bevy_vista

bevy_vista is a document-driven UI editor and runtime toolkit for Bevy UI. It combines:

an editor overlay built with pure Bevy UI
inspector-driven widget editing
.vista.ron serialization for reusable UI documents
runtime APIs for loading, mutating, and spawning saved UI

Latest Version

bevy_vista = "0.17.1"
compatible with bevy = "0.17"

What's New

Recent additions in the current API surface:

clearer core / runtime / editor module split
runtime document utilities via WidgetDocUtility
runtime asset loading and spawning example
cleaner custom inspector driver registration flow
slimmer custom inspector driver context API
improved public exports and layered preludes

Layered Architecture

bevy_vista is organized into three layers:

bevy_vista::core shared widgets, themes, asset/document models, inspector metadata, and built-in drivers
bevy_vista::runtime document loading, mutation, spawning, flushing, and live widget access
bevy_vista::editor editor overlay, hierarchy, viewport, toolbar, and inspector panels

Plugin entry points:

VistaUiCorePlugin
VistaUiRuntimePlugin
VistaUiEditorPlugin
VistaUiPlugin full setup, combining editor and runtime layers

Prelude entry points:

bevy_vista::core::prelude::*
bevy_vista::runtime::prelude::*
bevy_vista::editor::prelude::*
bevy_vista::prelude::*

Features

editor UI based on pure Bevy UI
floating + fullscreen editor modes
viewport grid, zoom, pan, and preview workflow
save / load .vista.ron UI documents
Widget derive + auto-registration for custom widgets
ShowInInspector derive for inspector-editable properties
custom inspector driver registration
runtime document APIs for document-first UI workflows
100+ editor icons

Quick Start

[dependencies]
bevy = "0.17"
bevy_vista = "0.17.1"

Full editor + runtime:

use bevy::prelude::*;
use bevy_vista::prelude::*;

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

fn setup(mut commands: Commands) {
    commands.spawn((Camera2d, IsDefaultUiCamera));
}

Runtime only:

use bevy::prelude::*;
use bevy_vista::runtime::prelude::*;

fn main() {
    App::new()
        .add_plugins(DefaultPlugins)
        .add_plugins(VistaUiRuntimePlugin)
        .run();
}

Runtime Document Workflow

The runtime layer keeps a document as the source of truth, then spawns one or more live instances from it.

Typical flow:

load_path
mutate document data with with_widget_mut / with_style_mut
spawn
later flush after document-side changes
or mutate live widgets directly with with_live_widget_mut

Main API:

WidgetDocUtility
WidgetDocId
WidgetDocInstanceId
WidgetDocLiveRef<T>
WidgetDocLiveMut<T>

See:

Custom Inspector Drivers

Built-in field rendering is string-driver based, so external code can replace or extend inspector rendering without modifying internal editor modules.

Typical customization flow:

implement InspectorDriver
register it with app.register_inspector_driver(...)
bind a Rust type to that driver through InspectorEditorRegistry

This now works with the streamlined runtime driver API instead of requiring editor-private internals.

See:

examples/custom_inspector_driver.rs

`ShowInInspector` Options

#[derive(ShowInInspector)] currently supports these field-level #[property(...)] options:

label = "Text" custom display label in the inspector
hidden omit the field from the inspector
min = 0.0 numeric minimum used by runtime editing controls
header = "Layout" start a grouped foldout section and implicitly close the previous open section
default_open = false only valid together with header = "..."
end_header closes the current header section explicitly

Example:

#[derive(ShowInInspector)]
struct DemoProps {
    #[property(header = "Layout", default_open = true, label = "Width", min = 0.0)]
    width: f32,

    #[property(label = "Visible", end_header)]
    visible: bool,
}