@export should imply @tool

[servel333]

I would like to explore with the community the idea that @tool is not required if the script contains any @export and @export_*s annotations.

• Does the @export have utility when the script is not a @tool?
• Is there some planned, or possible utility to that annotation?
• Thoughts?

The proposed change here is to make it so that if any script contains any @export or @export_*s, then the @tool is implied and the script will be treated as though it has @tool in it.

I searched "@export" should imply "@tool" and found nothing.

[AThousandShips]

@tool is not required for @export itself, and it is not implied, see here

[Calinou]

Indeed, I can confirm there are plenty of cases where I want to have exported properties but don't want the script to ever run in the editor. The most common use case is when you have a character and want to be able to edit their statistics (movement speed, health, …) without having to edit the script.

[theraot]

I would like to explore with the community the idea that @tool is not required if the script contains any @export and @export_*s annotations.

I have scripts that use @tool and don't have any @export, usually because they are intended to be called from other scripts that have @tool, and sometimes because they are part of an addon with an EditorPlugin.

Does the @export have utility when the script is not a @tool?

Yes. Godot will save whatever you set in the inspector (be that a variable with @export or not) and set it when the game runs (barring property usage flags when using _get_property_list).

Is there some planned, or possible utility to that annotation?

If there was, there would be a proposal up. I don't recall seeing any.

Thoughts?

Why do you think @export should imply @tool?

Please notice that @tool would also make other things run in the editor aside from setters including _ready, _process and _physics_process. So you might be overcorrecting for something... I don't know what, so what is the issue you are trying to correct for?

[AThousandShips]

Note additionally that the _get_property_list method is still being discussed AFAIK, and whether or not to allow running it without @tool, as well as allowing you to annotate individual methods as @tool to allow the same, as @tool is a bit "all or nothing", see #729

[servel333]

I didn't know these extra uses for those annotations so I'm convinced that this proposal would erase some useful functionality.