godot-resources

1# Godot Resources (4.x)
2 
3Model game data as reusable, Inspector-editable `Resource` objects instead of hard-coded
4values, and load/save them as `.tres`/`.res`. Targets **Godot 4.7**.
5 
6## When to use
7 
8- Use when representing items, stats, enemy configs, dialogue lines, or level metadata as
9  data; authoring `.tres` files in the Inspector; or loading/saving custom resources.
10 
11**When *not* to use:** nodes/scene structure → `godot-nodes-scenes`; saving the player's
12*runtime progress* (engine-agnostic save format/slots) → `save-systems`; the C# variant of
13this pattern → `godot-csharp`.
14 
15## Core workflow
16 
171. **Subclass `Resource`** with `class_name` and `@export` fields. It now appears in the
18   "New Resource" dialog and as an `@export` type, editable in the Inspector.
192. **Create instances as `.tres`** files in the FileSystem dock (text, diff-friendly) or
20   `.res` (binary, smaller/faster). Edit their fields in the Inspector — no code needed.
213. **Reference resources from nodes** via `@export var data: ItemResource`, or arrays
22   `@export var loot: Array[ItemResource]`.
234. **Load at runtime** with `preload` (constant path) or `load`/`ResourceLoader.load`
24   (variable path). Use threaded loading for large assets.
255. **Duplicate before mutating** a shared resource at runtime, or every node using it
26   changes too (resources are shared references).
276. **Save generated/edited resources** with `ResourceSaver.save`.
28 
29## Patterns
30 
31### 1. A custom data resource
32 
33```gdscript
34# item.gd
35…