Bevy audio systems

When to use

Load this when a clip should start, loop, pause, or change volume. bevy::audio on docs.rs latest (0.20.0) and the audio_control example there are the sources.

ECS shape

• Play: spawn AudioPlayer::new(asset_server.load(...)). AudioPlayer<Source> holds Handle<Source> where Source: Asset + Decodable. If the asset is not ready, playback starts when it is. AudioPlayer requires PlaybackSettings.
• Settings: PlaybackSettings configures the start. PlaybackSettings::LOOP and .with_spatial(true) appear in the spatial examples. Changes to PlaybackSettings do not affect audio that is already playing. PlaybackMode is Once, Loop, Despawn, or Remove.
• Control: when playback begins, Bevy inserts AudioSink. The control example queries AudioSink and calls pause, toggle_mute, set_volume, set_speed, and position. SpatialAudioSink is the spatial counterpart named on the playback page.
• Replay: after a non-looping sound finishes and the sink is drained, that AudioPlayer cannot be reused. Remove the audio components and add them again.
• Schedule: spawn on Startup or from a system that has Res<AssetServer> and Commands. Control systems in the example run where they read ButtonInput<KeyCode> and Res<Time>.

Coming from Godot

Godot idea	Bevy idiom
Play a file	AudioPlayer::new plus AssetServer::load
Loop	PlaybackSettings::LOOP
Pause / mute / volume while playing	AudioSink methods on the same entity
One-shot that should leave the world	PlaybackMode::Despawn or Remove
Positional emitter	PlaybackSettings with with_spatial(true) and SpatialAudioSink

Scope

• Check the audio docs for bus graphs, music/sfx mixer layouts, and audio-area shapes before writing them.
• Check the audio docs for sample rates, supported file types, and the AudioSource type beyond the Handle in AudioPlayer::new.
• Removing AudioSink restarts an attached source (stated on the sink page). Check that page for a full restart recipe before writing one.

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 audio player, bus, or stream types. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.

• No volume curves or mixer nodes this file did not open. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.

• No third-party audio crates. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.

Reference

docs.rs links use the unversioned latest permalink. The library pin on bevy-master stays 0.20.0.

Official Documentation

• Migration guides - Unversioned hop index.
• bevy crate - Unversioned API index.
• AudioPlayer - Component that starts a Handle.
• PlaybackSettings - Start settings; not live control.
• PlaybackMode - Once, Loop, Despawn, Remove.
• AudioSink - Live pause, mute, volume, speed.
• Assets - Official asset catalog.
• Examples - Example tree on the latest branch.

Related Skills

Prerequisites

• bevy-master - Who owns which piece of state.
• bevy-asset-scenes - AssetServer and Handle.

Complements

• bevy-input-handling - Keys the control example uses.
• godot-audio-systems - Equivalent Godot skill.

Downstream / consumers

• None yet. Genre skills that play stingers should route here when they exist.

Master

• bevy-master - Bevy router.