godot-docs/getting_started/workflow/project_setup/project_organization.rst

.. _doc_project_organization:

Project organization
====================

Introduction
------------

Since Godot has no restrictions on project structure or filesystem usage,
organizing files when learning the engine can seem challenging. This
tutorial suggests a workflow which should be a good starting point.
We will also cover using version control with Godot.

Organization
------------

Godot is scene-based in nature, and uses the filesystem as-is,
without metadata or an asset database.

Unlike other engines, many resources are contained within the scene
itself, so the amount of files in the filesystem is considerably lower.

Considering that, the most common approach is to group assets as close
to scenes as possible; when a project grows, it makes it more
maintainable.

As an example, one can usually place into a single folder their basic assets,
such as sprite images, 3D model meshes, materials, and music, etc.
They can then use a separate folder to store built levels that use them.

::

    /project.godot
    /docs/.gdignore  # See "Ignoring specific folders" below
    /docs/learning.html
    /models/town/house/house.dae
    /models/town/house/window.png
    /models/town/house/door.png
    /characters/player/cubio.dae
    /characters/player/cubio.png
    /characters/enemies/goblin/goblin.dae
    /characters/enemies/goblin/goblin.png
    /characters/npcs/suzanne/suzanne.dae
    /characters/npcs/suzanne/suzanne.png
    /levels/riverdale/riverdale.scn

Importing
---------

Godot versions prior to 3.0 did the import process from files outside
the project. While this can be useful in large projects, it
resulted in an organization hassle for most developers.

Because of this, assets are now transparently imported from within the project
folder.

Ignoring specific folders
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To prevent Godot from importing files contained in a specific folder, create
an empty file called ``.gdignore`` in the folder (the leading ``.`` is required).
This can be useful to speed up the initial project importing.

.. note::

    To create a file whose name starts with a dot on Windows, you can use a
    text editor such as Notepad++ or use the following command in a
    command prompt: ``type nul > .gdignore``

Once the folder is ignored, resources in that folder can't be loaded anymore
using the ``load()`` and ``preload()`` methods.

Ignoring a folder will also automatically hide it from the FileSystem dock,
which can be useful to reduce clutter.