Bevy 0.20 — rendering choices

Start with Bevy's built-in wgpu renderer unless a measured constraint requires a custom path. Renderer replacement changes asset preparation, visibility, cameras, materials, platform integration, and debugging—not just one plugin.

First classify the need

Do not replace the renderer because a physics crate is present. bevy_rapier3d computes rigid-body simulation and queries. Its optional debug drawing uses Bevy rendering, but Rapier is not a renderer.

Built-in renderer

[dependencies]
bevy = { version = "0.20", default-features = false, features = ["3d", "ui"] }

use bevy::prelude::*;

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

fn setup(
    mut commands: Commands,
    mut meshes: ResMut<Assets<Mesh>>,
    mut materials: ResMut<Assets<StandardMaterial>>,
) {
    commands.spawn((
        Mesh3d(meshes.add(Cuboid::new(1.0, 1.0, 1.0))),
        MeshMaterial3d(materials.add(Color::srgb(0.3, 0.7, 0.9))),
    ));
    commands.spawn((
        Camera3d::default(),
        Transform::from_xyz(0.0, 2.0, 4.0).looking_at(Vec3::ZERO, Vec3::Y),
    ));
    commands.spawn(DirectionalLight::default());
}

3d is a complete profile. 3d_bevy_render is the lower-level collection that selects Bevy's renderer; 3d_api supplies world-side 3D types without a renderer. Profiles only trim dependencies when default-features = false.

Camera opt-ins that changed in 0.20

use bevy::{pbr::ScreenSpaceTransmission, prelude::*, render::view::Tonemapping};

fn spawn_camera(mut commands: Commands) {
    commands.spawn((
        Camera3d::default(),
        // 0.20: no longer required by Camera3d; add it for transmissive materials.
        ScreenSpaceTransmission::default(),
        // 0.20: `None` is a raw passthrough; `Linear` keeps grading/dither/clamp.
        Tonemapping::Linear,
    ));
}

Forward versus deferred

Forward is the default opaque method. Prefer it for broad platform coverage, MSAA, lower bandwidth, fewer lights, and material flexibility. Deferred moves opaque material data into a G-buffer and can reduce repeated geometry work with many lights, but uses more bandwidth and does not support MSAA.

use bevy::{
    core_pipeline::prepass::{DeferredPrepass, DepthPrepass},
    pbr::DefaultOpaqueRendererMethod,
    prelude::*,
};

fn enable_deferred(app: &mut App) {
    app.insert_resource(DefaultOpaqueRendererMethod::deferred());
}

fn spawn_deferred_camera(mut commands: Commands) {
    commands.spawn((
        Camera3d::default(),
        Msaa::Off,
        DepthPrepass,
        DeferredPrepass,
    ));
}

This choice applies to opaque rendering. Transparent materials still need their appropriate forward/transparent path. Benchmark representative content on minimum spec hardware rather than selecting from light count alone.

Extend before replacing

Use these escalation levels:

1. StandardMaterial properties and camera/post-process components.
2. Material, Material2d, MaterialExtension, or (new in 0.20) MaterialExtension2d for sprite shaders. Shaders are WESL (.wesl).
3. A render-world extraction/prepare/queue pipeline (#[extract_app(RenderApp)]).
4. A render system in Core2d / Core3d for a custom pass.
5. A fully external renderer only when the earlier levels cannot meet the constraint.

Camera render-graph nodes were removed in 0.19. Passes are systems using ViewQuery and RenderContext, ordered against system functions or Core3dSystems sets. The schedule bevy::render::renderer::RenderGraph remains for non-camera work.

Headless or external rendering

# Simulation/server: no render stack.
bevy = { version = "0.20", default-features = false, features = [
  "default_app", "multi_threaded", "serialize"
] }

# External renderer that consumes Bevy's world-side 3D types.
# bevy = { version = "0.20", default-features = false, features = [
#   "default_app", "3d_api"
# ] }

An external bridge must define ownership and synchronization for transforms, meshes, materials, cameras, visibility, asset lifetime, GPU uploads, window/surface events, and frame pacing. Keep renderer-specific handles in dedicated components; do not leak them into gameplay components.

Rapier integration boundary

bevy_rapier3d 0.37 matches Bevy 0.20. Rapier defaults to PostUpdate with a variable timestep; tick-coupled games move it to FixedUpdate. One authoritative transform policy per entity; see the physics boundary.

Gotchas: 0.19 → 0.20

• WESL replaces naga_oil. #import bevy_pbr::mesh_view_bindings becomes import bevy_pbr::render::mesh_view_bindings; (semicolon, first in file). #ifdef X → @if(X), #{DEF} → constants::DEF, #define_import_path is gone. Rename custom files .wgsl → .wesl; plain WGSL without directives still loads. The shader_format_wesl feature is gone (always on); GLSL support was removed.
• ScreenSpaceTransmission is opt-in. 0.19 Camera3d required it; 0.20 scenes with transmissive materials render differently until you add it to the camera.
• Tonemapping::None is a full passthrough (no grading, dither, or clamp). Stale output that used None to disable the curve now wants Tonemapping::Linear. Tonemapping/DebandDither reflected paths moved to bevy_render::view.
• Weak ordering. Render, RenderGraph, Core2d/Core3d, and ExtractSchedule sets now use chain_weak. A custom system that depended on an earlier set via a channel, atomic, or interior mutability must add an explicit .after(system).
• Extraction is generic over worlds. Hand-written impls become impl SyncComponent<RenderApp>; derives need #[extract_app(RenderApp)]; extract() lives in bevy_extract. Depth/bind-group/buffer renames: see render systems.
• Sprite renders through Mesh2d + SpriteMeshMaterial and gained alpha_mode; overlapping sprites need explicit Z.
• RenderDebugOverlayPlugin ships in DefaultPlugins under the dev feature (bevy_dev_tools + render_dev_tools), off until RenderDebugOverlayKeybindings { enable_keybindings: true, .. } (F1/F2).
• Rapier: bevy_rapier3d 0.36 is Bevy 0.19; use 0.37. Its headless Cargo feature was removed; default-features = false + dim3 is the headless profile.

Audit and references

Run python3 scripts/audit_renderer_features.py path/to/Cargo.toml to catch common profile and Rapier/debug-render mismatches.

• Renderer decision guide
• Bevy 0.20 render systems
• Physics versus rendering
• bevy-migration-0-19-to-0-20
• bevy-cargo-features
• bevy-pbr-materials
• bevy-physics
• bevy-diagnostics-profiling
• bevy-vfx
• bevy-wasm-webgpu