Nodes

Node Referencing

Via script

• There are several ways to access a Node's path, such as:
  var child_node = $ChildNode
var child_node = get_node("ChildNode")
var grandchild_node = $ChildNode/GrandchildNode
var grandchild_node = get_node("ChildNode/GrandchildNode")
var parent_node = get_parent()
var parent_node = get_node("..")
var grandparent_node = get_parent().get_parent()
var grandparent_node = get_node("../..")
var sibling_node = get_parent().get_node("SiblingNode")
var sibling_node = get_node("../SiblingNode")

Name Unique

• Name Unique in Owner (%) .

• It's possible to access the Node without a direct path using the 'Access as Scene Unique Name' feature. By right-clicking the Node and enabling 'Access as Scene Unique Name', the Node can be accessed from anywhere in the SceneTree using:

  • get_node("%_node_name")

Node Groups

• Use groups to transmit signals and data without making Connections. Information is available in the 'Node' and 'SceneTree' documentation.

• Add a Node to a Group:
  add_to_group("_group_name_")

• Remove a Node from a Group:
  remove_from_group("_group_name_")

• Get an array of all Groups the Node belongs to:
  get_node(_node_path_).get_groups()

• Check if a Group exists:
  bool has_group(name: StringName)

• Check if a Node is in a Group:
  get_node(_node_path_).is_in_group("_group_name_")

• Get an array of all Nodes in a Group:
  Array[Node] get_nodes_in_group(group: StringName)

• Change the value of a 'variable / property' of all Group members: (there is a variant with 'Flags' as extra inputs)
  void set_group(group: StringName, property: String, value: Variant)

• Call a 'method / function' on all Group members: (variant with 'Flags' as extra inputs exists)
  void call_group(group: StringName, method: StringName, ...)

• "Notify" all Group members: (variant with 'Flags' as extra inputs exists)
  void notify_group(group: StringName, notification: int)

Instantiate

Instantiate a Node from a pre-existing file

• Creation via export() :

@export var pre_node : NodePath
new_node = pre_node.instantiate()
add_child(new_node)

• Creation via 'preload' or 'load':

const pre_node = preload("NodePath") |~or~| const node = load("NodePath")
new_node = pre_node.instance()
add_child(new_node)

Reparent

if !get_parent().is_ancestor_of(body):
    body.call_deferred("reparent", get_node("../Entities"))

Remove

• Using _node_.queue_free()  will delete the Node in the next frame, keeping it alive until then.

• Using _parentNode_.remove_child(_node_)  will remove the Node from all SceneTrees in the game, leaving it orphaned but not deleted. You can check if the Node is inside a SceneTree using _Node_.is_inside_tree() .

Check Is Valid

• Check if a Node still exists or has been deleted ( is_instance_valid() )

• The code below may result in strange errors:

@onready var node = $Node
if node:
    (...)

• The code below works better, without errors:

@onready var node = $Node
if is_instance_valid(node):
    (...)

Check Node type

• Using entity is Node2D  performs an inheritance-based check.

• Using entity.is_class("Node2D") :

  • Returns true if the object inherits from the given class. See also get_class().

    • var sprite2d = Sprite2D.new()

    • sprite2d.is_class("Sprite2D") # Returns true

    • sprite2d.is_class("Node")     # Returns true

    • sprite2d.is_class("Node3D")   # Returns false