ClippedCamera in Godot 4: use a SpringArm3D with a Camera3D
By Eduardo Orellana · Updated
Godot 4 has no ClippedCamera. Put a plain Camera3D under a SpringArm3D, which pulls it in when a wall comes between it and the player. In a Godot 4 project, ClippedCamera.new() fails to parse with Identifier "ClippedCamera" not declared in the current scope. Did you mean to use "Camera3D"?.
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. ClippedCamera 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 turns ClippedCamera into Camera3D, which keeps the scene loading but drops the clipping. The SpringArm3D does that job: it casts along its +Z axis for spring_length and places its children at the hit point.
Reproduce it
A Godot 3 script that creates a ClippedCamera in code, in a Godot 4 project.
extends Node
func _ready():
var camera = ClippedCamera.new()
print(camera)
What Godot 4.7.2 prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
SCRIPT ERROR: Parse Error: Identifier "ClippedCamera" not declared in the current scope. Did you mean to use "Camera3D"?
at: GDScript::reload (res://answers/clippedcamera-in-godot-4/repro.gd:4)
ERROR: Failed to load script "res://answers/clippedcamera-in-godot-4/repro.gd" with error "Parse error".
at: load (modules/gdscript/gdscript_resource_format.cpp:46)Fix it
A SpringArm3D with a Camera3D child, the replacement rig.
extends Node3D
func _ready() -> void:
var arm := SpringArm3D.new()
arm.spring_length = 3.0
arm.shape = SphereShape3D.new()
add_child(arm)
var camera := Camera3D.new()
arm.add_child(camera)
print(camera.get_class(), " under ", arm.get_class(), ", length ", arm.spring_length, ", shape ", arm.shape.get_class())
What the fixed script prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
Camera3D under SpringArm3D, length 3.0, shape SphereShape3DVerified 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 1500, ClippedCamera to Camera3D](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/editor/project_upgrade/renames_map_3_to_4.cpp#L1500), [Camera3D class reference](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/doc/classes/Camera3D.xml).
Questions
- Why a sphere shape on the arm?
- A ray can slip through a gap that the camera's near plane cannot; a sphere keeps the whole lens clear.
- Where did Camera become Camera3D?
- In the same rename table: Camera is Camera3D in Godot 4.