Struct Node

Base class for all scene objects.

struct Node ;

Nodes are Godot's building blocks. They can be assigned as the child of another node, resulting in a tree arrangement. A given node can contain any number of nodes as children with the requirement that all siblings (direct children of a node) should have unique names. A tree of nodes is called a scene. Scenes can be saved to the disk and then instanced into other scenes. This allows for very high flexibility in the architecture and data model of Godot projects. Scene tree: The SceneTree contains the active tree of nodes. When a node is added to the scene tree, it receives the constant NOTIFICATION_ENTER_TREE notification and its enterTree callback is triggered. Child nodes are always added after their parent node, i.e. the enterTree callback of a parent node will be triggered before its child's. Once all nodes have been added in the scene tree, they receive the constant NOTIFICATION_READY notification and their respective ready callbacks are triggered. For groups of nodes, the ready callback is called in reverse order, starting with the children and moving up to the parent nodes. This means that when adding a node to the scene tree, the following order will be used for the callbacks: enterTree of the parent, enterTree of the children, ready of the children and finally ready of the parent (recursively for the entire scene tree). Processing: Nodes can override the "process" state, so that they receive a callback on each frame requesting them to process (do something). Normal processing (callback process, toggled with setProcess) happens as fast as possible and is dependent on the frame rate, so the processing time delta is passed as an argument. Physics processing (callback physicsProcess, toggled with setPhysicsProcess) happens a fixed number of times per second (60 by default) and is useful for code related to the physics engine. Nodes can also process input events. When present, the input function will be called for each input that the program receives. In many cases, this can be overkill (unless used for simple projects), and the unhandledInput function might be preferred; it is called when the input event was not handled by anyone else (typically, GUI Control nodes), ensuring that the node only receives the events that were meant for it. To keep track of the scene hierarchy (especially when instancing scenes into other scenes), an "owner" can be set for the node with the owner property. This keeps track of who instanced what. This is mostly useful when writing editors and tools, though. Finally, when a node is freed with GodotObject.free or queueFree, it will also free all its children. Groups: Nodes can be added to as many groups as you want to be easy to manage, you could create groups like "enemies" or "collectables" for example, depending on your game. See addToGroup, isInGroup and removeFromGroup. You can then retrieve all nodes in these groups, iterate them and even call methods on groups via the methods on SceneTree. Networking with nodes: After connecting to a server (or making one, see NetworkedMultiplayerENet), it is possible to use the built-in RPC (remote procedure call) system to communicate over the network. By calling rpc with a method name, it will be called locally and in all connected peers (peers = clients and the server that accepts connections). To identify which node receives the RPC call, Godot will use its NodePath (make sure node names are the same on all peers). Also, take a look at the high-level networking tutorial and corresponding demos.

Properties

NameTypeDescription
_importPath[get, set] NodePath
customMultiplayer[get, set] MultiplayerAPIThe override to the default MultiplayerAPI. Set to null to use the default SceneTree one.
editorDescription[get, set] String
filename[get, set] StringWhen a scene is instanced from a file, its topmost node contains the filename from which it was loaded.
multiplayer[get] MultiplayerAPIThe MultiplayerAPI instance associated with this node. Either the customMultiplayer, or the default SceneTree one (if inside tree).
name[get, set] StringThe name of the node. This name is unique among the siblings (other child nodes from the same parent). When set to an existing name, the node will be automatically renamed.
owner[get, set] NodeThe node owner. A node can have any other node as owner (as long as it is a valid parent, grandparent, etc. ascending in the tree). When saving a node (using PackedScene), all the nodes it owns will be saved with it. This allows for the creation of complex SceneTrees, with instancing and subinstancing.
pauseMode[get, set] Node.PauseModePause mode. How the node will behave if the SceneTree is paused.
processPriority[get, set] longThe node's priority in the execution order of the enabled processing callbacks (i.e. constant NOTIFICATION_PROCESS, constant NOTIFICATION_PHYSICS_PROCESS and their internal counterparts). Nodes whose process priority value is lower will have their processing callbacks executed first.

Methods

NameDescription
_enterTree Called when the node enters the SceneTree (e.g. upon instancing, scene changing, or after calling addChild in a script). If the node has children, its enterTree callback will be called first, and then that of the children. Corresponds to the constant NOTIFICATION_ENTER_TREE notification in GodotObject.notification.
_exitTree Called when the node is about to leave the SceneTree (e.g. upon freeing, scene changing, or after calling removeChild in a script). If the node has children, its exitTree callback will be called last, after all its children have left the tree. Corresponds to the constant NOTIFICATION_EXIT_TREE notification in GodotObject.notification and signal treeExiting. To get notified when the node has already left the active tree, connect to the treeExited.
_getConfigurationWarning The string returned from this method is displayed as a warning in the Scene Dock if the script that overrides it is a tool script. Returning an empty string produces no warning. Call updateConfigurationWarning when the warning needs to be updated for this node.
_getEditorDescription
_getImportPath
_input Called when there is an input event. The input event propagates up through the node tree until a node consumes it. It is only called if input processing is enabled, which is done automatically if this method is overridden, and can be toggled with setProcessInput. To consume the input event and stop it propagating further to other nodes, SceneTree.setInputAsHandled can be called. For gameplay input, unhandledInput and unhandledKeyInput are usually a better fit as they allow the GUI to intercept the events first.
_physicsProcess Called during the physics processing step of the main loop. Physics processing means that the frame rate is synced to the physics, i.e. the delta variable should be constant. It is only called if physics processing is enabled, which is done automatically if this method is overridden, and can be toggled with setPhysicsProcess. Corresponds to the constant NOTIFICATION_PHYSICS_PROCESS notification in GodotObject.notification.
_process Called during the processing step of the main loop. Processing happens at every frame and as fast as possible, so the delta time since the previous frame is not constant. It is only called if processing is enabled, which is done automatically if this method is overridden, and can be toggled with setProcess. Corresponds to the constant NOTIFICATION_PROCESS notification in GodotObject.notification.
_ready Called when the node is "ready", i.e. when both the node and its children have entered the scene tree. If the node has children, their ready callbacks get triggered first, and the parent node will receive the ready notification afterwards. Corresponds to the constant NOTIFICATION_READY notification in GodotObject.notification. See also the onready keyword for variables. Usually used for initialization. For even earlier initialization, GodotObject.init may be used. See also enterTree. Note: ready may be called only once for each node. After removing a node from the scene tree and adding again, _ready will not be called for the second time. This can be bypassed with requesting another call with requestReady, which may be called anywhere before adding the node again.
_setEditorDescription
_setImportPath
_unhandledInput Called when an InputEvent hasn't been consumed by input or any GUI. The input event propagates up through the node tree until a node consumes it. It is only called if unhandled input processing is enabled, which is done automatically if this method is overridden, and can be toggled with setProcessUnhandledInput. To consume the input event and stop it propagating further to other nodes, SceneTree.setInputAsHandled can be called. For gameplay input, this and unhandledKeyInput are usually a better fit than input as they allow the GUI to intercept the events first.
_unhandledKeyInput Called when an InputEventKey hasn't been consumed by input or any GUI. The input event propagates up through the node tree until a node consumes it. It is only called if unhandled key input processing is enabled, which is done automatically if this method is overridden, and can be toggled with setProcessUnhandledKeyInput. To consume the input event and stop it propagating further to other nodes, SceneTree.setInputAsHandled can be called. For gameplay input, this and unhandledInput are usually a better fit than input as they allow the GUI to intercept the events first.
addChild Adds a child node. Nodes can have any number of children, but every child must have a unique name. Child nodes are automatically deleted when the parent node is deleted, so an entire scene can be removed by deleting its topmost node. If legible_unique_name is true, the child node will have an human-readable name based on the name of the node being instanced instead of its type. Note: If the child node already has a parent, the function will fail. Use removeChild first to remove the node from its current parent. For example:
addChildBelowNode Adds a child node. The child is placed below the given node in the list of children. If legible_unique_name is true, the child node will have an human-readable name based on the name of the node being instanced instead of its type.
addToGroup Adds the node to a group. Groups are helpers to name and organize a subset of nodes, for example "enemies" or "collectables". A node can be in any number of groups. Nodes can be assigned a group at any time, but will not be added until they are inside the scene tree (see isInsideTree). See notes in the description, and the group methods in SceneTree. The persistent option is used when packing node to PackedScene and saving to file. Non-persistent groups aren't stored.
canProcess Returns true if the node can process while the scene tree is paused (see pauseMode). Always returns true if the scene tree is not paused, and false if the node is not in the tree.
duplicate Duplicates the node, returning a new node. You can fine-tune the behavior using the flags (see duplicateflags). Note: It will not work properly if the node contains a script with constructor arguments (i.e. needs to supply arguments to GodotObject.init method). In that case, the node will be duplicated without a script.
findNode Finds a descendant of this node whose name matches mask as in String.match (i.e. case-sensitive, but "*" matches zero or more characters and "?" matches any single character except "."). Note: It does not match against the full path, just against individual node names. If owned is true, this method only finds nodes whose owner is this node. This is especially important for scenes instantiated through a script, because those scenes don't have an owner.
findParent Finds the first parent of the current node whose name matches mask as in String.match (i.e. case-sensitive, but "*" matches zero or more characters and "?" matches any single character except "."). Note: It does not match against the full path, just against individual node names.
getChild Returns a child node by its index (see getChildCount). This method is often used for iterating all children of a node. To access a child node via its name, use getNode.
getChildCount Returns the number of child nodes.
getChildren Returns an array of references to node's children.
getCustomMultiplayer
getFilename
getGroups Returns an array listing the groups that the node is a member of.
getIndex Returns the node's index, i.e. its position among the siblings of its parent.
getMultiplayer
getName
getNetworkMaster Returns the peer ID of the network master for this node. See setNetworkMaster.
getNode Fetches a node. The NodePath can be either a relative path (from the current node) or an absolute path (in the scene tree) to a node. If the path does not exist, a null instance is returned and an error is logged. Attempts to access methods on the return value will result in an "Attempt to call <method> on a null instance." error. Note: Fetching absolute paths only works when the node is inside the scene tree (see isInsideTree). Example: Assume your current node is Character and the following tree:
getNodeAndResource Fetches a node and one of its resources as specified by the NodePath's subname (e.g. Area2D/CollisionShape2D:shape). If several nested resources are specified in the NodePath, the last one will be fetched. The return value is an array of size 3: the first index points to the Node (or null if not found), the second index points to the Resource (or null if not found), and the third index is the remaining NodePath, if any. For example, assuming that Area2D/CollisionShape2D is a valid node and that its shape property has been assigned a RectangleShape2D resource, one could have this kind of output:
getNodeOrNull Similar to getNode, but does not log an error if path does not point to a valid Node.
getOwner
getParent Returns the parent node of the current node, or an empty Node if the node lacks a parent.
getPath Returns the absolute path of the current node. This only works if the current node is inside the scene tree (see isInsideTree).
getPathTo Returns the relative NodePath from this node to the specified node. Both nodes must be in the same scene or the function will fail.
getPauseMode
getPhysicsProcessDeltaTime Returns the time elapsed since the last physics-bound frame (see physicsProcess). This is always a constant value in physics processing unless the frames per second is changed via Engine.targetFps.
getPositionInParent Returns the node's order in the scene tree branch. For example, if called on the first child node the position is 0.
getProcessDeltaTime Returns the time elapsed (in seconds) since the last process callback. This value may vary from frame to frame.
getProcessPriority
getSceneInstanceLoadPlaceholder Returns true if this is an instance load placeholder. See InstancePlaceholder.
getTree Returns the SceneTree that contains this node.
getViewport Returns the node's Viewport.
hasNode Returns true if the node that the NodePath points to exists.
hasNodeAndResource Returns true if the NodePath points to a valid node and its subname points to a valid resource, e.g. Area2D/CollisionShape2D:shape. Properties with a non-Resource type (e.g. nodes or primitive math types) are not considered resources.
isAParentOf Returns true if the given node is a direct or indirect child of the current node.
isDisplayedFolded Returns true if the node is folded (collapsed) in the Scene dock.
isGreaterThan Returns true if the given node occurs later in the scene hierarchy than the current node.
isInGroup Returns true if this node is in the specified group. See notes in the description, and the group methods in SceneTree.
isInsideTree Returns true if this node is currently inside a SceneTree.
isNetworkMaster Returns true if the local system is the master of this node.
isPhysicsProcessing Returns true if physics processing is enabled (see setPhysicsProcess).
isPhysicsProcessingInternal Returns true if internal physics processing is enabled (see setPhysicsProcessInternal).
isProcessing Returns true if processing is enabled (see setProcess).
isProcessingInput Returns true if the node is processing input (see setProcessInput).
isProcessingInternal Returns true if internal processing is enabled (see setProcessInternal).
isProcessingUnhandledInput Returns true if the node is processing unhandled input (see setProcessUnhandledInput).
isProcessingUnhandledKeyInput Returns true if the node is processing unhandled key input (see setProcessUnhandledKeyInput).
moveChild Moves a child node to a different position (order) among the other children. Since calls, signals, etc are performed by tree order, changing the order of children nodes may be useful.
printStrayNodes Prints all stray nodes (nodes outside the SceneTree). Used for debugging. Works only in debug builds.
printTree Prints the tree to stdout. Used mainly for debugging purposes. This version displays the path relative to the current node, and is good for copy/pasting into the getNode function. Example output:
printTreePretty Similar to printTree, this prints the tree to stdout. This version displays a more graphical representation similar to what is displayed in the scene inspector. It is useful for inspecting larger trees. Example output:
propagateCall Calls the given method (if present) with the arguments given in args on this node and recursively on all its children. If the parent_first argument is true, the method will be called on the current node first, then on all its children. If parent_first is false, the children will be called first.
propagateNotification Notifies the current node and all its children recursively by calling GodotObject.notification on all of them.
queueFree Queues a node for deletion at the end of the current frame. When deleted, all of its child nodes will be deleted as well. This method ensures it's safe to delete the node, contrary to GodotObject.free. Use GodotObject.isQueuedForDeletion to check whether a node will be deleted at the end of the frame.
raise Moves this node to the bottom of parent node's children hierarchy. This is often useful in GUIs (Control nodes), because their order of drawing depends on their order in the tree, i.e. the further they are on the node list, the higher they are drawn. After using raise, a Control will be drawn on top of their siblings.
removeAndSkip Removes a node and sets all its children as children of the parent node (if it exists). All event subscriptions that pass by the removed node will be unsubscribed.
removeChild Removes a child node. The node is NOT deleted and must be deleted manually.
removeFromGroup Removes a node from a group. See notes in the description, and the group methods in SceneTree.
replaceBy Replaces a node in a scene by the given one. Subscriptions that pass through this node will be lost.
requestReady Requests that _ready be called again. Note that the method won't be called immediately, but is scheduled for when the node is added to the scene tree again (see ready). _ready is called only for the node which requested it, which means that you need to request ready for each child if you want them to call _ready too (in which case, _ready will be called in the same order as it would normally).
rpc Sends a remote procedure call request for the given method to peers on the network (and locally), optionally sending all additional arguments as arguments to the method called by the RPC. The call request will only be received by nodes with the same NodePath, including the exact same node name. Behaviour depends on the RPC configuration for the given method, see rpcConfig. Methods are not exposed to RPCs by default. See also rset and rsetConfig for properties. Returns an empty Variant. Note: You can only safely use RPCs on clients after you received the connected_to_server signal from the SceneTree. You also need to keep track of the connection state, either by the SceneTree signals like server_disconnected or by checking SceneTree.network_peer.get_connection_status() == CONNECTION_CONNECTED.
rpcConfig Changes the RPC mode for the given method to the given mode. See MultiplayerAPI.rpcmode. An alternative is annotating methods and properties with the corresponding keywords (remote, master, puppet, remotesync, mastersync, puppetsync). By default, methods are not exposed to networking (and RPCs). See also rset and rsetConfig for properties.
rpcId Sends a rpc to a specific peer identified by peer_id (see NetworkedMultiplayerPeer.setTargetPeer). Returns an empty Variant.
rpcUnreliable Sends a rpc using an unreliable protocol. Returns an empty Variant.
rpcUnreliableId Sends a rpc to a specific peer identified by peer_id using an unreliable protocol (see NetworkedMultiplayerPeer.setTargetPeer). Returns an empty Variant.
rset Remotely changes a property's value on other peers (and locally). Behaviour depends on the RPC configuration for the given property, see rsetConfig. See also rpc for RPCs for methods, most information applies to this method as well.
rsetConfig Changes the RPC mode for the given property to the given mode. See MultiplayerAPI.rpcmode. An alternative is annotating methods and properties with the corresponding keywords (remote, master, puppet, remotesync, mastersync, puppetsync). By default, properties are not exposed to networking (and RPCs). See also rpc and rpcConfig for methods.
rsetId Remotely changes the property's value on a specific peer identified by peer_id (see NetworkedMultiplayerPeer.setTargetPeer).
rsetUnreliable Remotely changes the property's value on other peers (and locally) using an unreliable protocol.
rsetUnreliableId Remotely changes property's value on a specific peer identified by peer_id using an unreliable protocol (see NetworkedMultiplayerPeer.setTargetPeer).
setCustomMultiplayer
setDisplayFolded Sets the folded state of the node in the Scene dock.
setFilename
setName
setNetworkMaster Sets the node's network master to the peer with the given peer ID. The network master is the peer that has authority over the node on the network. Useful in conjunction with the master and puppet keywords. Inherited from the parent node by default, which ultimately defaults to peer ID 1 (the server). If recursive, the given peer is recursively set as the master for all children of this node.
setOwner
setPauseMode
setPhysicsProcess Enables or disables physics (i.e. fixed framerate) processing. When a node is being processed, it will receive a constant NOTIFICATION_PHYSICS_PROCESS at a fixed (usually 60 FPS, see Engine.targetFps to change) interval (and the physicsProcess callback will be called if exists). Enabled automatically if physicsProcess is overridden. Any calls to this before ready will be ignored.
setPhysicsProcessInternal Enables or disables internal physics for this node. Internal physics processing happens in isolation from the normal physicsProcess calls and is used by some nodes internally to guarantee proper functioning even if the node is paused or physics processing is disabled for scripting (setPhysicsProcess). Only useful for advanced uses to manipulate built-in nodes' behaviour.
setProcess Enables or disables processing. When a node is being processed, it will receive a constant NOTIFICATION_PROCESS on every drawn frame (and the process callback will be called if exists). Enabled automatically if process is overridden. Any calls to this before ready will be ignored.
setProcessInput Enables or disables input processing. This is not required for GUI controls! Enabled automatically if input is overridden. Any calls to this before ready will be ignored.
setProcessInternal Enables or disabled internal processing for this node. Internal processing happens in isolation from the normal process calls and is used by some nodes internally to guarantee proper functioning even if the node is paused or processing is disabled for scripting (setProcess). Only useful for advanced uses to manipulate built-in nodes' behaviour.
setProcessPriority
setProcessUnhandledInput Enables unhandled input processing. This is not required for GUI controls! It enables the node to receive all input that was not previously handled (usually by a Control). Enabled automatically if unhandledInput is overridden. Any calls to this before ready will be ignored.
setProcessUnhandledKeyInput Enables unhandled key input processing. Enabled automatically if unhandledKeyInput is overridden. Any calls to this before ready will be ignored.
setSceneInstanceLoadPlaceholder Sets whether this is an instance load placeholder. See InstancePlaceholder.
updateConfigurationWarning Updates the warning displayed for this node in the Scene Dock. Use getConfigurationWarning to setup the warning message to display.

Enums

NameDescription
Constants
DuplicateFlags
PauseMode