godot-docs/tutorials/scripting/c_sharp/c_sharp_basics.rst

.. _doc_c_sharp:

C# basics
=========

Introduction
------------

This page provides a brief introduction to C#, both what it is and
how to use it in Godot. Afterwards, you may want to look at
:ref:`how to use specific features <doc_c_sharp_features>`, read about the
:ref:`differences between the C# and the GDScript API <doc_c_sharp_differences>`,
and (re)visit the :ref:`Scripting section <doc_scripting>` of the
step-by-step tutorial.

C# is a high-level programming language developed by Microsoft. In Godot,
it is implemented with .NET 6.0.

.. attention::

    Projects written in C# using Godot 4 currently cannot be exported to the web
    platform. To use C# on the web platform, consider Godot 3 instead.
    Android and iOS platform support is available as of Godot 4.2, but is
    experimental and :ref:`some limitations apply <doc_c_sharp_platforms>`.

.. note::

    This is **not** a full-scale tutorial on the C# language as a whole.
    If you aren't already familiar with its syntax or features, see the
    `Microsoft C# guide <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/index>`_
    or look for a suitable introduction elsewhere.

.. _doc_c_sharp_setup:

Prerequisites
-------------

Godot bundles the parts of .NET needed to run already compiled games.
However, Godot does not bundle the tools required to build and compile
games, such as MSBuild and the C# compiler. These are
included in the .NET SDK, and need to be installed separately.

In summary, you must have installed the .NET SDK **and** the .NET-enabled
version of Godot.

Download and install the latest stable version of the SDK from the
`.NET download page <https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download>`__.

.. important::

    Be sure to install the 64-bit version of the SDK(s)
    if you are using the 64-bit version of Godot.

If you are building Godot from source, make sure to follow the steps to enable
.NET support in your build as outlined in the :ref:`doc_compiling_with_dotnet`
page.

.. _doc_c_sharp_setup_external_editor:

Configuring an external editor
------------------------------

C# support in Godot's built-in script editor is minimal. Consider using an
external IDE or editor, such as  `Visual Studio Code <https://code.visualstudio.com/>`__
or MonoDevelop. These provide autocompletion, debugging, and other
useful features for C#. To select an external editor in Godot,
click on **Editor → Editor Settings** and scroll down to
**Dotnet**. Under **Dotnet**, click on **Editor**, and select your
external editor of choice. Godot currently supports the following
external editors:

- Visual Studio 2022
- Visual Studio Code
- MonoDevelop
- Visual Studio for Mac
- JetBrains Rider

See the following sections for how to configure an external editor:

JetBrains Rider
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After reading the "Prerequisites" section, you can download and install
`JetBrains Rider <https://www.jetbrains.com/rider/download>`__.

In Godot's **Editor → Editor Settings** menu:

- Set **Dotnet** -> **Editor** -> **External Editor** to **JetBrains Rider**.

In Rider:

- Set **MSBuild version** to **.NET Core**.
- Install the **Godot support** plugin.

Visual Studio Code
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After reading the "Prerequisites" section, you can download and install
`Visual Studio Code <https://code.visualstudio.com/download>`__ (aka VS Code).

In Godot's **Editor → Editor Settings** menu:

- Set **Dotnet** -> **Editor** -> **External Editor** to **Visual Studio Code**.

In Visual Studio Code:

- Install the `C# <https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-dotnettools.csharp>`__ extension.

.. note::

    If you are using Linux you need to install the `Mono SDK <https://www.mono-project.com/download/stable/#download-lin>`__
    for the C# tools plugin to work.

To configure a project for debugging, you need a ``tasks.json`` and ``launch.json`` file in
the ``.vscode`` folder with the necessary configuration.

Here is an example ``launch.json``:

.. code-block:: json

    {
        "version": "0.2.0",
        "configurations": [
            {
                "name": "Play",
                "type": "coreclr",
                "request": "launch",
                "preLaunchTask": "build",
                "program": "${env:GODOT4}",
                "args": [],
                "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
                "stopAtEntry": false,
            }
        ]
    }

For this launch configuration to work, you need to either setup a GODOT4
environment variable that points to the Godot executable, or replace ``program``
parameter with the path to the Godot executable.

Here is an example ``tasks.json``:

.. code-block:: json

    {
        "version": "2.0.0",
        "tasks": [
            {
                "label": "build",
                "command": "dotnet",
                "type": "process",
                "args": [
                    "build"
                ],
                "problemMatcher": "$msCompile"
            }
        ]
    }

Now, when you start the debugger in Visual Studio Code, your Godot project will run.

Visual Studio (Windows only)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Download and install the latest version of
`Visual Studio <https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/>`__.
Visual Studio will include the required SDKs if you have the correct
workloads selected, so you don't need to manually install the things
listed in the "Prerequisites" section.

While installing Visual Studio, select this workload:

- .NET desktop development

In Godot's **Editor → Editor Settings** menu:

- Set **Dotnet** -> **Editor** -> **External Editor** to **Visual Studio**.

.. note:: If you see an error like "Unable to find package Godot.NET.Sdk",
          your NuGet configuration may be incorrect and need to be fixed.

          A simple way to fix the NuGet configuration file is to regenerate it.
          In a file explorer window, go to ``%AppData%\NuGet``. Rename or delete
          the ``NuGet.Config`` file. When you build your Godot project again,
          the file will be automatically created with default values.

To debug your C# scripts using Visual Studio, open the .sln file that is generated
after opening the first C# script in the editor. In the **Debug** menu, go to the
**Debug Properties** menu item for your project. Click the **Create a new profile**
button and choose **Executable**. In the **Executable** field, browse to the path
of the C# version of the Godot editor, or type ``%GODOT4%`` if you have created an
environment variable for the Godot executable path. It must be the path to the main Godot
executable, not the 'console' version. For the **Working Directory**, type a single period,
``.``, meaning the current directory. Also check the **Enable native code debugging**
checkbox. You may now close this window, click downward arrow on the debug profile
dropdown, and select your new launch profile. Hit the green start button, and your
game will begin playing in debug mode.


Creating a C# script
--------------------

After you successfully set up C# for Godot, you should see the following option
when selecting **Attach Script** in the context menu of a node in your scene:

.. image:: img/attachcsharpscript.webp

Note that while some specifics change, most concepts work the same
when using C# for scripting. If you're new to Godot, you may want to follow
the tutorials on :ref:`doc_scripting` at this point.
While some documentation pages still lack C# examples, most notions
can be transferred from GDScript.

Project setup and workflow
--------------------------

When you create the first C# script, Godot initializes the C# project files
for your Godot project. This includes generating a C# solution (``.sln``)
and a project file (``.csproj``), as well as some utility files and folders
(``.godot/mono``).
All of these but ``.godot/mono`` are important and should be committed to your
version control system. Everything under ``.godot`` can be safely added to the
ignore list of your VCS.
When troubleshooting, it can sometimes help to delete the ``.godot/mono`` folder
and let it regenerate.

Example
-------

Here's a blank C# script with some comments to demonstrate how it works.

.. code-block:: csharp

    using Godot;

    public partial class YourCustomClass : Node
    {
        // Member variables here, example:
        private int _a = 2;
        private string _b = "textvar";

        public override void _Ready()
        {
            // Called every time the node is added to the scene.
            // Initialization here.
            GD.Print("Hello from C# to Godot :)");
        }

        public override void _Process(double delta)
        {
            // Called every frame. Delta is time since the last frame.
            // Update game logic here.
        }
    }

As you can see, functions normally in global scope in GDScript like Godot's
``print`` function are available in the ``GD`` static class which is part of
the ``Godot`` namespace. For a full list of methods in the ``GD`` class, see the
class reference pages for
:ref:`@GDScript <class_@gdscript>` and :ref:`@GlobalScope <class_@globalscope>`.

.. note::

    Keep in mind that the class you wish to attach to your node should have the same
    name as the ``.cs`` file. Otherwise, you will get the following error:

    *"Cannot find class XXX for script res://XXX.cs"*

General differences between C# and GDScript
-------------------------------------------

The C# API uses ``PascalCase`` instead of ``snake_case`` in GDScript/C++.
Where possible, fields and getters/setters have been converted to properties.
In general, the C# Godot API strives to be as idiomatic as is reasonably possible.

For more information, see the :ref:`doc_c_sharp_differences` page.

.. warning::

    You need to (re)build the project assemblies whenever you want to see new
    exported variables or signals in the editor. This build can be manually
    triggered by clicking the **Build** button in the top right corner of the
    editor.

    .. image:: img/build_dotnet.webp

    You will also need to rebuild the project assemblies to apply changes in
    "tool" scripts.

Current gotchas and known issues
--------------------------------

As C# support is quite new in Godot, there are some growing pains and things
that need to be ironed out. Below is a list of the most important issues
you should be aware of when diving into C# in Godot, but if in doubt, also
take a look over the official
`issue tracker for .NET issues <https://github.com/godotengine/godot/labels/topic%3Adotnet>`_.

- Writing editor plugins is possible, but it is currently quite convoluted.
- State is currently not saved and restored when hot-reloading,
  with the exception of exported variables.
- Attached C# scripts should refer to a class that has a class name
  that matches the file name.
- There are some methods such as ``Get()``/``Set()``, ``Call()``/``CallDeferred()``
  and signal connection method ``Connect()`` that rely on Godot's ``snake_case`` API
  naming conventions.
  So when using e.g. ``CallDeferred("AddChild")``, ``AddChild`` will not work because
  the API is expecting the original ``snake_case`` version ``add_child``. However, you
  can use any custom properties or methods without this limitation.
  Prefer using the exposed ``StringName`` in the ``PropertyName``, ``MethodName`` and
  ``SignalName`` to avoid extra ``StringName`` allocations and worrying about snake_case naming.


As of Godot 4.0, exporting .NET projects is supported for desktop platforms
(Linux, Windows and macOS). Other platforms will gain support in future 4.x
releases.

Common pitfalls
---------------

You might encounter the following error when trying to modify some values in Godot
objects, e.g. when trying to change the X coordinate of a ``Node2D``:

.. code-block:: csharp
    :emphasize-lines: 5

    public partial class MyNode2D : Node2D
    {
        public override _Ready()
        {
            Position.X = 100.0f;
            // CS1612: Cannot modify the return value of 'Node2D.Position' because
            // it is not a variable.
        }
    }

This is perfectly normal. Structs (in this example, a ``Vector2``) in C# are
copied on assignment, meaning that when you retrieve such an object from a
property or an indexer, you get a copy of it, not the object itself. Modifying
said copy without reassigning it afterwards won't achieve anything.

The workaround is simple: retrieve the entire struct, modify the value you want
to modify, and reassign the property.

.. code-block:: csharp

    var newPosition = Position;
    newPosition.X = 100.0f;
    Position = newPosition;

Since C# 10, it is also possible to use `with expressions <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/operators/with-expression>`_
on structs, allowing you to do the same thing in a single line.

.. code-block:: csharp

    Position = Position with { X = 100.0f };

You can read more about this error on the `C# language reference <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/compiler-messages/cs1612>`_.

Performance of C# in Godot
--------------------------

According to some preliminary `benchmarks <https://github.com/cart/godot3-bunnymark>`_,
the performance of C# in Godot — while generally in the same order of magnitude
— is roughly **~4×** that of GDScript in some naive cases. C++ is still
a little faster; the specifics are going to vary according to your use case.
GDScript is likely fast enough for most general scripting workloads.

Most properties of Godot C# objects that are based on ``GodotObject``
(e.g. any ``Node`` like ``Control`` or ``Node3D`` like ``Camera3D``) require native (interop) calls as they talk to
Godot's C++ core.
Consider assigning values of such properties into a local variable if you need to modify or read them multiple times at
a single code location:

.. code-block:: csharp

    using Godot;

    public partial class YourCustomClass : Node3D
    {
        private void ExpensiveReposition()
        {
            for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++)
            {
                // Position is read and set 10 times which incurs native interop.
                // Furthermore the object is repositioned 10 times in 3D space which
                // takes additional time.
                Position += new Vector3(i, i);
            }
        }

        private void Reposition()
        {
            // A variable is used to avoid native interop for Position on every loop.
            var newPosition = Position;
            for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++)
            {
                newPosition += new Vector3(i, i);
            }
            // Setting Position only once avoids native interop and repositioning in 3D space.
            Position = newPosition;
        }
    }

Passing raw arrays (such as ``byte[]``) or ``string`` to Godot's C# API requires marshalling which is
comparatively pricey.

The implicit conversion from ``string`` to ``NodePath`` or ``StringName`` incur both the native interop and marshalling
costs as the ``string`` has to be marshalled and passed to the respective native constructor.

Using NuGet packages in Godot
-----------------------------

`NuGet <https://www.nuget.org/>`_ packages can be installed and used with Godot,
as with any C# project. Many IDEs are able to add packages directly.
They can also be added manually by adding the package reference in
the ``.csproj`` file located in the project root:

.. code-block:: xml
    :emphasize-lines: 2

        <ItemGroup>
            <PackageReference Include="Newtonsoft.Json" Version="11.0.2" />
        </ItemGroup>
        ...
    </Project>

As of Godot 3.2.3, Godot automatically downloads and sets up newly added NuGet
packages the next time it builds the project.

Profiling your C# code
----------------------

The following tools may be used for performance and memory profiling of your managed code:

- JetBrains Rider with dotTrace/dotMemory plugin.
- Standalone JetBrains dotTrace/dotMemory.
- Visual Studio.

Profiling managed and unmanaged code at once is possible with both JetBrains tools and Visual Studio, but limited to Windows.