Can an int variable start as null?

No. Built-in types such as int, float and Vector2 cannot be null; they start at their zero value. Only Object types and untyped variables can hold null.

What does the other wording, "the value doesn't have a set type", mean?

The same check for a value whose type the analyzer cannot work out, such as a call on an untyped variable. Name the type there too.

Cannot infer the type of "…" variable because the value is "null" in Godot 4

By Eduardo Orellana · Updated 18 October 2026

var target := null asks for the type of null, and null has none to give. The script fails to parse with Cannot infer the type of "target" variable because the value is "null". Name the type and start it at null, var target: Node2D = null, or drop the colon.

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AppImage, x86_64. Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 39 or newer.

Intel or AMD Chromebook, with Linux turned on.

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What Godot is checking

Inference with := takes the type of the value on the right. A null literal is Nil, which is not a type a variable can usefully have, so the analyzer refuses the declaration and the script does not load.

Object types can hold null, so var target: Node2D = null is a typed variable that starts empty.

Reproduce it

A target variable declared with := null.

extends Node

func _ready() -> void:
	var target := null
	print(target)

What Godot 4.7.2 prints

Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org

SCRIPT ERROR: Parse Error: Cannot infer the type of "target" variable because the value is "null".
   at: GDScript::reload (res://answers/cannot-infer-the-type-because-the-value-is-null/repro.gd:4)
ERROR: Failed to load script "res://answers/cannot-infer-the-type-because-the-value-is-null/repro.gd" with error "Parse error".
   at: load (modules/gdscript/gdscript_resource_format.cpp:46)

Fix it

Give the type, and null as its starting value.

extends Node

func _ready() -> void:
	var target: Node = null
	print(target)
	target = self
	print(target.name)

What the fixed script prints

Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org

<null>
Fix

Verified 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 2144, the message](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/modules/gdscript/gdscript_analyzer.cpp#L2144).

Questions

Can an int variable start as null?: No. Built-in types such as int, float and Vector2 cannot be null; they start at their zero value. Only Object types and untyped variables can hold null.
What does the other wording, "the value doesn't have a set type", mean?: The same check for a value whose type the analyzer cannot work out, such as a call on an untyped variable. Name the type there too.