Is there a way in Godot 4.6 to exclude certain files from being imported?

capitanlopez · May 1, 2026, 5:21am

I want to be able to see my Blender working files within Godot. I want some .blend files to be imported, but others not.
From one of the unimported files, I want to export some of its models as gltf files. I don’t want to have to tell Blender where to export each time. I simply want it to export to the same directory.
This could be done if filenames could be removed from the Godot import using some kind of pattern. For example, I could name my Blender file my_file-noimp.blend to exclude it.
I don’t want to use .gdignore. I want to see my files and have them in the same export directory.
Is there any way to do this? I believe something like this existed in previous versions of Godot.

renevanderark · May 1, 2026, 5:43am

Also relevant:

github.com/godotengine/godot-proposals

Allow creating a gitignore-like config as an alternative to `.gdignore` files

opened 04:19PM - 29 May 21 UTC

phenax

topic:import

### Describe the project you are working on Experimenting with godot ### Des…cribe the problem or limitation you are having in your project I am working on a project with nativescript which generates build directories. These directories are gitignored which means, anyone else cloning the my repo, will not have these directories. Currently, I have no version control-friendly way to have godot ignore certain directories in the project. ### Describe the feature / enhancement and how it helps to overcome the problem or limitation Having a gitignore-like file in the root of the project with a list file patterns to ignore will allow me to commit that file to git. This will allow anyone who clones the project to be able to build and work on it without adding the `.gdignore` files themselves. ### Describe how your proposal will work, with code, pseudo-code, mock-ups, and/or diagrams A simple `.gdignore` (`.godotignore` or an ignore configuration for `project.godot`) in the root of the directory will look something similar to a `.gitignore` file - ``` target/ **/node_modules/ ./example/*.log ``` ### If this enhancement will not be used often, can it be worked around with a few lines of script? I use a custom build script which adds the file to the directory after building. But this seems to be a patchy fix that may not be applicable to other use-cases. ### Is there a reason why this should be core and not an add-on in the asset library? Don't think this could an add on. Has to be a core feature.

Sounds like a good feature to have going forward!

capitanlopez · May 1, 2026, 6:35am

(Sorry, I never know which button to press when replying)

Thank you very much for your reply.

I think that proposal would also make those files invisible in the file system, and that’s important for what I want. Anyway, I’ll subscribe to it because it seems interesting.

I’ve thought about putting the Blender files I don’t want to import in directories with .gdignore and creating a Blender script that automatically generates the .gltf file in the parent folder. Again, I would lose visibility of those files. It’s not something I particularly like.

I think I’ll try to register a new .blend file import preset that doesn’t actually do anything with the file (or just create a resource). I think I’ll be able to select it for the files I don’t want to import instead of the default Blender preset. It will run every time I save the file, but since it doesn’t do anything, it should be very fast. With that, I think I’ll have what I want. In the future, if I’m lucky enough to finish the game, I’ll have to do some cleaning up, but that doesn’t worry me much at the moment.

renevanderark · May 1, 2026, 7:03am

Thanks for replying, good that you have a workaround!

If this was the answer you were looking for, maybe you can mark it as accepted for when others with the same question come here.

capitanlopez · May 1, 2026, 7:16am

While creating the plugin for the new preset, I tried the “Keep File (exported as is)” option and I think it’s exactly what I was looking for.

My English is poor, so “exported as is” confused me; I thought it should be “imported as is”.

renevanderark · May 1, 2026, 7:21am

Cool! Thanks for sharing!