SpotLight in Godot 4: it is SpotLight3D now
By Eduardo Orellana · Updated
SpotLight is called SpotLight3D in Godot 4. In a Godot 4 project, SpotLight.new() fails to parse with Identifier "SpotLight" not declared in the current scope. Did you mean to use "SpotLight3D"?.
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. SpotLight 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 SpotLight to SpotLight3D. spot_range, spot_angle and spot_attenuation keep their names, and it shines down its local -Z axis, so rotate it to aim. light_projector takes a texture for a patterned beam.
Reproduce it
A Godot 3 script that creates a SpotLight in code, in a Godot 4 project.
extends Node
func _ready():
var light = SpotLight.new()
print(light)
What Godot 4.7.2 prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
SCRIPT ERROR: Parse Error: Identifier "SpotLight" not declared in the current scope. Did you mean to use "SpotLight3D"?
at: GDScript::reload (res://answers/spotlight-in-godot-4/repro.gd:4)
ERROR: Failed to load script "res://answers/spotlight-in-godot-4/repro.gd" with error "Parse error".
at: load (modules/gdscript/gdscript_resource_format.cpp:46)Fix it
A SpotLight3D aimed down at the floor, like a ceiling lamp.
extends Node3D
func _ready() -> void:
var light := SpotLight3D.new()
light.spot_angle = 30.0
light.spot_range = 10.0
light.rotation_degrees = Vector3(-90, 0, 0)
add_child(light)
print(light.get_class(), " angle ", light.spot_angle, ", pointing ", (-light.transform.basis.z).round())
What the fixed script prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
SpotLight3D angle 30.0, pointing (0.0, -1.0, 0.0)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 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 1599, SpotLight to SpotLight3D](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/editor/project_upgrade/renames_map_3_to_4.cpp#L1599), [SpotLight3D class reference](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/doc/classes/SpotLight3D.xml).
Questions
- Which way does a SpotLight3D point?
- Down its local -Z axis, the same as a Camera3D.
- How do I make a flashlight?
- Make the SpotLight3D a child of the camera, so it points where the player looks.