Editor Pilot Mode for Godot Engine 4.7+

Pilot any scene directly in the Godot 3D editor. Press Shift+R to drop into your scene and walk around.

2026-02-17.00-40-29.mp4

Features

• Spawns a character at the editor camera position and takes over the 3D viewport
• Hides editor UI for an unobstructed view
• Comes with a default first-person CharacterBody3D (WASD + mouse look + jump)
• Fully customizable and compatible with any scene that includes a Camera3D

How to install

1. Copy the contents of this repository into addons/editor-pilot-mode/ in your Godot project.
2. Enable the plugin in Project > Project Settings > Plugins.

How to use

1. Open any 3D scene in the editor.
2. Press Shift+R to enter pilot mode.
3. Move with WASD, look with the mouse, jump with Space.
4. Press Shift+R or Escape to exit.

The shortcut can be changed in Editor > Editor Settings > Shortcuts under Pilot Mode.

Using a custom scene

By default the plugin spawns its built-in character. To use your own:

1. Go to Project > Project Settings and find addons/pilot_mode/scene/path.
2. Set it to the path of your .tscn file.

Your scene root must be a Node3D (or derived type) and contain at least one Camera3D.

Tool scripts required

Any scripts attached to your piloted scene must use the @tool annotation. Without it, the editor won't execute the script logic and the scene will appear inert during pilot mode.

Physics-based scenes

If your scene relies on physics (e.g. RigidBody3D, VehicleBody3D), you may need to enable the physics server in the editor:

PhysicsServer3D.set_active(true)

Warning

Activating the physics server lets physics run inside the editor. This means rigid bodies can fall, collisions resolve, and nodes may move from their authored positions — changes made by physics while piloting will persist in the scene. Consider using this only in test scenes, or undo any unintended modifications after exiting pilot mode.