PoolStringArray in Godot 4: it is PackedStringArray now
By Eduardo Orellana · Updated
PoolStringArray is called PackedStringArray in Godot 4, and the rest of the family followed: PoolIntArray is PackedInt32Array, PoolRealArray is PackedFloat32Array, PoolVector2Array is PackedVector2Array. In a Godot 4 project, PoolStringArray(...) fails to parse with Function "PoolStringArray()" not found in base self. Did you mean to use "PackedStringArray()"?. And PackedStringArray has no join(): call join() on the separator, ", ".join(names).
AppImage, x86_64. Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 39 or newer.
Intel or AMD Chromebook, with Linux turned on.
What Godot is checking
The Pool arrays were built-in types, called like constructors. Godot 4 renamed the family to Packed, and the analyzer reads the old name as a call to a missing function, suggesting the new one from its renames table.
Godot 3's names.join(", ") does not port as is: on 4.7.2 PackedStringArray has no join(), and the analyzer stops with Cannot find member "join" in base "PackedStringArray". String.join() takes the array instead: ", ".join(names).
Reproduce it
A Godot 3 string array joined into one line, in a Godot 4 project.
extends Node
func _ready():
var names = PoolStringArray(["Ada", "Lin"])
print(names.join(", "))
What Godot 4.7.2 prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
SCRIPT ERROR: Parse Error: Function "PoolStringArray()" not found in base self. Did you mean to use "PackedStringArray()"?
at: GDScript::reload (res://answers/poolstringarray-in-godot-4/repro.gd:4)
ERROR: Failed to load script "res://answers/poolstringarray-in-godot-4/repro.gd" with error "Parse error".
at: load (modules/gdscript/gdscript_resource_format.cpp:46)Fix it
A PackedStringArray joined with String.join().
extends Node
func _ready() -> void:
var names := PackedStringArray(["Ada", "Lin"])
names.append("Sol")
print(", ".join(names))
print("a,b,c".split(",").size())
What the fixed script prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
Ada, Lin, Sol
3Verified 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 3767, the message with its hint](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/modules/gdscript/gdscript_analyzer.cpp#L3767), [renames_map_3_to_4.cpp line 1432, PoolStringArray to PackedStringArray](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/editor/project_upgrade/renames_map_3_to_4.cpp#L1432), [PackedStringArray class reference](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/doc/classes/PackedStringArray.xml).
Questions
- Is PoolIntArray PackedIntArray?
- No: PackedInt32Array, with PackedInt64Array for 64-bit values. PoolRealArray is PackedFloat32Array.
- Does split() still return a packed array?
- Yes, String.split() returns a PackedStringArray.