VisibilityEnabler2D in Godot 4: it is VisibleOnScreenEnabler2D now
By Eduardo Orellana · Updated
VisibilityEnabler2D is called VisibleOnScreenEnabler2D in Godot 4, and it now enables one target node instead of a list of flags. In a Godot 4 project, VisibilityEnabler2D.new() fails to parse with Identifier "VisibilityEnabler2D" not declared in the current scope. Did you mean to use "VisibleOnScreenEnabler2D"?.
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. VisibilityEnabler2D 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 VisibilityEnabler2D to VisibleOnScreenEnabler2D. enable_node_path points at the node to switch, its parent by default, and enable_mode decides how: inherit, always or when paused. Off screen the target is disabled, so enemies far away stop processing.
Reproduce it
A Godot 3 script that creates a VisibilityEnabler2D in code, in a Godot 4 project.
extends Node
func _ready():
var enabler = VisibilityEnabler2D.new()
print(enabler)
What Godot 4.7.2 prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
SCRIPT ERROR: Parse Error: Identifier "VisibilityEnabler2D" not declared in the current scope. Did you mean to use "VisibleOnScreenEnabler2D"?
at: GDScript::reload (res://answers/visibilityenabler2d-in-godot-4/repro.gd:4)
ERROR: Failed to load script "res://answers/visibilityenabler2d-in-godot-4/repro.gd" with error "Parse error".
at: load (modules/gdscript/gdscript_resource_format.cpp:46)Fix it
An enabler that switches its parent on and off with the screen.
extends Node2D
func _ready() -> void:
var enabler := VisibleOnScreenEnabler2D.new()
enabler.rect = Rect2(-16, -16, 32, 32)
add_child(enabler)
print(enabler.get_class(), " target ", enabler.enable_node_path, ", mode ", enabler.enable_mode == VisibleOnScreenEnabler2D.ENABLE_MODE_INHERIT)
What the fixed script prints
Godot Engine v4.7.2.stable.mono.official.ed1daf0bf - https://godotengine.org
VisibleOnScreenEnabler2D target .., mode trueVerified 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 1623, VisibilityEnabler2D to VisibleOnScreenEnabler2D](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/editor/project_upgrade/renames_map_3_to_4.cpp#L1623), [VisibleOnScreenEnabler2D class reference](https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/4.7.2-stable/doc/classes/VisibleOnScreenEnabler2D.xml).
Questions
- What does it disable?
- The target node's processing, through its process_mode. It does not hide it.
- Is there a 3D one?
- VisibleOnScreenEnabler3D, Godot 3's VisibilityEnabler.