GDExtension is a Godot-specific technology that lets the engine interact with native shared libraries at runtime. You can use it to run native code without compiling it with the engine.
Note
GDExtension is not a scripting language and has no relation to :ref:`GDScript <doc_gdscript>`.
You can use both GDExtension and :ref:`C++ modules <doc_custom_modules_in_cpp>` to run C or C++ code in a Godot project.
They also both allow you to integrate third-party libraries into Godot. The one you should choose depends on your needs.
Unlike modules, GDExtension doesn't require compiling the engine's source code, making it easier to distribute your work. It gives you access to most of the API available to GDScript and C#, allowing you to code game logic with full control regarding performance. It's ideal if you need high-performance code you'd like to distribute as an add-on in the :ref:`asset library <doc_what_is_assetlib>`.
Also:
- GDExtension is not limited to C and C++. Thanks to :ref:`third-party bindings <doc_what_is_gdnative_third_party_bindings>`, you can use it with many other languages.
- You can use the same compiled GDExtension library in the editor and exported project. With C++ modules, you have to recompile all the export templates you plan to use if you require its functionality at runtime.
- GDExtension only requires you to compile your library, not the whole engine. That's unlike C++ modules, which are statically compiled into the engine. Every time you change a module, you need to recompile the engine. Even with incremental builds, this process is slower than using GDExtension.
We recommend :ref:`C++ modules <doc_custom_modules_in_cpp>` in cases where GDExtension isn't enough:
- C++ modules provide deeper integration into the engine. GDExtension's access is not as deep as static modules.
- You can use C++ modules to provide additional features in a project without carrying native library files around. This extends to exported projects.
Note
If you notice that specific systems are not accessible via GDExtension but are via custom modules, feel free to open an issue on the godot-cpp repository to discuss implementation options for exposing the missing functionality.
The Godot developers officially support the following language bindings for GDExtension:
Note
There are no plans to support additional languages with GDExtension officially. That said, the community offers several bindings for other languages (see below).
The bindings below are developed and maintained by the community:
Note
Not all bindings mentioned here may be production-ready. Make sure to research options thoroughly before starting a project with one of those. Also, double-check whether the binding is compatible with the Godot version you're using.
GDExtensions targeting an earlier version of Godot should work in later minor versions, but not vice-versa. For example, a GDExtension targeting Godot 4.2 should work just fine in Godot 4.3, but one targeting Godot 4.3 won't work in Godot 4.2.
For this reason, when creating GDExtensions, you may want to target the lowest version of Godot that has the features you need, not the most recent version of Godot. This can save you from needing to create multiple builds for different versions of Godot.
There is one exception to this: extensions targeting Godot 4.0 will _not_ work with Godot 4.1 and later (see :ref:`updating_your_gdextension_for_godot_4_1`).
GDExtensions are also only compatible with engine builds that use the same
level of floating-point precision the extension was compiled for. This means
that if you use an engine build with double-precision floats, the extension must
also be compiled for double-precision floats and use an extension_api.json
file generated by your custom engine build. See :ref:`doc_large_world_coordinates`
for details.
Generally speaking, if you build a custom version of Godot, you should generate an
extension_api.json from it for your GDExtensions, because it may have some differences
from official Godot builds.