Using an environment variable to load addons from a outside of the project

[glendonMo]

Hey!

I would like to start the discussion of extending Godot with custom environment variables that would allow users to configure Godot before it is launched.

One of the biggest headaches we face while integrating Godot into our pipeline is the fact that there does not seem to be a way for us to store our editor tools in a centralized location. We end up having to install each of our editor tools to Godot projects directly.

I would propose having an environment variable called GODOT_ADDON_PATH or something similar, which would store multiple paths to addon folders that are not within a Godot project. As Godot is starting up, it would then check those paths for addons and load them in.
Here is an example of the value that the environment variable would hold:

export GODOT_ADDON_PATH=shared/folder/addons_01:shared/folder/addons_02

set "GODOT_ADDON_PATH=C:\shared\folder\addons_01;C:\shared\folder\addons_02"

A good example of this is the MAYA_PLUG_IN_PATH variable that Maya has exposed.

A similar example from Blender is the BLENDER_SYSTEM_EXTENSIONS variable which allows users to set a location where blender extensions are loaded from.

Let me know if would like more information!

[Calinou]

• Related to Add support for global plugins/universal addons #831.

I don't think this should be implemented via environment variables, as it's a CLI-centric workflow. We generally want Godot tools to be usable without relying on the command line (or advanced control panels). CLI workflows can be a complement, but they shouldn't be a substitute for the editor UI.

In other words, we need global plugins to be implemented first before we can consider any kind of CLI workflow.