Bevy ECS composition

When to use

Load this when gameplay data should be split across small components and systems, instead of one type that owns everything. The Quick Start ECS page is the source for the names below.

ECS shape

• Components are Rust structs that derive Component. The ECS page splits Person and Name so more than one kind of entity can carry a name.
• Entities are spawned with Commands in a Startup system. The page spawns a tuple of components: commands.spawn((Person, Name(...))).
• Systems are functions. Query<&Name, With<Person>> reads names on entities that also have Person. Query<&mut Name, With<Person>> writes. Register with add_systems.
• Schedule: Startup runs once. Update runs afterward. Systems run in parallel unless you call .chain(). The page chains update_people before greet_people and leaves an unrelated system outside the chain.

Spawn a tuple of components. A parent and child use ChildOf. Change detection uses Changed.

Composition choices

Need	Bevy idiom
Has-a parts on one object	Several Component structs on one entity
Behavior	A system function over a Query
Spawn at start	Commands in a Startup system
Ordered steps	.chain() on the systems that depend on each other
Parent and child	ChildOf on the child entity

Scope

• Tuple spawn, ChildOf, Changed, and .chain() are in the examples below.
• Editor widget trees are out of scope. Composition here is entities, components, and systems.

[package]
name = "ecs-composition"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2021"

[dependencies]
bevy = "0.20"

People carry a name. Greeting runs after the rename, in one chain.

#[derive(Component)]
struct Person;

#[derive(Component)]
struct Name(String);

fn spawn_people(mut commands: Commands) {
    commands.spawn((Person, Name("Ada".to_string())));
    commands.spawn(Name("crate".to_string()));
}

fn update_people(mut people: Query<&mut Name, With<Person>>) {
    for mut name in &mut people {
        name.0.push('!');
    }
}

fn greet_people(people: Query<&Name, With<Person>>) {
    for name in &people {
        let _label = name.0.as_str();
    }
}

fn count_names(names: Query<&Name>) {
    let _total = names.iter().count();
}

pub struct PeoplePlugin;

impl Plugin for PeoplePlugin {
    fn build(&self, app: &mut App) {
        app.add_systems(Startup, spawn_people).add_systems(
            Update,
            (update_people, greet_people).chain(),
        );
        app.add_systems(Update, count_names);
    }
}

count_names only reads Name and stays outside the chain that writes it.

Parent, child, and a system that runs when a name changes.

#[derive(Component)]
struct Name(String);

fn spawn_family(mut commands: Commands) {
    let parent = commands.spawn(Name("parent".to_string())).id();
    commands.spawn((Name("child".to_string()), ChildOf(parent)));
}

fn on_rename(renamed: Query<&Name, Changed<Name>>) {
    for name in &renamed {
        let _label = name.0.as_str();
    }
}

pub struct FamilyPlugin;

impl Plugin for FamilyPlugin {
    fn build(&self, app: &mut App) {
        app.add_systems(Startup, spawn_family)
            .add_systems(Update, on_rename);
    }
}

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	One struct that stores every entity's fields
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	Read the linked Bevy pages	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 single component that stores every behavior for an entity. WHY: composition is small components plus systems that query them.

• No Bundle API that this file did not open. 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 0.20.0. Official links stay on the unversioned learn pages.

Official Documentation

• Quick Start: ECS - Component, Query, With, Commands, Startup, Update, and .chain().
• Apps - App holds the World and the Schedule.
• Examples - Example tree on the latest branch.

Related Skills

Prerequisites

• bevy-master - Who owns which piece of state.
• bevy-project-foundations - Crate and App shell.

Complements

• bevy-data-resources - App-wide data that should not be a component.
• bevy-events-messaging - Cross-system notices that are not a shared component.

Downstream / consumers

• bevy-character-movement - Movement components and systems on the fixed timestep.

Master

• bevy-master - Bevy router.