API (Application Programming Interface)

API stands for Application Programming Interface. It's a set of protocols programmers use to interact with a software application or system.

Just like programs on your computer give you a user interface, buttons, and menus to interact with them, in code, you have an API to interact with the technology you use.

When you code, you actually don't have access to every bit of code that makes the computer work. Instead, the technology you use provides you with an interface to interact with it. In Godot, the API refers to everything the engine exposes to you and that you can use in your code: all the built-in classes, methods, properties, and other code bits that you can use to create your game.

Godot's API allows you to control the game's physics, render graphics, manage scenes, and much more without writing these systems from scratch.

Accessing the full Godot API

You can access the full Godot API documentation from within the Godot editor by pressing f1 (on Mac: ⌥space) or selecting Help -> Search Help from the menus at the top. This documentation lists and provides technical descriptions of all the classes, methods, and properties available in Godot.