gdscript-patterns

GDScript Patterns in Godot 4.3+

All examples target Godot 4.3+ with no deprecated APIs.

Related skills: gdscript-advanced for production-grade depth (performance idioms, metaprogramming, @tool lifecycle, profiler-driven idioms), godot-code-review for style rules and anti-patterns, csharp-godot for GDScript-to-C# translation, state-machine for state patterns, event-bus for signal architecture.

Note: This skill is GDScript-specific by design. For C# patterns, see csharp-godot and csharp-signals.

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1. Static Typing

Type Hints

Always add type hints — they catch bugs at parse time, improve autocomplete, and boost performance.

# Variables
var health: int = 100
var speed: float = 200.0
var player_name: String = "Hero"
var direction: Vector2 = Vector2.ZERO

# Constants
const MAX_HEALTH: int = 100
const GRAVITY: float = 980.0

# Functions — parameters and return type
func take_damage(amount: int) -> void:
    health -= amount

func get_direction() -> Vector2:
    return Input.get_vector("ui_left", "ui_right", "ui_up", "ui_down")

# Inferred typing with :=
var pos := Vector2(100, 200)     # inferred as Vector2
var items := []                  # inferred as Array (untyped)
var count := 0                   # inferred as int

Typed Collections

# Typed arrays — only accepts the specified type
var enemies: Array[Enemy] = []
var scores: Array[int] = [10, 20, 30]
var names: Array[String] = ["Alice", "Bob"]

# Typed dictionaries (Godot 4.4+)
var inventory: Dictionary[String, int] = {"sword": 1, "potion": 5}

# Typed loop variable
for enemy: Enemy in enemies:
    enemy.take_damage(10)

# Typed array methods work with type safety
var filtered: Array[Enemy] = enemies.filter(func(e: Enemy) -> bool: return e.health > 0)

Casting with as and is

# 'is' — type check (returns bool)
func _on_body_entered(body: Node2D) -> void:
    if body is Player:
        var player: Player = body as Player
        player.take_damage(10)

# 'as' — cast (returns null on failure, no error)
var sprite := get_node("Sprite") as Sprite2D
if sprite:
    sprite.modulate = Color.RED

# Prefer 'is' check + cast over bare 'as' to avoid null surprises