable background auto-rebuilding so Godot picks up C# changes automatically — no manual rebuild step needed.

When enabled, the extension starts dotnet watch build in the background. Every time you save a .cs file, it rebuilds automatically and Godot detects the updated assembly.

Setup

In settings.json:

"godotToolsCsharp.csharp.dotnetWatch": true

Or: Settings > Godot Tools Enhanced CSharp > C# > Dotnet Watch

Tip: With dotnet watch enabled, you can skip clicking "Rebuild" after drag-and-drop — just save your .cs file and the rebuild happens automatically.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Godot 4.2+ (.NET version)
• VS Code with C# extension
• .NET SDK installed

Install from VSIX

1. Download .vsix from Releases
2. In VS Code: Ctrl+Shift+P → "Extensions: Install from VSIX..."
3. Select the downloaded file

Troubleshooting

Scene Tree not populating?

1. Check --remote-debug tcp://127.0.0.1:6007 is in your launch.json args
2. Verify port matches godotToolsCsharp.sceneTreeMonitor.port setting
3. Requires Godot 4.2+

Drag & Drop not working?

1. Make sure you're dragging from Scene Preview (not file explorer)
2. Target must be a .cs file
3. The Scene Preview panel shows nodes from .tscn files

NodePath not showing in Godot after drag & drop?

1. After dropping a node with an [Export] style, click Rebuild in the Scene Preview banner
2. In Godot, click "Reload from disk" when the dialog appears
3. The order matters: rebuild C# first, then reload the scene in Godot
4. If you have dotnet watch enabled, just save your .cs file and wait for the auto-rebuild before reloading

Original Features

This fork includes all features from godot-vscode-plugin:

• GDScript language support
• GDScript debugger
• Scene Preview
• GDShader support
• And more...

Contributing

Issues and PRs welcome at github.com/DanTrz/godot-vscode-plugin-csharp

Based on godot-vscode-plugin by the Godot Engine community