Install Byte Engine
Add a published release, Git dependency, or local engine checkout to your Rust application.
Install Byte Engine as a Cargo dependency in the project you created.
Complete the environment setup and create your project before following this guide.
Choose an installation method
The installation method determines where Cargo gets the Byte Engine source:
- Published release: Choose this for most applications. Cargo selects a released version from crates.io using normal package version resolution.
- Git dependency: Choose this when you need unreleased engine changes but don't need to edit the engine locally. Cargo fetches the source from the Byte Engine Git repository.
- Local checkout: Choose this when you want to inspect or modify the engine alongside your application. Cargo uses a path to a checkout that you update.
Install the published release
From your project folder, add the latest published Byte Engine release:
cargo add byte-engineCargo adds the published package version to your crate's Cargo.toml.
Expose the engine assets
Byte Engine's built-in rendering uses shaders from the engine's assets/
directory. Vendor the resolved crate so the link target doesn't depend on
Cargo's registry cache:
cargo vendor --locked vendor
mkdir -p assets
ln -s ../vendor/byte-engine/assets assets/byte-engineThe assets/byte-engine link gives engine shaders stable resource IDs such as
byte-engine/rendering/sky.besl. Keep the link in every developer and CI
checkout. On Windows, enable Developer Mode
before setting up the directory link. See Bake application resources
for platform details and the complete baking workflow.
Next, create your first Byte.