Bevy mobile platform
When to use
Load this when targeting touch devices. Store listings and OS permission dialogs stay outside the crate. XR is a separate topic.
ECS shape
- Input:
Touchesholds active contacts.PinchGestureis a message for two-finger pinch on iOS and macOS. - Android: enable the
android-game-activityfeature.android-native-activityis the legacy activity. - Power:
WinitSettings::mobile()waits on input while focused and drops to a one-second wait when unfocused. - iOS edges:
Window::preferred_screen_edges_deferring_system_gesturestakes aScreenEdge. - Textures: ASTC shows up as
TextureFormat::Astcon anImagedescriptor after the asset loads.
Examples
[dependencies]
bevy = { version = "0.20", features = ["android-game-activity"] }
Mobile update mode sleeps the loop when the window is backgrounded.
use bevy::winit::WinitSettings;
fn main() {
App::new()
.insert_resource(WinitSettings::mobile())
.add_plugins(DefaultPlugins)
.run();
}
A stick zone turns the first contact into a unit axis. Keyboard and mouse stay on bevy-input-handling.
#[derive(Component, Default)]
struct MoveIntent {
axis: Vec2,
}
#[derive(Resource)]
struct StickZone {
center: Vec2,
radius: f32,
}
fn read_stick(touches: Res<Touches>, zone: Res<StickZone>, mut intents: Query<&mut MoveIntent>) {
let Some(touch) = touches.iter().next() else {
return;
};
let offset = touch.position() - zone.center;
let length = offset.length();
let axis = if length <= zone.radius && length > 0.0 {
offset / zone.radius
} else if length > zone.radius {
offset / length
} else {
Vec2::ZERO
};
for mut intent in &mut intents {
intent.axis = axis;
}
}
Pinch messages adjust a zoom resource. Registering messages is the engine's job for built-in gesture types.
use bevy::input::gestures::PinchGesture;
#[derive(Resource)]
struct CameraZoom(f32);
fn apply_pinch(mut pinches: MessageReader<PinchGesture>, mut zoom: ResMut<CameraZoom>) {
for pinch in pinches.read() {
zoom.0 = (zoom.0 + pinch.0).clamp(0.25, 4.0);
}
}
Defer system gestures on every screen edge, and count ASTC images already in the asset store.
use bevy::render::render_resource::TextureFormat;
use bevy::window::PrimaryWindow;
use bevy::window::ScreenEdge;
fn defer_system_gestures(mut windows: Query<&mut Window, With<PrimaryWindow>>) {
let Ok(mut window) = windows.single_mut() else {
return;
};
window.preferred_screen_edges_deferring_system_gestures = ScreenEdge::All;
}
#[derive(Resource, Default)]
struct AstcCount(usize);
fn count_astc(images: Res<Assets<Image>>, mut count: ResMut<AstcCount>) {
count.0 = images
.iter()
.filter(|(_, image)| matches!(image.texture_descriptor.format, TextureFormat::Astc { .. }))
.count();
}
Same job, Bevy types
| Design | Bevy idiom |
|---|---|
| Touch | Touches on Update |
| Android activity | android-game-activity Cargo feature |
| Safe area | ScreenEdge on the primary Window, plus UI padding from bevy-adapt-desktop-to-mobile |
| Background FPS | WinitSettings::mobile() |
Scope
Packaging, signing, and store permission prompts are outside this skill. Touch, pinch, screen edges, ASTC detection, and the mobile update mode are the systems above.
Expert Knowledge Delta
Target: Bevy 0.20+.
Core ECS types: Component, Resource, Query, Commands, Startup, Update, Fixed / FixedMain (bevy::time), .chain(), Plugin, DefaultPlugins, MinimalPlugins. Messages and observers are an ownership slot. See bevy-events-messaging for their APIs. Systems run in parallel unless .chain() orders the ones that conflict.
Who owns state
| Piece | Owner | Who may mutate | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data on one entity | Component |
One system via Query |
Update or FixedMain |
| One value for the whole app | Resource |
One system | Startup to insert, then the schedule that reads it |
| Spawn | Commands |
The spawning system | Startup for the initial world; later schedules for runtime spawn |
| Order that must not race | .chain() |
The chained systems only | Same schedule |
| Plugin boundary | Plugin |
build registers systems and resources |
Before the app runs |
Borrow rule: two systems that both mutably query the same component must be ordered (.chain()) or split so only one writes. Unrelated systems stay parallel. That is the ECS page rule, not a guess at a system-set API.
Decision
| If you need | Do this | Do not |
|---|---|---|
| Per-entity data | Component + Query |
A scene-tree script hung on the entity |
| App-wide config or clock | Resource |
Copy the value onto every entity |
| Stable simulation step | FixedMain and the Fixed clock |
Tie simulation to raw frame Update |
| Startup spawn | Commands in Startup |
Spawn from a render system |
| Cross-system notice that is not shared state | Message or observer slot in bevy-events-messaging |
A new event type invented in this file |
| An API outside the documented set | Check the official docs first | A made-up crate or API |
Load references/ecs-ownership.md for the ownership table.
NEVER
-
Do not pin
/0.20.0/in docs URLs. WHY: links stay onlatest; the 0.20 target is stated once in prose. -
Do not mutably query the same component from two unordered systems. WHY: the schedule runs systems in parallel unless
.chain()orders them. -
Do not invent a physics, navigation, networking, or XR crate here. WHY: this skill only names documented Bevy crates and modules.
-
No Godot touch-screen or safe-margin project settings. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.
-
No Godot types in Bevy code. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.
-
No invented APIs or unnamed third-party crates as the chosen solver. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.
Reference
Official pages stay on unversioned bevy.org URLs. The library pin on bevy-master stays 0.20.0. ScreenEdge is a field on Window. Touch contacts stay on Touches; they are not a separate event struct.
Official Documentation
- Assets - Official asset catalog. No third-party crate was selected.
- Examples - Example tree on the
latestbranch. - ECS -
Component, systems,Query,Startup,Update, and.chain(). - Plugins -
Plugin,DefaultPlugins,MinimalPlugins, andadd_plugins.
Related Skills
Prerequisites
- bevy-master - Hub and schedules.
- bevy-ecs-composition - Components and systems.
- bevy-input-handling - Other devices.
- bevy-platform-desktop - Window shell.
Complements
- bevy-adapt-desktop-to-mobile - Layout and input adapt.
- godot-platform-mobile - Equivalent Godot skill.
Downstream / consumers
- None yet.
Master
- bevy-master - Bevy router.
