Bevy Master: ECS hub

ECS hub for Bevy 0.20+. Start here to set up a Bevy app, decide which components, resources, and systems own each piece of state, and load the right Bevy skill for the job.

Library target

Target: Bevy 0.20+ (tested against 0.20.0).

Who owns what (ECS)

For every piece of state, name:

• which component or resource owns it
• which system may mutate it
• which message or observer should observe it

Schedules replace a scene tree. Do not add an autoload, a signal bus, or a Node layer cake.

The Quick Start ECS page defines entities, components (Component), systems as functions, Query, Commands, Startup, and Update, plus .chain() for order. Messages, observers, resources, and app states are covered in their own skills. See those files before calling a type.

Routing

Scenario	Route
New Bevy app, ECS boundaries, which skill to load	This hub, then the module directory below
New crate, Cargo features, feature folders	bevy-project-foundations
Artifact ledger into a Bevy crate	gdas-reader then bevy-rea
Entity composition, components, systems	bevy-ecs-composition
Messages, events, observers	bevy-events-messaging
Components and resources as data	bevy-data-resources
App states or a per-entity mode flag	bevy-state-machines
App-wide resources and schedules	bevy-app-resources
Character movement	bevy-character-movement
3D physics	bevy-physics-3d
2D physics	bevy-physics-2d
Ray, overlap, or physics pick	bevy-spatial-queries
Navigation mesh or path data	bevy-navigation
Chase, patrol, retarget	bevy-ai-navigation
Seeded level or loot layout	bevy-procedural-generation
Keyboard, mouse, gamepad	bevy-input-handling
2D or 3D camera entity	bevy-camera-systems
Play or control a clip	bevy-audio-systems
Load assets or spawn a scene	bevy-asset-scenes
Player save slot	bevy-save-load
Logs and frame diagnostics	bevy-debugging-profiling
Parallelism, fixed step, handle lifetime	bevy-performance
cargo test	bevy-testing-patterns
Clips, blend graphs, sprites, lights, materials, UI, or a genre loop	Module directory below

When not to spawn an entity

Data that is not simulated can be a plain Rust struct or a resource. The Quick Start treats resources as app-wide data. A score or a seed is one Resource inserted at startup. Do not copy a Godot Object / RefCounted / Resource / Node table into Bevy.

Workflows

(a) App scaffold. App::new(), plugins, schedules, and states. The plugins page documents Plugin, DefaultPlugins, MinimalPlugins, and add_plugins. The bevy 0.20.0 crate docs list a bevy_state feature ("built in global state machines"). States, init_state, and OnEnter are the state API. Do not invent a plugin list beyond DefaultPlugins / MinimalPlugins.

(b) Entity. Components plus systems. Movement belongs on a fixed timestep. bevy::time 0.20.0 documents Fixed ("fixed timestep game clock") and run_fixed_main_schedule (FixedMain). Do not invent a schedule label beyond those names.

(c) Data. Components and resources. Not .tres files.

(d) Performance. The ECS page states systems run in parallel by default when they can, and .chain() forces order. Frame-time diagnostics and handle lifetimes are on bevy-performance. No numeric budget is stated on those pages.

Examples

[package]
name = "bevy-app"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2021"

[dependencies]
bevy = "0.20"

A new app adds DefaultPlugins, inserts one resource, and spawns the player on startup.

#[derive(Resource)]
struct Score(u32);

#[derive(Component)]
struct Player;

fn spawn_player(mut commands: Commands) {
    commands.insert_resource(Score(0));
    commands.spawn((Player, Transform::from_xyz(0.0, 0.0, 0.0)));
}

fn main() {
    App::new()
        .add_plugins(DefaultPlugins)
        .add_systems(Startup, spawn_player)
        .run();
}

Input writes velocity. Movement writes Transform. They share Player data, so they are chained on FixedUpdate.

#[derive(Component)]
struct Velocity(Vec2);

fn read_input(
    keys: Res<ButtonInput<KeyCode>>,
    mut players: Query<&mut Velocity>,
) {
    for mut velocity in &mut players {
        let mut dir = Vec2::ZERO;
        if keys.pressed(KeyCode::KeyA) {
            dir.x -= 1.0;
        }
        if keys.pressed(KeyCode::KeyD) {
            dir.x += 1.0;
        }
        if keys.pressed(KeyCode::KeyW) {
            dir.y += 1.0;
        }
        if keys.pressed(KeyCode::KeyS) {
            dir.y -= 1.0;
        }
        velocity.0 = dir.normalize_or_zero() * 4.0;
    }
}

fn apply_velocity(
    time: Res<Time<Fixed>>,
    mut players: Query<(&Velocity, &mut Transform)>,
) {
    let dt = time.delta_secs();
    for (velocity, mut transform) in &mut players {
        transform.translation.x += velocity.0.x * dt;
        transform.translation.y += velocity.0.y * dt;
    }
}

pub struct MovementPlugin;

impl Plugin for MovementPlugin {
    fn build(&self, app: &mut App) {
        app.add_systems(FixedUpdate, (read_input, apply_velocity).chain());
    }
}

AppState is a global state. Entering Playing runs the spawn system once.

#[derive(States, Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Hash, Default)]
enum AppState {
    #[default]
    Loading,
    Playing,
}

#[derive(Component)]
struct Player;

fn enter_playing(mut commands: Commands) {
    commands.spawn((Player, Transform::from_xyz(0.0, 0.0, 0.0)));
}

fn main() {
    App::new()
        .add_plugins(DefaultPlugins)
        .init_state::<AppState>()
        .add_systems(OnEnter(AppState::Playing), enter_playing)
        .run();
}

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 Godot node script
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 on latest; 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 or gdext type imports in Bevy code. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.

• No GDScript line-translate. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.

• No APIs that this file did not open. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.

• No Coil or Ouroboros UI. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.

Module directory

Domain skills:

• bevy-project-foundations
• gdas-reader
• bevy-rea
• bevy-ecs-composition
• bevy-events-messaging
• bevy-data-resources
• bevy-state-machines
• bevy-app-resources
• bevy-character-movement
• bevy-physics-3d
• bevy-physics-2d
• bevy-spatial-queries
• bevy-navigation
• bevy-ai-navigation
• bevy-procedural-generation
• bevy-input-handling
• bevy-camera-systems
• bevy-audio-systems
• bevy-asset-scenes
• bevy-save-load
• bevy-debugging-profiling
• bevy-performance
• bevy-testing-patterns

Rendering and animation:

• bevy-2d-animation
• bevy-animation
• bevy-animation-graph
• bevy-particles
• bevy-shaders
• bevy-tilemap
• bevy-tweening
• bevy-3d-lighting
• bevy-3d-materials
• bevy-3d-world-building

Gameplay:

• bevy-ability-system
• bevy-combat-system
• bevy-dialogue-system
• bevy-economy-system
• bevy-game-loop-collection
• bevy-game-loop-harvest
• bevy-game-loop-time-trial
• bevy-game-loop-waves
• bevy-inventory-system
• bevy-mechanic-revival
• bevy-mechanic-secrets
• bevy-quest-system
• bevy-rpg-stats
• bevy-turn-system

UI, platforms, adapts, templates:

• bevy-ui-layout
• bevy-ui-text
• bevy-ui-theming
• bevy-platform-desktop
• bevy-platform-web
• bevy-platform-mobile
• bevy-adapt-2d-to-3d
• bevy-adapt-3d-to-2d
• bevy-adapt-desktop-to-mobile
• bevy-adapt-mobile-to-desktop
• bevy-project-templates

Genre routers:

• bevy-genre-action-rpg
• bevy-genre-fighting
• bevy-genre-platformer
• bevy-genre-shooter
• bevy-genre-shooter-fps
• bevy-genre-rts
• bevy-genre-tower-defense
• bevy-genre-metroidvania
• bevy-genre-open-world
• bevy-genre-roguelike
• bevy-genre-survival
• bevy-genre-card-game
• bevy-genre-educational
• bevy-genre-horror
• bevy-genre-puzzle
• bevy-genre-visual-novel
• bevy-genre-romance
• bevy-genre-idle-clicker
• bevy-genre-party
• bevy-genre-racing
• bevy-genre-rhythm
• bevy-genre-sandbox
• bevy-genre-simulation
• bevy-genre-sports
• bevy-genre-stealth

Reference

Official Documentation

• bevy crate - Unversioned API index. Feature samples on the pinned page may still show older version strings.
• Assets - Official asset catalog.
• Examples - Example tree on the latest branch, not a release tag.
• Quick Start - Guide index. The legacy /learn/book/ path returned 404 on 2026-10-11.
• Getting started - App setup before ECS and plugins.
• ECS - Entities, components, systems, Query, Commands, Startup, Update, and .chain().
• Plugins - Plugin, DefaultPlugins, MinimalPlugins, and add_plugins.
• bevy::time - Fixed and run_fixed_main_schedule (FixedMain).
• crates.io bevy - Release pin source (0.20.0, 2026-10-08).

Related Skills

Prerequisites

• None. This hub is the Bevy entry point.

Complements

• godot-master - Godot hub.

Downstream / consumers

• bevy-project-foundations - Crate, Cargo features, and layout habits.
• bevy-ecs-composition - Components, spawn tuples, queries, and .chain().
• bevy-events-messaging - Message readers and Event observers.
• bevy-data-resources - Component versus Resource.
• bevy-state-machines - bevy::state and per-entity mode flags.
• bevy-app-resources - App-wide resources and Startup / Update.
• bevy-character-movement - Player and actor motion on the fixed timestep.
• bevy-physics-3d - Simulated 3D bodies once a solver crate is verified.
• bevy-physics-2d - Simulated 2D bodies.
• bevy-spatial-queries - Casts and overlaps. Solver still unpicked.
• bevy-navigation - Path data.
• bevy-ai-navigation - Chase and patrol policy.
• bevy-procedural-generation - Seed resource and spawn. No noise API.
• bevy-input-handling - ButtonInput, mouse, and gamepad.
• bevy-camera-systems - Camera2d and Camera3d.
• bevy-audio-systems - AudioPlayer and AudioSink.
• bevy-asset-scenes - AssetServer and spawn_scene.
• bevy-save-load - Player save slots. Scene spawn is not a save.
• bevy-debugging-profiling - LogPlugin and diagnostics plugins.
• bevy-performance - Parallel systems, fixed step, handle lifetimes.
• bevy-testing-patterns - cargo test. Not GdUnit.

Master

• This file. Do not route Bevy work through a parent that also owns Godot.

Cipher rule titles only: runtime gameplay is Rust; do not pull Godot types into Bevy crates.

Scope

• Resources, states, messages, and observers live in their own skills. Call only the types those skills cite. Check the App docs for state-installation method names before writing them.
• The getting-started snippet still shows bevy = "0.19" while crates.io latest is 0.20.0. Pin 0.20.0 from crates.io and the Bevy API reference, not from that stale snippet.
• Bevy API reference feature examples on the 0.20.0 page still show version = "0.18" in one sample. That sample is not the pin.