BitmapFont in Godot 4: it is FontFile now
By Eduardo Orellana · Updated
BitmapFont is replaced by FontFile in Godot 4, which holds bitmap and vector fonts alike. In a Godot 4 project, BitmapFont.new() fails to parse with Identifier "BitmapFont" not declared in the current scope. Did you mean to use "FontFile"?.
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. BitmapFont 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 BitmapFont to FontFile. A BMFont .fnt file imports as a FontFile, and an image of glyphs can be imported with the Font Data (Image Font) importer. For crisp pixel fonts, turn off antialiasing and set the size to a multiple of the font's pixel size.
Reproduce it
A Godot 3 script that creates a BitmapFont in code, in a Godot 4 project.
extends Node
func _ready():
var font = BitmapFont.new()
print(font)
What Godot 4.7.2 prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
SCRIPT ERROR: Parse Error: Identifier "BitmapFont" not declared in the current scope. Did you mean to use "FontFile"?
at: GDScript::reload (res://answers/bitmapfont-in-godot-4/repro.gd:4)
ERROR: Failed to load script "res://answers/bitmapfont-in-godot-4/repro.gd" with error "Parse error".
at: load (modules/gdscript/gdscript_resource_format.cpp:46)Fix it
A FontFile with antialiasing off, as a pixel font uses.
extends Node
func _ready() -> void:
var font := FontFile.new()
font.antialiasing = TextServer.FONT_ANTIALIASING_NONE
font.fixed_size = 16
print(font.get_class(), " antialiasing off: ", font.antialiasing == TextServer.FONT_ANTIALIASING_NONE, ", fixed size ", font.fixed_size)
What the fixed script prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
FontFile antialiasing off: true, fixed size 16Verified 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 1486, BitmapFont to FontFile](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/editor/project_upgrade/renames_map_3_to_4.cpp#L1486), [FontFile class reference](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/doc/classes/FontFile.xml).
More on this: VisualShaderNodeVectorScalarSmoothStep in Godot 4: Identifier not declared in the current scope
Questions
- Why is my pixel font blurry?
- Antialiasing is on, or the size is not a multiple of the glyph height. Set antialiasing to None and use whole multiples.
- Is DynamicFont also FontFile?
- Yes. Both Godot 3 classes became FontFile.