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Add an Existing Project

If you already have a Godot project, you can bring it into Godot Launcher instead of starting fresh.

Click Add in the Projects screen and select the folder containing your project’s project.godot file.
Once added, your project will appear in the Projects section, ready to launch with the most compatible installed Godot Editor.

important

The launcher does not move or copy your project files. It simply links to your existing folder and sets up the required editor settings.
You must already have at least one Godot Editor installed in the launcher for the project to run.

How the launcher selects an editor version​

When importing an existing project, Godot Launcher chooses an editor release using the following rules:

  1. Match the project’s major version
    The launcher first looks for an installed editor that matches the project’s Godot major version (for example, 3.x or 4.x).
    If you have not installed any yet, see Installing an Editor.

  2. Check for Mono / .NET projects

    • If the project folder contains sibling .csproj or .sln files, the launcher assumes the project requires a Mono/.NET editor.
    • In that case, only installed Mono builds are considered valid.

  3. Fallback behavior

    • If no C# project files are found, the launcher can use either a standard or a Mono build.
    • If there is no exact match, it falls back to the best available stable release for that major version.
    • If the only option is a Mono build, it will be used even for GDScript projects.

  4. When the launcher refuses to open

    • If a project does contain .csproj files but there is no matching Mono/.NET editor installed, the launcher will not fall back to a GDScript build.
    • Instead, it stops and shows an error or notification so you know a Mono build is required.
warning

To import an existing project successfully, you must have at least one stable Godot Editor installed.
If your project uses C#, make sure you also install a Mono/.NET release.

Editor integrations​

  • Visual Studio Code
    If your project includes a .vscode folder, the launcher will configure Godot to use Visual Studio Code as the external editor.
    See the Visual Studio Code setup guide for details.

  • Git
    Adding a project does not automatically set up version control. If your project does not already use Git, you can initialize it separately.
    See the Git guide for more details.

Quick actions​

tip

To open a project in Godot, simply click its name in the Projects list.
Godot Launcher will start it with the selected editor version.

Next steps​