Anvil

A Godot 4 (C#) editor plugin that generates compile-time safe constants for the names and paths your project already has. Typos become compile errors instead of silent runtime bugs.

using Anvil;

GD.Load<AudioStream>(Sfx.Planted);
AddToGroup(GlobalGroups.Enemies);
Input.IsActionPressed(InputActions.Interact);
animationPlayer.Play(Player.Animations.Attack);
CollisionMask = PhysicsLayers2D.Walls | PhysicsLayers2D.Enemies;

Requirements: Godot 4 with C# (developed against 4.7), .NET 8.

Installation

1. Copy addons/anvil into your project's addons/ folder.
2. Enable it in Project → Project Settings → Plugins.
3. Anvil generates AnvilIds.cs, AnvilSceneIds.cs and anvil_rules.tres on load. Regenerate any time with Project → Tools → Generate Anvil IDs.

Folder tracking

Right-click a folder in the FileSystem dock → Track with Anvil... to generate a constant for every file in it.

Already-tracked folders show Edit Anvil Tracking... and Untrack from Anvil.

// Folder: res://sfx/  (Output Name: Sfx)
GD.Load<AudioStream>(Sfx.Planted);

Generation modes

Id — constant is the file's base name, plus a HintString.

// Sfx.Planted == "planted"
[Export(PropertyHint.Enum, Sfx.HintString)]
public string SoundId;

FullPath — constant is the full res:// path, ready for Load().

// Sfx.Planted == "res://sfx/others/planted.mp3"
GD.Load<AudioStream>(Sfx.Planted);

Recursive scanning

Tick Recursive to include subfolders.

// res://sfx/digging.mp3
// res://sfx/others/planted.mp3   <- included when Recursive is on
Sfx.Digging;
Sfx.Planted;

Extension filter

Only include the listed extensions. .import and .uid files are always excluded.

Extensions: png, ogg

Icons.Sword;     // sword.png   ✔
Icons.Hit;       // hit.ogg     ✔
                 // notes.txt   ✘ skipped

Global groups

Generated automatically from Project Settings → Globals → Groups.

AddToGroup(GlobalGroups.Enemies);

[Export(PropertyHint.Enum, GlobalGroups.HintString)]
public string TargetGroup;

Input actions

Generated automatically from Project Settings → Input Map. Built-in ui_* actions are excluded.

if (Input.IsActionPressed(InputActions.Interact)) { }

Audio buses

Generated automatically from the current audio bus layout.

AudioServer.SetBusVolumeDb(AudioServer.GetBusIndex(AudioBuses.Music), -6f);

Physics layers

Generated automatically from the named layers in Project Settings → Layer Names → 2D / 3D Physics. Each is a uint bit mask.

CollisionLayer = PhysicsLayers2D.Player;
CollisionMask  = PhysicsLayers2D.Walls | PhysicsLayers2D.Enemies;

CollisionMask  = PhysicsLayers3D.World;

HintString

Groups, input actions, audio buses, Id-mode folders and scene animation classes all expose a HintString for inspector dropdowns.

[Export(PropertyHint.Enum, AudioBuses.HintString)]
public string Bus;

using static

Drop the class prefix when you use one class a lot.

using static Anvil.Sfx;
using static Anvil.GlobalGroups;

GD.Load<AudioStream>(Planted);
AddToGroup(Enemies);

Scene tracking

Generates a constant for every animation in a scene, so Play("atack") typos become compile errors.

Supported nodes: AnimationPlayer, AnimatedSprite2D, AnimatedSprite3D (only nodes owned by the scene itself, not instanced sub-scenes).

1. Track a scene

Right-click a .tscn / .scn file → Track Scene with Anvil...

Tracked scenes show Edit Anvil Scene Tracking... and Untrack Scene from Anvil. Tracking is by UID, so moving or renaming the scene keeps working.

2. Where do the ids go?

3. With a root script

Ids are added to your own class, in its namespace. Requirements: the class is partial and the project has been built.

namespace Game;

public partial class Player : CharacterBody2D
{
    public override void _Ready()
    {
        GetNode<AnimationPlayer>("Anim").Play(Animations.Idle);
    }
}

4. Without a root script

Pick an Output Name in the dialog (e.g. SampleScene).

using Anvil;

animationPlayer.Play(SampleScene.Animations.Idle);

5. Flatten

On (default) — all animations of all nodes merged into one Animations class.

Player.Animations.Idle;     // from AnimationPlayer
Player.Animations.Hophop;   // from AnimatedSprite

Off — one class per node, named after the node (or its path if names repeat).

Player.AnimationPlayer.Idle;
Player.AnimatedSprite.Hophop;

File structure

addons/anvil/
├── plugin.cfg
├── AnvilPlugin.cs
├── anvil_rules.tres      # generated
├── generated/            # generated (with .gdignore)
│   ├── AnvilIds.cs
│   └── AnvilSceneIds.cs
├── icons/
│   └── anvil_icon.svg
└── src/
    ├── AnvilContextMenu.cs
    ├── AnvilFileIO.cs
    ├── AnvilGenerator.cs
    ├── AnvilNameScope.cs
    ├── AnvilNaming.cs
    ├── AnvilRule.cs
    ├── AnvilRuleManager.cs
    ├── AnvilRuleSet.cs
    ├── AnvilSceneGenerator.cs
    ├── AnvilSceneReader.cs
    ├── AnvilSceneRule.cs
    ├── AnvilScriptResolver.cs
    ├── AnvilTrackFolderDialog.cs
    ├── AnvilTrackSceneDialog.cs
    ├── AnvilValidator.cs
    ├── ForgeMode.cs
    └── SceneSources.cs

Known limitations

• Renaming or moving a tracked folder isn't detected. Re-track the new location and remove the stale rule. (Scenes are tracked by UID and survive moves.)
• Scene ids come from the root node only: its C# script, and animation nodes owned by the scene itself.
• Ids go into a script class only after the project has been built; until then a standalone class is generated.
• Two scenes sharing a root script: only the first gets ids in the script class.
• A root-script member named Animations (Flatten on) or a node class name clashing with a Godot class falls back to a standalone class or a Names suffix, with a warning.
• Generated files are overwritten every time — don't hand-edit them.
• Generation runs on plugin load and via the Tools menu, not on every file or settings change.

License

MIT