godot-flatbuffers
Binary serialization for Godot 4
Read, build, and verify FlatBuffers in pure GDScript — with typed accessors generated from your .fbs schema. Byte-identical output to the official implementation, running on every platform Godot exports to, including Web.
FlatBuffers is the right wire format for games — zero-copy reads, no parsing pass, tiny payloads — but GDScript was never a supported target. This module closes that gap without a GDExtension to compile per platform.
Point the generator at a compiled .bfbs schema and it emits typed table accessors and builders. The runtime underneath is a faithful port of the official builder: same layout, same bytes.
The whole wire format
Everything your packets need — tables, unions, vectors, strings, defaults — verified against official output.
Three small classes cover the lifecycle: FlatBuffer for zero-allocation reads, FlatBufferBuilder for wire-identical writes, FlatBufferVerifier for bounds-checked untrusted input.
A Python tool walks the binary reflection schema (.bfbs) and emits typed GDScript wrappers — no flatc fork required.
First-class support for union member tables and envelope patterns — the shapes real network protocols actually use.
Pure GDScript means desktop, mobile, consoles, and Web exports all work — no per-platform native builds, no export drama.
The test suite builds golden vectors with the official JavaScript implementation and compares GDScript output byte-for-byte — scalars, strings, vectors, nested tables, defaults, and corrupt-buffer handling.
Predictable by design
Write your schema once, compile it with stock flatc to a binary reflection schema, and generate typed GDScript. At runtime the same three classes read and write the wire bytes directly — nothing hidden, nothing native.
Explore the source ↗Author your .fbs messages.
flatc emits the binary schema.
Typed .gd accessors + builders.
Read/write on the wire in-game.
Runs in your browser
The live demo is the module itself compiled to WebGL: pick a message type, fill in fields, and build a real FlatBuffer. Inspect the hex, verify the buffer, decode it back through the generated accessors, and benchmark throughput — all in GDScript.
Interactive Godot demo
Open by default
Use it in personal, commercial, and open-source Godot projects. Read the implementation, adapt the generator, and contribute improvements upstream.