BakedLightmap in Godot 4: it is LightmapGI now
By Eduardo Orellana · Updated
BakedLightmap is called LightmapGI in Godot 4. In a Godot 4 project, BakedLightmap.new() fails to parse with Identifier "BakedLightmap" not declared in the current scope. Did you mean to use "LightmapGI"?.
AppImage, x86_64. Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 39 or newer.
Intel or AMD Chromebook, with Linux turned on.
What Godot is checking
GDScript resolves every name when the script loads. BakedLightmap is not a class in Godot 4, so the analyzer stops before anything runs, and because the name is in Godot's own table of Godot 3 renames, the message names the replacement.
The converter carries BakedLightmap to LightmapGI and BakedLightmapData to LightmapGIData. Baking runs in the editor; meshes need a second UV channel, which the importer generates when Light Baking is set to Static Lightmaps.
Reproduce it
A Godot 3 script that creates a BakedLightmap in code, in a Godot 4 project.
extends Node
func _ready():
var lightmap = BakedLightmap.new()
print(lightmap)
What Godot 4.7.2 prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
SCRIPT ERROR: Parse Error: Identifier "BakedLightmap" not declared in the current scope. Did you mean to use "LightmapGI"?
at: GDScript::reload (res://answers/bakedlightmap-in-godot-4/repro.gd:4)
ERROR: Failed to load script "res://answers/bakedlightmap-in-godot-4/repro.gd" with error "Parse error".
at: load (modules/gdscript/gdscript_resource_format.cpp:46)Fix it
A LightmapGI set to bake at high quality.
extends Node3D
func _ready() -> void:
var lightmap := LightmapGI.new()
lightmap.quality = LightmapGI.BAKE_QUALITY_HIGH
lightmap.bounces = 3
add_child(lightmap)
print(lightmap.get_class(), " bounces ", lightmap.bounces, ", baked: ", lightmap.light_data != null)
What the fixed script prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
LightmapGI bounces 3, baked: falseVerified on Godot 4.7.2
Both scripts on this page were run headless on Godot 4.7.2 (4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf) on 18 October 2026, and the output above is what Godot printed, unedited.
Where the check lives in Godot's source: [gdscript_analyzer.cpp line 4687, the message with its hint](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/modules/gdscript/gdscript_analyzer.cpp#L4687), [renames_map_3_to_4.cpp line 1484, BakedLightmap to LightmapGI](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/editor/project_upgrade/renames_map_3_to_4.cpp#L1484), [LightmapGI class reference](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/doc/classes/LightmapGI.xml).
Questions
- Can I bake lightmaps at run time?
- No. Baking is an editor operation; the game loads the baked LightmapGIData.
- Why are my lightmaps black?
- The meshes need UV2. Reimport them with Light Baking set to Static Lightmaps, which generates it.