How to specify types outside of Variant.Type enum in _get_property_list() in C#

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1

Godot Version

v4.8.dev2.mono.official

Question

I’m trying to export some custom properties in C# using _get_property_list(), works well for basic types like float or int, but how do I create a property that is just “Variant”, letting you choose a type in the editor (like when you export a variant array)? Or a “Resource” property?
The usage flag “Property_Usage_Nil_is_Variant” would suggest this is possible by setting type to Variant.Type.Nil, and returning “default” as its default value, but this doesn’t work.

2

There’s no separate Variant.Type for “any Variant” or “Resource”. You fake them with type + usage/hint, and you must back them with _Get / _Set (the property list alone doesn’t store anything). Also a “default” entry in the dict isn’t how defaults work here.

Untyped Variant (type picker in the inspector):

private Variant _myVariant;

public override Array<Dictionary> _GetPropertyList()
{
	return
	[
		new Dictionary
		{
			{ "name", "my_variant" },
			{ "type", (int)Variant.Type.Nil },
			{ "usage", (int)(PropertyUsageFlags.Default | PropertyUsageFlags.NilIsVariant) },
		},
	];
}

public override Variant _Get(StringName property)
{
	if (property == "my_variant")
		return _myVariant;
	return default;
}

public override bool _Set(StringName property, Variant value)
{
	if (property == "my_variant")
	{
		_myVariant = value;
		return true;
	}
	return false;
}

Nil alone isn’t enough; you need PropertyUsageFlags.NilIsVariant with Default.

Resource:

new Dictionary
{
	{ "name", "my_resource" },
	{ "type", (int)Variant.Type.Object },
	{ "hint", (int)PropertyHint.ResourceType },
	{ "hint_string", "Resource" }, // or "Texture2D", your [GlobalClass] name, etc.
	{ "usage", (int)PropertyUsageFlags.Default },
}

Store it as Resource (or a more specific type) in _Get / _Set. For custom resource scripts, [GlobalClass] (and often [Tool] if the host is a tool script) matters.

If it still shows blank, can you paste your full _GetPropertyList + _Get / _Set?

3

facedesks

I did exactly that but I used "usage_flags" instead of "usage".
Because the only documentation I found used PropertyInfo(type, name, hint, hint_string, usage_flags)

Thank you very much :man_bowing:

4

Yep, PropertyInfo(..., usage_flags) is the ctor param name. In the dictionary from _GetPropertyList the key is still "usage". Easy to mix up.