Artifact differentiation

This document describes what the individual artifacts are for and how they are used.

godot-library

Overview

The godot-library contains the Godot APIs as Kotlin classes as well as registration code. It is automatically added as a dependency to the users code by the godot-gradle-plugin. Hence, it is deployed to mavenCentral. It is also used as a dependency by godot-bootstrap and thus present in the godot-bootstrap.jar which gets shipped alongside the engine.

Usage

The godot-library is primarily used implicitly by the end user. This because the user does not add it manually, instead, the godot-gradle-plugin performs this task. Meanwhile, the godot-bootstrap.jar also utilizes it for initial loading and editor usage. It's crucial to note that during runtime, only the version added to the user's code via the godot-gradle-plugin is used. The version within the godot-bootstrap is exclusively for the editor.

godot-bootstrap

Overview

The godot-bootstrap is a "shadow JAR" (also known as fat JAR) which contains the godot-library and runtime code to reload usercode in the editor after rebuilds.

Usage

The godot-bootstrap is shipped alongside the engine for editor use and is bundled together with the game executable during export. It is never used by the user directly nor added as a dependency anywhere.

main

Overview

The main.jar is built when the user builds his code. It is a shadow JAR containing only the users code as well as all the dependencies the user has defined recursively. This is needed so they and all dependencies and the dependencies of the dependencies are present at runtime.

Usage

This JAR is bundled together with the game executable during export and executed through the godot-bootstrap during runtime. It is nowhere else used.

usercode

Overview

The usercode artifact is a shared library which is only used on GraalVM native image builds. It contains all code from the main.jar and the godot-bootstrap.jar.

Usage

It replaces the godot-bootstrap.jar and the main.jar when the game is exported. It is only used when configured either as a command line argument or through the configuration file (see GraalVM documentation for more information). While it is used (either in game or editor) no usercode can be reloaded.