Export & Builds

Expert guidance for building and distributing Godot games across platforms.

NEVER Do

NEVER export without testing on target platform first

— "Works on my machine" doesn't mean it works on Windows/Linux/Android. Test early and often.

NEVER use debug builds for release

— Debug builds are 5-10x larger and slower. Always export with --export-release for production.

NEVER hardcode file paths in exports

— Use

res://

and

user://

paths. Absolute paths (

C:/Users/...

) break on other machines.

NEVER skip code signing on macOS

— Unsigned macOS apps trigger Gatekeeper warnings. Users won't run your game.

NEVER include editor-only files in exports

— Exclude

.md

,

docs/*

,

.git

via export filters. Reduces build size by 20-50%.

Available Scripts

MANDATORY

Read the appropriate script before implementing the corresponding pattern. version_manager.gd AutoLoad for managing game version, build hash, and window titles. headless_build.sh CI/CD headless export script. Automates version injection, godot --headless --export-release, code signing, and butler deployment. Export Templates Install via Editor: Editor → Manage Export Templates → Download Basic Export Setup Create Export Preset Project → Export Add preset (Windows, Linux, etc.) Configure settings Export Project Windows Export

Export settings

Format: .exe (single file) or .pck + .exe

Icon: .ico file

Include: .import, .tres, *.tscn

Web Export

Settings:

Export Type: Regular or GDExtension

Thread Support: For SharedArrayBuffer

VRAM Compression: Optimized for size

Export Presets File

export_presets.cfg

[ preset.0 ] name = " Windows Desktop " platform = " Windows Desktop " runnable = true export_path = " builds/windows/game.exe " [ preset.0.options ] binary_format/64_bits = true application/icon = " res://icon.ico " Command-Line Export

Export from command line

godot

headless

export-release "Windows Desktop" builds/game . exe

Export debug build

godot

headless

export-debug "Windows Desktop" builds/game_debug . exe

PCK only (for patching)

godot

headless

export-pack "Windows Desktop" builds/game . pck Platform-Specific Android

Requirements:

- Android SDK

- OpenJDK 17

- Debug keystore

Editor Settings:

Export → Android → SDK Path

Export → Android → Keystore

iOS

Requirements:

- macOS with Xcode

- Apple Developer account

- Provisioning profile

Export creates .xcodeproj

Build in Xcode for App Store

macOS

Settings:

Codesign: Developer ID certificate

Notarization: Required for distribution

Architecture: Universal (Intel + ARM)

Feature Flags

Check platform at runtime

if OS . get_name ( ) == "Windows" :

Windows-specific code

pass if OS . has_feature ( "web" ) :

Web build

pass if OS . has_feature ( "mobile" ) :

Android or iOS

pass Project Settings for Export

project.godot

[ application ] config/name = " My Game " config/version = " 1.0.0 " run/main_scene = " res://scenes/main.tscn " config/icon = " res://icon.svg " [ rendering ]

Optimize for target platforms

textures/vram_compression/import_etc2_astc

true # Mobile Build Optimization Reduce Build Size

Remove unused imports

Project Settings → Editor → Import Defaults

Exclude editor-only files

In export preset: Exclude filters

* . md * . txt docs / * Strip Debug Symbols

Export preset options:

Debugging → Debug: Off

Binary Format → Architecture: 64-bit only

CI/CD with GitHub Actions

.github/workflows/export.yml

name : Export Godot Game on : push : tags : [ 'v*' ] jobs : export : runs-on : ubuntu - latest container : image : barichello/godot - ci : 4.2.1 steps : - uses : actions/checkout@v4 - name : Export Windows run : | mkdir -p builds/windows godot --headless --export-release "Windows Desktop" builds/windows/game.exe - name : Upload Artifact uses : actions/upload - artifact@v3 with : name : windows - build path : builds/windows/ Version Management

version.gd (AutoLoad)

extends Node const VERSION := "1.0.0" const BUILD := "2024.02.06" func get_version_string ( ) -> String : return "v" + VERSION + " (" + BUILD + ")" Best Practices 1. Test Export Early Export to all target platforms early Catch platform-specific issues fast 2. Use .gdignore

Exclude folders from export

Create .gdignore in folder

1. Separate Debug/Release Debug: Keep logs, dev tools Release: Strip debug, optimize size Reference Godot Docs: Exporting Related Master Skill: godot-master