bevy_config_file

A simple Bevy plugin for loading configuration from YAML, JSON, or RON files with environment variable overrides.

Features

• Load configuration from YAML, JSON, or RON files at application startup
• Format is detected automatically from the file extension
• Override configuration values using environment variables (always JSON)
• Automatic resource registration with Bevy's reflection system
• Type-safe configuration with serde deserialization
• Support for any type that implements Resource, Deserialize, Serialize, and Reflect

Installation

Add this to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
bevy_config_file = "0.2"

This enables the default features (yaml and logging). To use other formats, enable the corresponding features:

# YAML + JSON
bevy_config_file = { version = "0.2", features = ["yaml", "json"] }

# All formats
bevy_config_file = { version = "0.2", features = ["yaml", "json", "ron"] }

# JSON only, no logging
bevy_config_file = { version = "0.2", default-features = false, features = ["json"] }

Cargo Features

At least one format feature must be enabled.

Quick Start

1. Define your configuration struct:

use bevy::prelude::*;
use bevy_config_file::{ConfigFile, config_file_plugin};
use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};

#[derive(Resource, Reflect, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
#[reflect(Resource)]
pub struct CameraSettings {
    pub pan_speed: f32,
    pub zoom_speed: f32,
    pub initial_height: f32,
}

impl ConfigFile for CameraSettings {
    const PATH: &'static str = "assets/config/camera_settings.yaml";
}

2. Create your config file (format is detected from the file extension):

YAML (camera_settings.yaml):

pan_speed: 1000.0
zoom_speed: 1.0
initial_height: 1000.0

JSON (camera_settings.json):

{
  "pan_speed": 1000.0,
  "zoom_speed": 1.0,
  "initial_height": 1000.0
}

RON (camera_settings.ron):

(
    pan_speed: 1000.0,
    zoom_speed: 1.0,
    initial_height: 1000.0,
)

3. Add the plugin to your Bevy app:

fn main() {
    App::new()
        .add_plugins(DefaultPlugins)
        .add_plugins(config_file_plugin::<CameraSettings>)
        .run();
}

4. Access the configuration in your systems:

fn camera_movement(
    settings: Res<CameraSettings>,
    // ... other system parameters
) {
    let speed = settings.pan_speed;
    // Use the configuration...
}

Environment Variable Overrides

You can override configuration values at runtime using environment variables. This is particularly useful for testing or debugging.

The environment variable name follows the pattern CONFIG_{TypeName} where TypeName is the last component of your type's fully qualified name.

Note: Overrides are always JSON, regardless of the config file format.

Example

For a type my_game::config::CameraSettings, you would use:

CONFIG_CameraSettings='{"pan_speed": 2000.0}' ./my_game

The JSON object should contain the fields you want to override. Only top-level fields are overridden; nested objects are replaced entirely, not merged.

Testing Use Case

This feature is especially useful in tests:

#[test]
fn test_with_custom_config() {
    std::env::set_var("CONFIG_GameSettings", r#"{"auto_save": false}"#);

    // Run your test...

    std::env::remove_var("CONFIG_GameSettings");
}

Advanced Usage

Manual Loading

If you need more control over when and how the configuration is loaded, you can use the lower-level functions:

use bevy_config_file::{load_resource_from_config_file, load_config_file};

// In a Bevy system:
fn custom_setup(mut commands: Commands) {
    load_resource_from_config_file::<MySettings>(&mut commands);
}

// Or load without inserting into ECS:
let config = load_config_file::<MySettings>().expect("Failed to load config");

Multiple Configuration Files

You can load multiple configuration files by creating multiple types and adding multiple plugins:

App::new()
    .add_plugins(config_file_plugin::<CameraSettings>)
    .add_plugins(config_file_plugin::<AudioSettings>)
    .add_plugins(config_file_plugin::<InputSettings>)
    .run();

AI assistance

This crate was developed with the help of AI coding tools.