ResourceLoader

Inherits: Object

A singleton for loading resource files.

Description

A singleton used to load resource files from the filesystem.

It uses the many ResourceFormatLoader classes registered in the engine (either built-in or from a plugin) to load files into memory and convert them to a format that can be used by the engine.

Note: You have to import the files into the engine first to load them using load. If you want to load Images at run-time, you may use Image.load. If you want to import audio files, you can use the snippet described in AudioStreamMP3.data.

Tutorials

Operating System Testing Demo

Methods


void	add_resource_format_loader(format_loader: ResourceFormatLoader, at_front: bool = false)
bool	exists(path: String, type_hint: String = "")
PackedStringArray	get_dependencies(path: String)
PackedStringArray	get_recognized_extensions_for_type(type: String)
int	get_resource_uid(path: String)
bool	has_cached(path: String)
Resource	load(path: String, type_hint: String = "", cache_mode: CacheMode = 1)
Resource	load_threaded_get(path: String)
ThreadLoadStatus	load_threaded_get_status(path: String, progress: Array = [])
Error	load_threaded_request(path: String, type_hint: String = "", use_sub_threads: bool = false, cache_mode: CacheMode = 1)
void	remove_resource_format_loader(format_loader: ResourceFormatLoader)
void	set_abort_on_missing_resources(abort: bool)

Enumerations

enum ThreadLoadStatus: 🔗

ThreadLoadStatus THREAD_LOAD_INVALID_RESOURCE = 0

The resource is invalid, or has not been loaded with load_threaded_request.

ThreadLoadStatus THREAD_LOAD_IN_PROGRESS = 1

The resource is still being loaded.

ThreadLoadStatus THREAD_LOAD_FAILED = 2

Some error occurred during loading and it failed.

ThreadLoadStatus THREAD_LOAD_LOADED = 3

The resource was loaded successfully and can be accessed via load_threaded_get.

enum CacheMode: 🔗

CacheMode CACHE_MODE_IGNORE = 0

Neither the main resource (the one requested to be loaded) nor any of its subresources are retrieved from cache nor stored into it. Dependencies (external resources) are loaded with CACHE_MODE_REUSE.

CacheMode CACHE_MODE_REUSE = 1

The main resource (the one requested to be loaded), its subresources, and its dependencies (external resources) are retrieved from cache if present, instead of loaded. Those not cached are loaded and then stored into the cache. The same rules are propagated recursively down the tree of dependencies (external resources).

CacheMode CACHE_MODE_REPLACE = 2

Like CACHE_MODE_REUSE, but the cache is checked for the main resource (the one requested to be loaded) as well as for each of its subresources. Those already in the cache, as long as the loaded and cached types match, have their data refreshed from storage into the already existing instances. Otherwise, they are recreated as completely new objects.

CacheMode CACHE_MODE_IGNORE_DEEP = 3

Like CACHE_MODE_IGNORE, but propagated recursively down the tree of dependencies (external resources).

CacheMode CACHE_MODE_REPLACE_DEEP = 4

Like CACHE_MODE_REPLACE, but propagated recursively down the tree of dependencies (external resources).

Method Descriptions

void add_resource_format_loader(format_loader: ResourceFormatLoader, at_front: bool = false) 🔗

Registers a new ResourceFormatLoader. The ResourceLoader will use the ResourceFormatLoader as described in load.

This method is performed implicitly for ResourceFormatLoaders written in GDScript (see ResourceFormatLoader for more information).

bool exists(path: String, type_hint: String = "") 🔗

Returns whether a recognized resource exists for the given path.

An optional type_hint can be used to further specify the Resource type that should be handled by the ResourceFormatLoader. Anything that inherits from Resource can be used as a type hint, for example Image.

Note: If you use Resource.take_over_path, this method will return true for the taken path even if the resource wasn't saved (i.e. exists only in resource cache).

PackedStringArray get_dependencies(path: String) 🔗

Returns the dependencies for the resource at the given path.

Note: The dependencies are returned with slices separated by ::. You can use String.get_slice to get their components.

gdscript

for dep in ResourceLoader.get_dependencies(path):
    print(dep.get_slice("::", 0)) # Prints UID.
    print(dep.get_slice("::", 2)) # Prints path.

PackedStringArray get_recognized_extensions_for_type(type: String) 🔗

Returns the list of recognized extensions for a resource type.

int get_resource_uid(path: String) 🔗

Returns the ID associated with a given resource path, or -1 when no such ID exists.

bool has_cached(path: String) 🔗

Returns whether a cached resource is available for the given path.

Once a resource has been loaded by the engine, it is cached in memory for faster access, and future calls to the load method will use the cached version. The cached resource can be overridden by using Resource.take_over_path on a new resource for that same path.

Resource load(path: String, type_hint: String = "", cache_mode: CacheMode = 1) 🔗

Loads a resource at the given path, caching the result for further access.

The registered ResourceFormatLoaders are queried sequentially to find the first one which can handle the file's extension, and then attempt loading. If loading fails, the remaining ResourceFormatLoaders are also attempted.

The cache_mode property defines whether and how the cache should be used or updated when loading the resource. See CacheMode for details.

Returns an empty resource if no ResourceFormatLoader could handle the file, and prints an error if no file is found at the specified path.

GDScript has a simplified @GDScript.load built-in method which can be used in most situations, leaving the use of ResourceLoader for more advanced scenarios.

Note: If ProjectSettings.editor/export/convert_text_resources_to_binary is true, @GDScript.load will not be able to read converted files in an exported project. If you rely on run-time loading of files present within the PCK, set ProjectSettings.editor/export/convert_text_resources_to_binary to false.

Note: Relative paths will be prefixed with "res://" before loading, to avoid unexpected results make sure your paths are absolute.

Resource load_threaded_get(path: String) 🔗

Returns the resource loaded by load_threaded_request.

If this is called before the loading thread is done (i.e. load_threaded_get_status is not THREAD_LOAD_LOADED), the calling thread will be blocked until the resource has finished loading. However, it's recommended to use load_threaded_get_status to known when the load has actually completed.

ThreadLoadStatus load_threaded_get_status(path: String, progress: Array = []) 🔗

Returns the status of a threaded loading operation started with load_threaded_request for the resource at path. See ThreadLoadStatus for possible return values.

An array variable can optionally be passed via progress, and will return a one-element array containing the percentage of completion of the threaded loading.

Note: The recommended way of using this method is to call it during different frames (e.g., in Node._process, instead of a loop).

Error load_threaded_request(path: String, type_hint: String = "", use_sub_threads: bool = false, cache_mode: CacheMode = 1) 🔗

Loads the resource using threads. If use_sub_threads is true, multiple threads will be used to load the resource, which makes loading faster, but may affect the main thread (and thus cause game slowdowns).

The cache_mode property defines whether and how the cache should be used or updated when loading the resource. See CacheMode for details.

void remove_resource_format_loader(format_loader: ResourceFormatLoader) 🔗

Unregisters the given ResourceFormatLoader.

void set_abort_on_missing_resources(abort: bool) 🔗

Changes the behavior on missing sub-resources. The default behavior is to abort loading.