Install

Get the addon into your project — AssetLib import, a copied folder, or a library download — then enable the plugin in Project Settings. Nothing else to compile.

PoiBuilder is in alpha (first release). Expect rough edges, and expect breaking changes to saved scenes until 1.0 — pick the newest build you can.

Requirements

Godot 4.x (standard or .NET — the plugin is pure GDScript). Developed and extensively tested on Godot 4.7 (4.7.2). Surface-level testing on Godot 4.6 stable passes; older 4.x versions are untested.
A 3D scene. The toolbar lives under the spatial editor.

The three ways to install

All three end at the same place — addons/poibuilder/ inside your project. Pick whichever fits how you already work:

AssetLib tab → Import (recommended). Download a release zip from Releases, then in Godot open the AssetLib tab, click Import…, and pick the zip. Release zips are cut directly from this repository and carry the offline documentation (the toolbar Docs button works offline).
Copy the folder to the project. Extract a release zip (or copy addons/poibuilder/ from the repository's project/) so it sits next to your project.godot. Same result as the Import path, minus the dialog.
Search the Asset Library. In the AssetLib tab, search PoiBuilder, press Download, keep the listed files checked. The library listing is a snapshot: it is not guaranteed to be up to date with bleeding-edge changes, and it does not include the offline docs copy (the Docs button opens the online manual instead).

Whichever way you installed, the plugin does not turn itself on. Open Project → Project Settings → Plugins and tick Enable next to PoiBuilder. No enable, no toolbar — this is the single most common "it installed but nothing happened" report.

Nightly builds (auto-built from master, marked pre-release) live under the nightly tag on the same releases page.

After enabling — is it working?

Project → Project Settings → Plugins → PoiBuilder must show a check.
Open a 3D scene. PoiBuilder's toolbar rows appear under the engine's 3D toolbar.
The DocsRow 2 · ExportDocsOpens the bundled offline documentation (the site you are reading).Needs: Nothing (always enabled) button at the right end of that toolbar opens the manual — offline from the copy bundled inside the plugin (release zip installs), or these online pages when no local copy exists.

If the toolbar row never appears: the plugin is disabled, or the scene is not 3D. That is the whole checklist.

Installing from a release zip, step by step

(Paths 1 and 2 above, spelled out.)

Download the zip from Releases — PoiBuilder-vX.Y.Z.zip (or PoiBuilder-nightly.zip for the nightly). Either import it through the AssetLib → Import… dialog, or extract it at your project root so addons/poibuilder/ lands next to project.godot.
Wait for Godot to finish its first import of the addon (the spinner in the bottom-right; on a fresh project it imports the addon's icons and shaders).
Project → Project Settings → Plugins → enable PoiBuilder.
Open a 3D scene. The toolbar rows appear; the DocsRow 2 · ExportDocsOpens the bundled offline documentation (the site you are reading).Needs: Nothing (always enabled) button opens this manual offline from addons/poibuilder/docs-site/.

[tip] On a fresh import you may see console messages like Condition "p_enabled && addon_name_to_plugin.has(addon_path)" is true, !tasks.has(p_task) from progress_dialog.cpp, or Task 'reimport' already exists. These come from Godot's own first-import machinery when a plugin is enabled while that first scan is still running — they are benign: the import completes and the plugin ends up enabled exactly once. Waiting for the first import to finish before enabling (step 2 above) avoids them entirely, and the messages are largely fixed in newer Godot versions.

Reading these docs online without installing

These pages are built from the same repository. When you are ready to try the plugin, grab a release zip (above) — the install is the extract plus enable, and the offline docs ride along inside the addon.

From this repository

The plugin is project/addons/poibuilder/. Clone the repo, open project/project.godot in Godot and enable the plugin the same way. This is the bleeding edge — nightly-quality, untested between commits.

What appears

Persistent toolbar rows under the 3D toolbar (four rows; the extended Rows 3 & 4 ship visible and can be folded with the Extended Tools toggle). They never hide. Buttons disable outside a PoiBuilder context — the Export...Row 2 · ExportExport...Opens the export dialog: PBM (the retro .pbm map, default) or GLB — modern bake (lightmap-ready) or retro baked (vertex-lit) — with the bake options.Needs: Nothing (always enabled) and DocsRow 2 · ExportDocsOpens the bundled offline documentation (the site you are reading).Needs: Nothing (always enabled) buttons are always available.
A floating overlay in the viewport (selection readout, params modal). Pin it with PanelRow 2 · DocksPanelPins the floating overlay panel on (it otherwise auto-hides when nothing is selected).Needs: Nothing; recover it with Reset PanelRow 2 · DocksReset PanelRecovers the overlay panel and dock to the bottom-left corner if they were dragged away.Needs: Nothing if it leaves the screen.
A Material & UV dock on the right.
A UV Editor bottom panel, opened from the toolbar UVRow 2 · DocksUVOpens the dedicated 2D UV editor panel in the bottom dock.Needs: A PBMesh button.
An Export dialog.

The overlay title reads PoiBuilder vX.Y.Z. If the version does not match the docs you are reading, you are on a different build.

First action

New Shape is always enabled. You do not need a selection to create. Open the menu, pick Cube, drag on the grid.

Continue in First minutes.

Uninstall

Disable the plugin, then delete addons/poibuilder/. Overlay position and grid settings live in Editor Settings under poibuilder/ — they survive until you clear them.

Godot 4.8-dev APIs are not the target. The development engine is 4.7.2; 4.6 stable is surface-tested. If a script error mentions a missing editor method on another version, that is the first suspect.