How do I spawn a scene from code?

Short answer

preload() the scene, call instantiate() on it, add_child() the result, then set its position.

Set up the scene

The spawning happens in the level. The Marker2D is just a point you can move around in the editor to say where things appear:

• LevelNode2Dthe script goes here
  • SpawnerMarker2Dwhere the enemy appears

The thing being spawned is its own saved scene, enemy.tscn:

• EnemyCharacterBody2D
  • Sprite2DSprite2D
  • CollisionShape2DCollisionShape2D

Load the scene once

At the top of level.gd, load the enemy scene into a constant. This gives you a PackedScene, a recipe you can make as many copies of as you like:

level.gd

extends Node2D

const ENEMY := preload("res://enemy.tscn")

preload() loads the file when the script is parsed, so the path must be a literal string; use load("res://enemy.tscn") instead when you only know the path at runtime.

Create and add an instance

instantiate() builds a fresh copy of the scene. It exists in memory only until you add_child() it, which is what puts it in the running game:

GDScript

level.gd

extends Node2D

const ENEMY := preload("res://enemy.tscn")

func spawn_enemy() -> void:
  var enemy := ENEMY.instantiate()
  enemy.position = $Spawner.position
  add_child(enemy)

C#

Level.cs

using Godot;

public partial class Level : Node2D
{
    private PackedScene _enemyScene = GD.Load<PackedScene>("res://enemy.tscn");

    public void SpawnEnemy()
    {
        Enemy enemy = _enemyScene.Instantiate<Enemy>();
        enemy.Position = GetNode<Marker2D>("Spawner").Position;
        AddChild(enemy);
    }
}

Call spawn_enemy() from a button, a timer, or _ready() to test it. Each call creates a new enemy at the marker. Drag Spawner around in the editor and the spawn point follows.

Where to add it

Add the instance to the level, or to a plain container node inside it, not to something that moves. A bullet added as a child of the player drifts along with the player instead of flying straight. If the spawning script lives on a moving node, hand the instance up with get_parent().add_child(enemy), or expose the target so you can pick it in the Inspector:

gun.gd

@export var container: Node2D

func shoot() -> void:
  var bullet := BULLET.instantiate()
  bullet.global_position = global_position
  container.add_child(bullet)

Common mistakes

Forgetting add_child

instantiate() alone doesn’t show anything. Without add_child() the node never enters the tree, so it’s never drawn or updated.

Setting up the instance before add_child

Anything in the enemy script that relies on @onready is still null until the enemy is in the tree. Call add_child() first, then call its functions, otherwise you get the error described in Why is my node null?.

Spawning in _process without a timer

_process() runs every frame, so spawn_enemy() in there creates hundreds of enemies a second. Spawn from a Timer node’s timeout signal or on a key press instead.

Calling instantiate on the path

"res://enemy.tscn".instantiate() fails, because a string isn’t a scene. Call instantiate() on the PackedScene you got from preload() or load().

Related

How do I change scenes?Replace the whole current scene with another one.

Nodes and scene instancesOfficial docs on instantiating scenes from code.