Bevy project foundations
When to use
Load this when a new Bevy app needs a crate, a pin, and a place for feature code before gameplay systems exist. Folder names below are layout habits. They are not engine types.
ECS shape
- Crate:
cargo newplus abevydependency pinned at 0.20. - Features:
defaultpulls windowing, input, and rendering. Turndefault-featuresoff only when the binary should stay headless. - App shell:
App::new(), plugins, then systems and resources on thatApp. - Code layout: Split by feature in ordinary Rust modules. The engine does not require a directory tree.
Pin the crate and keep dev builds usable. Bevy's default debug profile compiles dependencies unoptimized, so the dev profile lifts dependency opt-level while the game crate stays easy to step through.
[package]
name = "game"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2021"
[dependencies]
bevy = "0.20"
[profile.dev]
opt-level = 1
[profile.dev.package."*"]
opt-level = 3
A headless tool crate drops the default feature set and adds only what that binary calls.
[dependencies]
bevy = { version = "0.20", default-features = false }
The windowed game plugs DefaultPlugins and a feature plugin. GameConfig is app-wide state inserted before the first schedule runs.
#[derive(Resource)]
struct GameConfig {
title: String,
}
fn boot(config: Res<GameConfig>) {
let _title = config.title.as_str();
}
pub struct GamePlugin;
impl Plugin for GamePlugin {
fn build(&self, app: &mut App) {
app.insert_resource(GameConfig {
title: "Game".to_string(),
})
.add_systems(Startup, boot);
}
}
fn main() {
App::new()
.add_plugins(DefaultPlugins)
.add_plugins(GamePlugin)
.run();
}
A second module owns one feature. The plugin is the boundary. Systems stay in the module that declares their components.
#[derive(Component)]
struct Player;
fn spawn_player(mut commands: Commands) {
commands.spawn(Player);
}
pub struct PlayerPlugin;
impl Plugin for PlayerPlugin {
fn build(&self, app: &mut App) {
app.add_systems(Startup, spawn_player);
}
}
Layout choices
| Need | Bevy idiom |
|---|---|
| New crate | cargo new plus the bevy dependency |
| Window, input, rendering | Cargo features and profiles on the bevy crate |
| Feature split | Rust modules you choose |
| Project file | Cargo.toml plus Rust modules |
Scope
- Pin
bevy = "0.20"inCargo.toml.DefaultPluginsbrings the window, input, and audio backends that crate feature enables. - Workspace members and naming linters are ordinary Cargo. This skill does not invent a folder enforcer.
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 free-floating struct outside the World |
| 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 scene-tree project types or autoload singletons in this crate. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.
-
No invented Cargo features beyond the profiles this skill names. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.
-
No third-party crates. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.
Reference
The library pin on bevy-master stays 0.20.
Official Documentation
- Getting started -
cargo new/cargo add bevy. - Apps -
App::new(),World, andSchedule. - Examples - Example tree on the
latestbranch.
Related Skills
Prerequisites
- bevy-master - Library pin and which Bevy skill to load next.
Complements
- bevy-ecs-composition - Entities, components, and systems after the crate exists.
Downstream / consumers
- bevy-app-resources - App-wide resources once the
Appexists.
Master
- bevy-master - Bevy router.
