Validate scenes and scripts

Check a scene on disk while keeping another scene’s unsaved edits in the editor:

swallowtail scene validate --path res://levels/arena.tscn

The result names scene_path, sets source to disk, and returns valid, issue_count, and issues. Validation reads the saved scene, including inherited scenes and nested instances. It checks external dependencies, stored node paths, animation track targets, and missing node classes without opening the scene or running its node scripts.

Saved validation excludes unsaved changes and absolute paths that need a runtime tree. Omit --path to check the active editor scene instead:

swallowtail scene validate

Read compiler diagnostics#

swallowtail script validate --path res://scripts/score.gd

A GDScript compile failure returns valid: false and a diagnostics array. For example, a reference to an undeclared identifier on line 3 reports:

{
  "file": "res://scripts/score.gd",
  "line": 3,
  "severity": "error",
  "message": "Parse Error: Identifier \"missing_score\" not declared in the current scope."
}

Use the file and line to locate the repair, then validate again. Dependency errors keep their own file attribution. Relative preloads resolve from the script’s directory. The compile check leaves the editor’s error buffer available to read.

Structured GDScript diagnostics require Godot 4.5+. On older supported engines, diagnostics_available is false; the compile verdict and error code remain available. C# validation uses the project’s build diagnostics.

Check several scripts#

Choose exactly one validation mode:

Batch results include checked, passed, and failed counts. The results array lists failures with their diagnostics. An MCP client can request progress and cancellation while a batch runs.

A validation command can return a successful transport response with valid: false or a nonzero failed count. Automation must check those fields. For a process whose exit code tracks compile failures without an open editor, use the cold check command.