bevy-cargo-features

Bevy 0.19 — Cargo features

When to use this skill

Choose a supported application profile without enabling the full default set.
Compose a custom renderer or a headless server.
Enable native controller input, window/input APIs, or browser rendering.
Diagnose types/plugins missing after disabling default features.

Canonical profiles

Bevy's default is 2d + 3d + ui + audio. To select a profile, disabling defaults is essential:

# 3D game with Bevy UI, but no audio or 2D renderer
bevy = { version = "0.19", default-features = false, features = ["3d", "ui"] }

2D game with audio, but no 3D renderer or UI bevy = { version = "0.19", default-features = false, features = ["2d", "audio"] }


Writing `features = ["3d"]` while leaving default features enabled does not
trim anything: Cargo unions feature sets.

## Collection layers

| Layer | Features | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Profiles | `2d`, `3d`, `ui`, `audio` | Complete app shapes |
| Built-in render | `2d_bevy_render`, `3d_bevy_render`, `ui_bevy_render` | Bevy's renderer for one domain |
| API only | `2d_api`, `3d_api`, `ui_api` | Components/assets without a render backend |
| Baseline | `default_app`, `default_platform` | Core app services vs platform/window/input services |
| Grouped | `scene`, `picking`, `dev` | Related feature collections |

API-only features cannot draw. They are for custom/external renderers that
consume Bevy's world-side types.

## Headless server

```toml
bevy = { version = "0.19", default-features = false, features = [
    "default_app",
    "multi_threaded",
    "serialize",
    "bevy_world_serialization", # omit if the server never loads saved worlds
] }

Use MinimalPlugins, then add only the service plugins the server needs. bevy_scene is BSN in 0.19; classic reflected world serialization is bevy_world_serialization.

Custom renderer

bevy = { version = "0.19", default-features = false, features = [
    "default_app",
    "3d_api",
] }

Add bevy_winit/platform input only if the custom renderer shares Bevy's window event loop. Add 3d_bevy_render instead of 3d_api if you actually want Bevy's built-in renderer.

Input and controllers

mouse, keyboard, gamepad, touch, and gestures enable API pieces.
For native controller discovery/input, enable bevy_gilrs; it also enables gamepad. The gamepad feature alone is not the platform backend.
The high-level default_platform collection includes bevy_gilrs, Winit, desktop window backends, default font, and webgl2.

Browser profile

bevy = { version = "0.19", default-features = false, features = [
    "3d",
    "ui",
    "touch",
    # "webgpu", # overrides WebGL2; use a separate WebGPU artifact
] }

The 3d profile already includes the default platform and WebGL2 path. Enabling webgpu overrides webgl2; it is not a runtime fallback build. See bevy-wasm-webgpu.

0.19 implications and traps

2d and 3d no longer imply ui; add ui explicitly.
2d, 3d, and ui no longer imply audio; add audio or a lower-level codec combination explicitly.
scene now enables both bevy_world_serialization and the new BSN bevy_scene.
Keep dev, dynamic_linking, file watchers, tracing, and dev tools behind a project development feature; do not ship them accidentally.
Native Linux window backends are x11 and wayland; target-specific mobile activity features are mutually exclusive where documented. Do not invent windows or macos Bevy feature names.
Profile collections are the stable starting point. Use lower-level collections only when compile time, binary size, or a custom renderer makes the maintenance cost worthwhile.

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