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ADR 0006: Two ways to invoke Godot: explicit `gdt run` and a `godot` shim

Status: Accepted (2026-10-29)

Context

Section titled “Context”

Scripts, editors, MCP servers and CI call godot directly. A tool that only offers gdt run forces every caller to change; a tool that only offers a shim hides what is happening.

Decision

Section titled “Decision”

Support both:

  • Explicit: gdt run -- <args> and gdt open. Visible, no PATH change.
  • Shim: gdt shim install provides godot (and on request godot-mono) in <data>/gdt/bin. It resolves the version exactly as gdt run does.

The shim forwards arguments, environment, stdio and exit code, and does not edit PATH by itself. (Superseded in part by ADR 0009: it is not a separate binary but gdt itself started as godot, and godot-mono is not provided.)

Implementation order: explicit first (M1), shim second (M2).

Consequences

Section titled “Consequences”
  • Existing commands such as godot --path <worktree> -s tools/x.gd work unchanged from any folder.
  • The shim sits in the hot path of every Godot call, so its startup cost and dependencies are kept minimal.

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