audio-system

Audio System in Godot 4.3+

All examples target Godot 4.3+ with no deprecated APIs. GDScript is shown first, then C#.

Related skills: event-bus for decoupled audio triggers, save-load for persisting audio settings, resource-pattern for audio data containers.

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1. Core Concepts

Audio Node Types

Node	Dimensions	Use For
AudioStreamPlayer	Non-positional	Music, UI sounds, global SFX
AudioStreamPlayer2D	2D positional	Footsteps, gunfire, environmental sounds
AudioStreamPlayer3D	3D positional	Same as 2D but in 3D space

Audio Bus Architecture

Godot routes all audio through buses (like a mixing console).

Master (always exists)
├── Music          → volume, effects for background music
├── SFX            → volume, effects for sound effects
│   ├── Footsteps  → sub-bus for fine-tuning
│   └── Weapons    → sub-bus for fine-tuning
└── UI             → volume for menu sounds

Setup: Bottom panel → Audio tab → Add buses, set names, route outputs.

Every AudioStreamPlayer has a bus property — set it to the target bus name (e.g., "SFX", "Music").

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2. Basic Audio Playback

GDScript

extends Node2D

@onready var sfx_player: AudioStreamPlayer2D = $AudioStreamPlayer2D
@onready var music_player: AudioStreamPlayer = $MusicPlayer

func _ready() -> void:
    # Play background music (looping is set on the AudioStream resource)
    music_player.play()

func play_jump_sound() -> void:
    sfx_player.stream = preload("res://audio/sfx/jump.wav")
    sfx_player.play()

C#

using Godot;

public partial class AudioExample : Node2D
{
    private AudioStreamPlayer2D _sfxPlayer;
    private AudioStreamPlayer _musicPlayer;

    public override void _Ready()
    {
        _sfxPlayer = GetNode<AudioStreamPlayer2D>("AudioStreamPlayer2D");
        _musicPlayer = GetNode<AudioStreamPlayer>("MusicPlayer");
        _musicPlayer.Play();
    }

    public void PlayJumpSound()
    {
        _sfxPlayer.Stream = GD.Load<AudioStream>("res://audio/sfx/jump.wav");
        _sfxPlayer.Play();
    }
}