NoesisGodotNet

Host NoesisGUI XAML views in Godot 4 .NET. Build UI in Noesis Studio or Blend, bind it to ordinary C# view models, and use it as screen-space or world-space Godot UI.

Independent, unofficial community integration, endorsed by Noesis Technologies in its developer/community forum. It is not developed by or affiliated with Noesis Technologies.

The plugin supports MVVM binding and commands, styled controls, mouse, keyboard, touch and gamepad input, XAML hot-reload, 2D controls, and 3D panels. The repository currently targets Godot 4.7.1 and NoesisGUI 3.2.

Requirements and platforms

• Godot 4 .NET
• .NET 8 SDK
• A NoesisGUI license for licensed use

Platform	Rendering path	Status
Windows	Shared OpenGL zero-copy, engine-gated Vulkan interop, or OpenGL readback	Supported
Linux	EGL/OpenGL readback on X11 and Wayland	Supported
macOS	Compatibility backend planned	Not yet supported

Install

1. Copy addons/noesisgui/ into your Godot .NET project.

2. Add the packages and legacy RID support to your project file:

   <PropertyGroup>
     <UseRidGraph>true</UseRidGraph>
   </PropertyGroup>
   
   <ItemGroup>
     <PackageReference Include="Noesis.GUI" Version="3.2.*" />
     <PackageReference Include="Noesis.App.Theme" Version="3.2.*" />
   </ItemGroup>

3. Build once, then enable NoesisGodotNet under Project Settings > Plugins.

4. Configure noesis_gui/license/name and noesis_gui/license/key, or use the NOESIS_LICENSE_NAME and NOESIS_LICENSE_KEY environment variables.

5. Set noesis_gui/resources/root to your UI folder, add a NoesisView, and assign its Xaml property.

Do not commit license keys. Environment variables or an untracked override.cfg are safer.

Quick start

NoesisView is a Godot TextureRect. Assign any CLR object as its WPF-style DataContext:

NoesisView view = GetNode<NoesisView>("NoesisView");
view.ViewModel = new MainMenuViewModel();

View models can use INotifyPropertyChanged and ICommand without depending on Godot types, so the same UI logic can run in Noesis Studio and ordinary .NET tests.

The default theme is Theme/NoesisTheme.DarkBlue.xaml. Change noesis_gui/theme/xaml to another embedded theme, your own resource dictionary, or an empty value to disable it.

Features and examples

• HelloNoesis - basic XAML, MVVM binding, and commands
• ThemeShowcase - standard controls and theme variants
• WorldSpace - NoesisView3D panels with ray-picked input
• Hardening - interaction and lifecycle exercise scene

Editor runs watch the resource root for XAML changes. Successful saves rebuild affected views while preserving their view models; invalid saves keep the last valid view and display the parse error. Exported builds do not run the watcher.

Assets and exports

• Keep XAML, fonts, and XAML-referenced images under noesis_gui/resources/root.
• The importer includes .xaml resources in exports automatically.
• Add raw fonts and images to the export preset's non-resource include filter because Godot would otherwise ship only its imported formats. For example: *.ttf,UI/Images/*.
• Reference fonts by family, for example FontFamily="./#Orbitron".

Rendering

Each view asks a backend factory for the fastest supported path:

1. Windows shared OpenGL when Godot Compatibility has a current, single-threaded GL context.
2. Windows Vulkan/OpenGL external-memory interop when Godot exposes the required device extension.
3. A platform readback backend: WGL on Windows or EGL on Linux.

The Vulkan path remains inactive on stock Godot until the engine exposes the required external-memory capability; see godot-proposals #15210. All zero-copy paths are controlled by noesis_gui/rendering/zero_copy and fall back automatically.

The selected backend is logged once per view and is available to game diagnostics:

GD.Print(view.RenderingStatus);
bool zeroCopy = view.RenderingStatus.IsZeroCopy;

Readback uses a private GL context and uploads an ImageTexture, keeping Godot render state isolated. It works under both Forward+/Mobile and Compatibility renderers, at the cost of a GPU-to-CPU copy each rendered frame.

Run this repository

Open the repository in Godot 4.7.1 .NET, build it, configure a license or evaluation mode, and run examples/HelloNoesis/Main.tscn.

Run the standalone tests with:

dotnet test NoesisGodot.sln

See CHANGELOG.md for release history.

Roadmap

• macOS compatibility/readback backend and platform validation
• Native Metal rendering after Godot's texture-import path is production-ready
• Additional Vulkan external-memory paths as Godot exposes the required APIs
• Optional GDExtension core for non-.NET projects

Licensing

The plugin is MIT licensed. NoesisGUI is commercial software and remains governed by your Noesis license.