Hosts

A host is a small .NET program that owns the process, starts embedded Godot, and drives its frame loop.

Adding 2dog Hosts to your Game

2dog new generates a new project with your selection of hosts; 2dog add adds them to an existing project.

Besides the default set, both commands can add a Windows-only WinForms host (--winforms) that embeds the engine inside a GUI framework window. It's a good example how to modify the generic host to do something special.

Shared Project Anatomy

Every host is an ordinary Microsoft.NET.Sdk project with:

• a package reference to its 2dog host package;
• a ProjectReference to MyGame.csproj, the Godot C# assembly;
• <GodotProjectDir>, which points to project.godot and is available to Engine.ResolveProjectDir() at runtime;
• a .gdignore, because hosts nest inside the Godot project;
• a TwoDogVariant of release, debug, or editor where applicable.

The generic form is the baseline:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net10.0</TargetFramework>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <GodotProjectDir>..</GodotProjectDir>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="2dog.engine" Version="4.7.1.65"/>
    <ProjectReference Include="../MyGame.csproj"/>
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

Engine Surface

Full signatures are in the API Reference.

Member	Purpose
new Engine(name, path, args)	Configure an engine; arguments reach Godot verbatim
Engine.ResolveProjectDir()	Read GodotProjectDir from assembly metadata
engine.Start()	Boot Godot and run run/main_scene
engine.Tree	Access the live SceneTree and GodotSharp API
instance.Iteration()	Advance one frame; true means Godot wants to quit
engine.Run(perFrame)	Drive the loop with an optional callback
Engine.RegisterWebPluginsInitializer(ptr)	Register browser plugins before Start()

A normal host supports one active engine at a time. Sequential restarts work after disposal; isolated load contexts are an experimental option. See Single Godot Instance.

Windowed Windows hosts should mark Main with [STAThread] so OLE features such as drag and drop, IME, and native dialogs initialize correctly.