Class Node3D

Most basic 3D game object, parent of all 3D-related nodes.

Inheritance

Node

Object

Node3D

Derived

AudioListener3D

AudioStreamPlayer3D

BoneAttachment3D

Camera3D

CollisionObject3D

CollisionPolygon3D

CollisionShape3D

GridMap

ImporterMeshInstance3D

Joint3D

LightmapProbe

Marker3D

NavigationLink3D

NavigationObstacle3D

NavigationRegion3D

OpenXRCompositionLayer

OpenXRHand

Path3D

PathFollow3D

RayCast3D

RemoteTransform3D

ShapeCast3D

Skeleton3D

SkeletonModifier3D

SpringArm3D

SpringBoneCollision3D

VehicleWheel3D

VisualInstance3D

XRFaceModifier3D

XRNode3D

XROrigin3D

Remarks

Most basic 3D game object, with a Transform3D and visibility settings. All other 3D game objects inherit from Node3D. Use Node3D as a parent node to move, scale, rotate and show/hide children in a 3D project.

Affine operations (rotate, scale, translate) happen in parent's local coordinate system, unless the Node3D object is set as top-level. Affine operations in this coordinate system correspond to direct affine operations on the Node3D's transform. The word local below refers to this coordinate system. The coordinate system that is attached to the Node3D object itself is referred to as object-local coordinate system.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, all methods that have angle parameters must have angles specified as radians. To convert degrees to radians, use @GlobalScope.deg_to_rad.

Note: Be aware that "Spatial" nodes are now called "Node3D" starting with Godot 4. Any Godot 3.x references to "Spatial" nodes refer to "Node3D" in Godot 4.

See Also

Introduction to 3D

All 3D Demos

Fields

NOTIFICATION_TRANSFORM_CHANGED

Node3D nodes receive this notification when their global transform changes. This means that either the current or a parent node changed its transform.

In order for NOTIFICATION_TRANSFORM_CHANGED to work, users first need to ask for it, with Node3D.set_notify_transform. The notification is also sent if the node is in the editor context and it has at least one valid gizmo.

const NOTIFICATION_TRANSFORM_CHANGED = 2000

NOTIFICATION_ENTER_WORLD

Node3D nodes receive this notification when they are registered to new World3D resource.

const NOTIFICATION_ENTER_WORLD = 41

NOTIFICATION_EXIT_WORLD

Node3D nodes receive this notification when they are unregistered from current World3D resource.

const NOTIFICATION_EXIT_WORLD = 42

NOTIFICATION_VISIBILITY_CHANGED

Node3D nodes receive this notification when their visibility changes.

const NOTIFICATION_VISIBILITY_CHANGED = 43

NOTIFICATION_LOCAL_TRANSFORM_CHANGED

Node3D nodes receive this notification when their local transform changes. This is not received when the transform of a parent node is changed.

In order for NOTIFICATION_LOCAL_TRANSFORM_CHANGED to work, users first need to ask for it, with Node3D.set_notify_local_transform.

const NOTIFICATION_LOCAL_TRANSFORM_CHANGED = 44

Properties

basis

Basis of the transform property. Represents the rotation, scale, and shear of this node.

var basis : Basis

Property Value

Basis

Remarks

• void set_basis(Basis value)
• Basis get_basis

global_basis

Global basis of this node. This is equivalent to global_transform.basis.

var global_basis : Basis

Property Value

Basis

Remarks

• void set_global_basis(Basis value)
• Basis get_global_basis

global_position

Global position of this node. This is equivalent to global_transform.origin.

var global_position : Vector3

Property Value

Vector3

Remarks

• void set_global_position(Vector3 value)
• Vector3 get_global_position

global_rotation

Rotation part of the global transformation in radians, specified in terms of YXZ-Euler angles in the format (X angle, Y angle, Z angle).

Note: In the mathematical sense, rotation is a matrix and not a vector. The three Euler angles, which are the three independent parameters of the Euler-angle parametrization of the rotation matrix, are stored in a Vector3 data structure not because the rotation is a vector, but only because Vector3 exists as a convenient data-structure to store 3 floating-point numbers. Therefore, applying affine operations on the rotation "vector" is not meaningful.

var global_rotation : Vector3

Property Value

Vector3

Remarks

• void set_global_rotation(Vector3 value)
• Vector3 get_global_rotation

global_rotation_degrees

Helper property to access global_rotation in degrees instead of radians.

var global_rotation_degrees : Vector3

Property Value

Vector3

Remarks

• void set_global_rotation_degrees(Vector3 value)
• Vector3 get_global_rotation_degrees

global_transform

World3D space (global) Transform3D of this node.

var global_transform : Transform3D

Property Value

Transform3D

Remarks

• void set_global_transform(Transform3D value)
• Transform3D get_global_transform

position

Local position or translation of this node relative to the parent. This is equivalent to transform.origin.

var position : Vector3 = Vector3(0, 0, 0)

Property Value

Vector3

Remarks

• void set_position(Vector3 value)
• Vector3 get_position

quaternion

Access to the node rotation as a Quaternion. This property is ideal for tweening complex rotations.

var quaternion : Quaternion

Property Value

Quaternion

Remarks

• void set_quaternion(Quaternion value)
• Quaternion get_quaternion

rotation

Rotation part of the local transformation in radians, specified in terms of Euler angles. The angles construct a rotation in the order specified by the rotation_order property.

Note: In the mathematical sense, rotation is a matrix and not a vector. The three Euler angles, which are the three independent parameters of the Euler-angle parametrization of the rotation matrix, are stored in a Vector3 data structure not because the rotation is a vector, but only because Vector3 exists as a convenient data-structure to store 3 floating-point numbers. Therefore, applying affine operations on the rotation "vector" is not meaningful.

Note: This property is edited in the inspector in degrees. If you want to use degrees in a script, use rotation_degrees.

var rotation : Vector3 = Vector3(0, 0, 0)

Property Value

Vector3

Remarks

• void set_rotation(Vector3 value)
• Vector3 get_rotation

rotation_degrees

Helper property to access rotation in degrees instead of radians.

var rotation_degrees : Vector3

Property Value

Vector3

Remarks

• void set_rotation_degrees(Vector3 value)
• Vector3 get_rotation_degrees

rotation_edit_mode

Specify how rotation (and scale) will be presented in the editor.

var rotation_edit_mode : int = 0

Property Value

int

Remarks

• void set_rotation_edit_mode(int value)
• int get_rotation_edit_mode

rotation_order

Specify the axis rotation order of the rotation property. The final orientation is constructed by rotating the Euler angles in the order specified by this property.

var rotation_order : int = 2

Property Value

int

Remarks

• void set_rotation_order(int value)
• int get_rotation_order

scale

Scale part of the local transformation.

Note: Mixed negative scales in 3D are not decomposable from the transformation matrix. Due to the way scale is represented with transformation matrices in Godot, the scale values will either be all positive or all negative.

Note: Not all nodes are visually scaled by the scale property. For example, Light3Ds are not visually affected by scale.

var scale : Vector3 = Vector3(1, 1, 1)

Property Value

Vector3

Remarks

• void set_scale(Vector3 value)
• Vector3 get_scale

top_level

If true, the node will not inherit its transformations from its parent. Node transformations are only in global space.

var top_level : bool = false

Property Value

bool

Remarks

• void set_as_top_level(bool value)
• bool is_set_as_top_level

transform

Local space Transform3D of this node, with respect to the parent node.

var transform : Transform3D = Transform3D(1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0)

Property Value

Transform3D

Remarks

• void set_transform(Transform3D value)
• Transform3D get_transform

visibility_parent

Defines the visibility range parent for this node and its subtree. The visibility parent must be a GeometryInstance3D. Any visual instance will only be visible if the visibility parent (and all of its visibility ancestors) is hidden by being closer to the camera than its own visibility_range_begin. Nodes hidden via the visible property are essentially removed from the visibility dependency tree, so dependent instances will not take the hidden node or its ancestors into account.

var visibility_parent : NodePath = NodePath("")

Property Value

NodePath

Remarks

• void set_visibility_parent(NodePath value)
• NodePath get_visibility_parent

visible

If true, this node is drawn. The node is only visible if all of its ancestors are visible as well (in other words, is_visible_in_tree must return true).

var visible : bool = true

Property Value

bool

Remarks

• void set_visible(bool value)
• bool is_visible

Methods

add_gizmo(Node3DGizmo)

Attach an editor gizmo to this Node3D.

Note: The gizmo object would typically be an instance of EditorNode3DGizmo, but the argument type is kept generic to avoid creating a dependency on editor classes in Node3D.

void add_gizmo(Node3DGizmo gizmo)

Parameters

gizmo Node3DGizmo

clear_gizmos

Clear all gizmos attached to this Node3D.

void clear_gizmos

clear_subgizmo_selection

Clears subgizmo selection for this node in the editor. Useful when subgizmo IDs become invalid after a property change.

void clear_subgizmo_selection

force_update_transform

Forces the transform to update. Transform changes in physics are not instant for performance reasons. Transforms are accumulated and then set. Use this if you need an up-to-date transform when doing physics operations.

void force_update_transform

get_gizmos

Qualifiers: const

Returns all the gizmos attached to this Node3D.

Node3DGizmo[] get_gizmos

get_global_transform_interpolated

When using physics interpolation, there will be circumstances in which you want to know the interpolated (displayed) transform of a node rather than the standard transform (which may only be accurate to the most recent physics tick).

This is particularly important for frame-based operations that take place in Node._process, rather than Node._physics_process. Examples include Camera3Ds focusing on a node, or finding where to fire lasers from on a frame rather than physics tick.

Note: This function creates an interpolation pump on the Node3D the first time it is called, which can respond to physics interpolation resets. If you get problems with "streaking" when initially following a Node3D, be sure to call get_global_transform_interpolated at least once before resetting the Node3D physics interpolation.

Transform3D get_global_transform_interpolated

get_parent_node_3d

Qualifiers: const

Returns the parent Node3D, or null if no parent exists, the parent is not of type Node3D, or top_level is true.

Note: Calling this method is not equivalent to get_parent() as Node3D, which does not take top_level into account.

Node3D get_parent_node_3d

get_world_3d

Qualifiers: const

Returns the current World3D resource this Node3D node is registered to.

World3D get_world_3d

global_rotate(Vector3, float)

Rotates the global (world) transformation around axis, a unit Vector3, by specified angle in radians. The rotation axis is in global coordinate system.

void global_rotate(Vector3 axis, float angle)

Parameters

axis Vector3

angle float

global_scale(Vector3)

Scales the global (world) transformation by the given Vector3 scale factors.

void global_scale(Vector3 scale)

Parameters

scale Vector3

global_translate(Vector3)

Moves the global (world) transformation by Vector3 offset. The offset is in global coordinate system.

void global_translate(Vector3 offset)

Parameters

offset Vector3

hide

Disables rendering of this node. Changes visible to false.

void hide

is_local_transform_notification_enabled

Qualifiers: const

Returns whether node notifies about its local transformation changes. Node3D will not propagate this by default.

bool is_local_transform_notification_enabled

is_scale_disabled

Qualifiers: const

Returns whether this node uses a scale of (1, 1, 1) or its local transformation scale.

bool is_scale_disabled

is_transform_notification_enabled

Qualifiers: const

Returns whether the node notifies about its global and local transformation changes. Node3D will not propagate this by default.

bool is_transform_notification_enabled

is_visible_in_tree

Qualifiers: const

Returns true if the node is present in the SceneTree, its visible property is true and all its ancestors are also visible. If any ancestor is hidden, this node will not be visible in the scene tree.

Visibility is checked only in parent nodes that inherit from Node3D. If the parent is of any other type (such as Node, AnimationPlayer, or Node2D), it is assumed to be visible.

Note: This method does not take layers into account, so even if this method returns true, the node might end up not being rendered.

bool is_visible_in_tree

look_at(Vector3, Vector3, bool)

Rotates the node so that the local forward axis (-Z, FORWARD) points toward the target position.

The local up axis (+Y) points as close to the up vector as possible while staying perpendicular to the local forward axis. The resulting transform is orthogonal, and the scale is preserved. Non-uniform scaling may not work correctly.

The target position cannot be the same as the node's position, the up vector cannot be zero.

The target and the up cannot be ZERO, and shouldn't be colinear to avoid unintended rotation around local Z axis.

Operations take place in global space, which means that the node must be in the scene tree.

If use_model_front is true, the +Z axis (asset front) is treated as forward (implies +X is left) and points toward the target position. By default, the -Z axis (camera forward) is treated as forward (implies +X is right).

void look_at(Vector3 target, Vector3 up, bool use_model_front)

Parameters

target Vector3

up Vector3

use_model_front bool

look_at_from_position(Vector3, Vector3, Vector3, bool)

Moves the node to the specified position, and then rotates the node to point toward the target as per Node3D.look_at. Operations take place in global space.

void look_at_from_position(Vector3 position, Vector3 target, Vector3 up, bool use_model_front)

Parameters

position Vector3

target Vector3

up Vector3

use_model_front bool

orthonormalize

Resets this node's transformations (like scale, skew and taper) preserving its rotation and translation by performing Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization on this node's Transform3D.

void orthonormalize

rotate(Vector3, float)

Rotates the local transformation around axis, a unit Vector3, by specified angle in radians.

void rotate(Vector3 axis, float angle)

Parameters

axis Vector3

angle float

rotate_object_local(Vector3, float)

Rotates the local transformation around axis, a unit Vector3, by specified angle in radians. The rotation axis is in object-local coordinate system.

void rotate_object_local(Vector3 axis, float angle)

Parameters

axis Vector3

angle float

rotate_x(float)

Rotates the local transformation around the X axis by angle in radians.

void rotate_x(float angle)

Parameters

angle float

rotate_y(float)

Rotates the local transformation around the Y axis by angle in radians.

void rotate_y(float angle)

Parameters

angle float

rotate_z(float)

Rotates the local transformation around the Z axis by angle in radians.

void rotate_z(float angle)

Parameters

angle float

scale_object_local(Vector3)

Scales the local transformation by given 3D scale factors in object-local coordinate system.

void scale_object_local(Vector3 scale)

Parameters

scale Vector3

set_disable_scale(bool)

Sets whether the node uses a scale of (1, 1, 1) or its local transformation scale. Changes to the local transformation scale are preserved.

void set_disable_scale(bool disable)

Parameters

disable bool

set_identity

Reset all transformations for this node (sets its Transform3D to the identity matrix).

void set_identity

set_ignore_transform_notification(bool)

Sets whether the node ignores notification that its transformation (global or local) changed.

void set_ignore_transform_notification(bool enabled)

Parameters

enabled bool

set_notify_local_transform(bool)

Sets whether the node notifies about its local transformation changes. Node3D will not propagate this by default.

void set_notify_local_transform(bool enable)

Parameters

enable bool

set_notify_transform(bool)

Sets whether the node notifies about its global and local transformation changes. Node3D will not propagate this by default, unless it is in the editor context and it has a valid gizmo.

void set_notify_transform(bool enable)

Parameters

enable bool

set_subgizmo_selection(Node3DGizmo, int, Transform3D)

Set subgizmo selection for this node in the editor.

Note: The gizmo object would typically be an instance of EditorNode3DGizmo, but the argument type is kept generic to avoid creating a dependency on editor classes in Node3D.

void set_subgizmo_selection(Node3DGizmo gizmo, int id, Transform3D transform)

Parameters

gizmo Node3DGizmo

id int

transform Transform3D

show

Enables rendering of this node. Changes visible to true.

void show

to_global(Vector3)

Qualifiers: const

Transforms local_point from this node's local space to world space.

Vector3 to_global(Vector3 local_point)

Parameters

local_point Vector3

to_local(Vector3)

Qualifiers: const

Transforms global_point from world space to this node's local space.

Vector3 to_local(Vector3 global_point)

Parameters

global_point Vector3

translate(Vector3)

Changes the node's position by the given offset Vector3.

Note that the translation offset is affected by the node's scale, so if scaled by e.g. (10, 1, 1), a translation by an offset of (2, 0, 0) would actually add 20 (2 * 10) to the X coordinate.

void translate(Vector3 offset)

Parameters

offset Vector3

translate_object_local(Vector3)

Changes the node's position by the given offset Vector3 in local space.

void translate_object_local(Vector3 offset)

Parameters

offset Vector3

update_gizmos

Updates all the Node3D gizmos attached to this node.

void update_gizmos

Events

visibility_changed

Emitted when node visibility changes.

signal visibility_changed