Godot MCP vs Godot MCP Runtime
A side-by-side look at the Godot MCP and Godot MCP Runtime MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Godot MCP for gaming work as a local process; choose Godot MCP Runtime for gaming as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Godot MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Gaming domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
godot_scene, godot_node_read, godot_node_edit.
Choose Godot MCP Runtime when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Gaming domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
launch_editor, run_project, attach_project.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Gaming | Gaming |
| Quality signal | 71/100 · Great | 69/100 · Great |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | No auth required | No auth required |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 180 | 95 |
| Directory activity | 7 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 8 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 21 | 39 |
| Full listing | View Godot MCP | View Godot MCP Runtime |
Tools & capabilities
Godot MCP tools 21
godot_sceneManage scenes in the editor: open a scene, save the open scene, or reload an open scene from disk after you edit its .tscn directly (so the editor picks up the change without a full restart). To create a new scene, write the .tscn file directly — header [gd_scene format=3] without a uid (the editor assigns one when it imports the file), then one [node name="X" type="Node2D"] block per node — and open it with this tool.godot_node_readInspect scene nodes in the editor: read a node's effective properties (including class defaults a .tscn read cannot show), view the full scene tree as the editor sees it (including children inside instanced sub-scenes), and find nodes by name or type. Use it to discover node paths and verify the live state of the open scene before or after making changes. It cannot modify anything; to update properties or reparent a node, use godot_node_edit.godot_node_editModify scene nodes in the editor: update a node's properties, or reparent it (the editor rewrites child paths and signal connections correctly; hand-editing .tscn for a reparent does not). Use it to change existing nodes in the open scene. To inspect properties, the scene tree, or search for nodes, use godot_node_read; to add or remove nodes, or attach scripts and connect signals, edit the .tscn file directly, then verify with godot_node_read's get_scene_tree.godot_editor_readObserve the editor and running game: get editor state (open scene, play state, camera, viewport), read the current node selection, pull editor log messages (with an incremental cursor) and stack traces, and capture lossless PNG screenshots of the running game or an editor viewport. Reach for it to check what the editor sees before and after a change; screenshot_game needs a running game, while every other action works in the bare editor. It changes nothing - to select nodes, run/stop/restart, or move the 2D viewport use godot_editor_edit; errors from the running game (not the editor process) come via minimal-godot-mcp's get_console_output when that companion server is installed.godot_editor_editDrive the editor: select a node, run or stop the project, restart the editor, rescan the filesystem to import assets written outside the editor, and center/zoom the 2D viewport. Use run with frozen=true as the deterministic-playtest entry point (game time holds at frame 0 until godot_game_time steps or thaws it). To test edited gameplay scripts just stop then run — the launched game loads .gd/.tscn fresh from disk; reserve restart for EDITOR-side staleness (edited @tool/addon code, a stale project.godot, or a cached .gdshader). For observation only (state, selection, logs, screenshots) use godot_editor_read instead; restart does not start a cold editor, so one must already be running.godot_projectRead project-level data from the editor: name, path, Godot version, and main scene (get_info), plus project settings including input mappings (get_settings). After editing project.godot as a file, use check_stale to detect whether the editor is still running stale autoloads or input map from before the edit; restart via godot_editor_edit to reload. Use addon_status to diagnose addon/server version skew when commands misbehave or the connection drops; it also reports whether the running server build is stale relative to its source checkout. For scene contents or node properties, use godot_node_read instead.godot_animation_readInspect animation data on AnimationPlayer nodes in the editor: list players in the scene, read a player's state and libraries, get an animation's tracks and properties, and read a track's keyframes. Reach for it to verify what the editor actually loaded, including after editing animation resources by hand. It changes and previews nothing; use godot_animation_edit to create, modify, or play animations.godot_animation_editCreate and modify animations on an AnimationPlayer and preview them in the editor: create, delete, or update animations, add and remove tracks and keyframes, backfill RESET keys for existing tracks (create_reset_keys), and play, stop, or seek the editor's preview (playback controls the editor, not the running game). Pair each change with an immediate play or seek to check the result; this is the only way to verify animation feel without running the whole game. To inspect animation data without changing it, use godot_animation_read.godot_tilemap_readInspect TileMapLayer data in the open scene: list layers, get layer and TileSet info, read used cells, a single cell, or a rectangular region, and convert between local positions and map coordinates. Use it whenever you need to know what tiles are placed where; cell data is stored base64-encoded in the .tscn, so reading the file is not an alternative. To place, erase, or clear tiles, use godot_tilemap_edit instead.godot_tilemap_editModify TileMapLayer cells in the open scene: set a single cell, erase a cell, clear a whole layer, or set many cells in one batch. Use it to paint or remove tiles; cell data is stored base64-encoded in the .tscn, so editing the file is not an alternative, and set_cells_batch beats repeated set_cell calls for anything beyond a few tiles. To inspect layers, TileSets, or existing cells without changing anything, use godot_tilemap_read.godot_gridmap_readInspect GridMap data in the open scene: list GridMap nodes, get map and MeshLibrary info, and read used cells, a single cell, or every cell using a given item. Use it whenever you need to know which mesh items occupy which 3D grid cells; cell data is stored base64-encoded in the .tscn, so reading the file is not an alternative. To place or clear cells, use godot_gridmap_edit instead.godot_gridmap_editModify GridMap cells in the open scene: set a single cell to a MeshLibrary item with an orientation, clear a cell, clear the whole map, or set many cells in one batch. Use it to build or remove 3D grid content; cell data is stored base64-encoded in the .tscn, so editing the file is not an alternative, and set_cells_batch beats repeated set_cell calls for anything beyond a few cells. To inspect the map, its MeshLibrary, or existing cells without changing anything, use godot_gridmap_read.- +9 more on the listing page
Godot MCP Runtime tools 39
launch_editorOpen the Godot editor GUI for a project for the human user. Use only when the user explicitly asks to "open the editor"; for any agent-driven work, use the headless scene/node tools (add_node, set_node_properties, etc.) instead - the editor cannot be controlled programmatically. Returns plain-text confirmation after spawning the editor process. Errors if projectPath has no project.godot.run_projectSpawn a Godot project as a child process with stdout/stderr captured. Required before take_screenshot, simulate_input, get_ui_elements, run_script, or get_debug_output. Set profiling: true at launch to enable the profiler tools. Use attach_project for one you launched yourself. Verifies MCP bridge readiness before returning success. Returns status with the assigned bridge port. Call stop_project when done. Errors if projectPath is not a Godot project or another session is already active.attach_projectInject the MCP bridge into a Godot process you launch yourself, then wait up to 20s for the bridge to start listening and up to 45s total once it has, so a large project's cold start is absorbed; a port that listens but answers no ping gives up sooner. Call BEFORE Godot launches - Godot reads autoloads only at process start, so a late call returns "bridge did not respond." Recommended pattern: kick off the Godot launch in parallel with this call so the wait absorbs startup. Prefer run_project unless MCP must not spawn Godot. Only one attach session is supported per project at a time (attach mode has no env-var channel, so port and token must be baked into the one shared script); a second attach_project on a project another session already attached to is refused, naming that session. Returns plain-text status with the resolved bridge port. Call detach_project or stop_project when done.detach_projectClear attached-mode runtime state and remove the injected McpBridge autoload. Does NOT stop the manually launched Godot process - that stays running. Use after attach_project when you are done driving the game from MCP. For spawned sessions (run_project), use stop_project instead. Mostly optional now: when the bridge disconnects (you closed Godot), the next runtime tool call probes once and ends the attached session itself, removing the autoload. Calling it afterwards still succeeds idempotently, wording the message to distinguish "an attached session existed and already ended" from "this server never attached to a project". Returns: message confirming detach plus externalProcessPreserved (always true here - that is the point of detach vs stop_project). Errors only when a spawned session is what is active; use stop_project for those.get_debug_outputGet captured stdout/stderr from a spawned Godot project. Use whenever runtime tools fail unexpectedly - script errors, missing nodes, and crash backtraces all surface here. Still works after the process exits or crashes: the session clears itself on exit but the captured logs are retained until stop_project. Requires run_project (not attach_project; attached mode does not capture output). Returns: output/errors (last `limit` lines each, default 200), running (false after exit, null when attached), exitCode after exit, attached:true with empty arrays in attached mode.stop_projectStop the spawned Godot project and clean up bridge state. Call when done with runtime testing, even after a crash, and even if you closed the Godot window yourself: it frees the process slot and clears the flag blocking scene-editing tools. A process that exited on its own already removed the bridge autoload at that moment, and this still succeeds - it reports alreadyExited:true with the exit code and the logs captured before the exit, and leaves a finished profiler capture readable. Attached sessions detach without killing the external process. Returns: message, mode, externalProcessPreserved, alreadyExited, exitCode (already-exited case), and condensed finalOutput/finalErrors (capped at 200); get_debug_output has the full log. Errors only when there is no session and no exited process to report.take_screenshotCapture a PNG of the running viewport. responseMode: preview (default - saves full PNG, returns bounded inline preview at 960x540), full (full inline PNG; use for small text or pixel-level inspection), path_only (saved-path only, no inline image). Saved under .mcp/godot-runtime/screenshots/ (persists after stop_project). Returns: inline image block (full/preview modes), plus path and size of the saved PNG; previewPath/previewSize in preview mode; warnings for non-fatal runtime errors. Errors if no session or bridge times out (default 10000ms).simulate_inputSimulate sequential input in a running project and report what each action did. Action `type`: key, mouse_button, mouse_motion, click_element, action, text, wait. For key/mouse_button/action, omit `pressed` to tap (press+release); set it to hold or release. click_element resolves by node path/name (see get_ui_elements), not visible text. Returns: results[] per action with ok, timing, signals fired, the Control hit, UI `changes` (appeared/disappeared/changed), `watch` samples, and `errors` from input handlers (spawned sessions only). Invalid batches inject nothing; a runtime failure stops the batch and skips the rest.get_ui_elementsWalk the running scene tree and return all Control nodes with positions, sizes, types, and text content. Always call this before simulate_input click_element actions to discover valid element names and paths. Requires an active runtime session (run_project or attach_project). visibleOnly defaults true; pass false to include hidden Controls. filter narrows by class. Returns: elements[] with path/type/rect/visible plus optional text/disabled/tooltip.run_scriptExecute a custom GDScript in the live running project with full scene tree access. Requires an active runtime session. Script must extend RefCounted and define func execute(scene_tree: SceneTree) -> Variant. Return values are JSON-serialized (primitives, Vector2/3, Color, Dictionary, Array, and Node path strings). Use print() for debug output - it appears in get_debug_output, not in the result. In spawned mode, stderr runtime errors escalate to errors (when the script returns null) or surface as warnings. Returns: { success, result, warnings?, tip? } where result is the JSON-serialized return value of execute().list_autoloadsList all registered autoloads in a project with paths and singleton status. Use first when diagnosing headless failures - broken autoloads crash all headless ops, so this tells you what is loaded. No Godot process required (reads project.godot directly). Returns: [{ name, path, singleton }].add_autoloadRegister a new autoload in a project. autoloadPath accepts "res://..." or a project-relative path (auto-prefixed). singleton defaults true (accessible globally by name). No Godot process required. Warning: autoloads initialize in headless mode - a broken script will crash every subsequent headless op; validate before adding. Returns plain-text confirmation with the registered name, path, and singleton flag. Errors if an autoload with the same name already exists; use update_autoload to modify.- +27 more on the listing page
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Godot MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"godot-mcp-2": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@satelliteoflove/godot-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Godot MCP Runtime
{
"mcpServers": {
"erodenn-godot-mcp-runtime": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"godot-mcp-runtime"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Godot MCP is categorized under Gaming and uses a local stdio subprocess. Godot MCP Runtime belongs to Gaming and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Godot MCP for gaming work and Godot MCP Runtime for gaming.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Godot MCP is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. Godot MCP Runtime is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add godot-mcp-2 and erodenn-godot-mcp-runtime as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Godot MCP has a quality signal of 71/100 (Great) with 7 views, 0 installs and 180 GitHub stars. Godot MCP Runtime has 69/100 (Great) with 8 views, 0 installs and 95 GitHub stars.