feat: Add comprehensive read-only Bevy Inspector with remote inspection capabilities

.gitignore

@@ -32,3 +32,4 @@ assets/scenes/load_scene_example-new.scn.ron
 
 # Generated by "examples/window/screenshot.rs"
 **/screenshot-*.png
+**/.DS_Store

Cargo.toml

@@ -4030,6 +4030,12 @@ path = "examples/dev_tools/fps_overlay.rs"
 doc-scrape-examples = true
 required-features = ["bevy_dev_tools"]
 
+[[example]]
+name = "entity_inspector_minimal"
+path = "examples/inspector/entity_inspector_minimal.rs"
+doc-scrape-examples = true
+required-features = ["bevy_dev_tools"]
+
 [[example]]
 name = "2d_top_down_camera"
 path = "examples/camera/2d_top_down_camera.rs"
@@ -4113,6 +4119,12 @@ description = "Demonstrates FPS overlay"
 category = "Dev tools"
 wasm = true
 
+[package.metadata.example.entity_inspector_minimal]
+name = "Entity Inspector"
+description = "Remote entity inspector that connects to a running Bevy app"
+category = "Dev tools"
+wasm = false
+
 [[example]]
 name = "visibility_range"
 path = "examples/3d/visibility_range.rs"

crates/bevy_dev_tools/Cargo.toml

@@ -9,32 +9,55 @@ license = "MIT OR Apache-2.0"
 keywords = ["bevy"]
 
 [features]
-bevy_ci_testing = ["serde", "ron"]
+bevy_ci_testing = ["ron"]
 
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
 bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_camera = { path = "../bevy_camera", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_color = { path = "../bevy_color", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
+bevy_core_pipeline = { path = "../bevy_core_pipeline", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
+bevy_core_widgets = { path = "../bevy_core_widgets", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_diagnostic = { path = "../bevy_diagnostic", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_ecs = { path = "../bevy_ecs", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
+bevy_image = { path = "../bevy_image", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
+bevy_input = { path = "../bevy_input", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
+# bevy_internal removed to avoid cyclic dependency - inspector imports handled via re-exports
+bevy_log = { path = "../bevy_log", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_math = { path = "../bevy_math", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
+bevy_pbr = { version = "0.17.0-dev", path = "../bevy_pbr" }
 bevy_picking = { path = "../bevy_picking", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_render = { path = "../bevy_render", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_reflect = { path = "../bevy_reflect", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_time = { path = "../bevy_time", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_text = { path = "../bevy_text", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_shader = { path = "../bevy_shader", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
+bevy_transform = { path = "../bevy_transform", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_ui = { path = "../bevy_ui", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_ui_render = { path = "../bevy_ui_render", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 bevy_window = { path = "../bevy_window", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
+bevy_scene = { version = "0.17.0-dev", path = "../bevy_scene" }
 bevy_state = { path = "../bevy_state", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
+bevy_remote = { path = "../bevy_remote", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
+bevy_tasks = { path = "../bevy_tasks", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
+bevy_winit = { path = "../bevy_winit", version = "0.17.0-dev" }
 
 # other
-serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive"], optional = true }
+serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive"] }
+serde_json = { version = "1.0" }
+rand = { version = "0.8" }
 ron = { version = "0.10", optional = true }
 tracing = { version = "0.1", default-features = false, features = ["std"] }
+ureq = { version = "2.0" }
+
+# remote inspector dependencies
+reqwest = { version = "0.12", features = ["json", "stream"] }
+async-channel = "2.3"
+anyhow = "1.0"
+futures = "0.3"
+tokio = { version = "1.0", features = ["rt", "rt-multi-thread", "macros"] }
+
 
 [lints]
 workspace = true

crates/bevy_dev_tools/src/inspector/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+# Bevy Entity Inspector
+
+The Bevy Entity Inspector is a powerful debugging tool that allows you to inspect and monitor entities and components in real-time, both locally and remotely. It provides two distinct modes of operation:
+
+1. **Local Inspector** - An embedded, in-game inspector overlay
+2. **Remote Inspector** - An external application that connects to your game via `bevy_remote`
+
+## Local Inspector (In-Game Overlay)
+
+The local inspector provides an in-game overlay that can be toggled on/off during development.
+
+### Local Setup - TO BE COMPLETED
+
+Add the `InspectorPlugin` to your application:
+
+```rust
+use bevy::dev_tools::inspector::InspectorPlugin;
+use bevy::prelude::*;
+
+fn main() {
+    App::new()
+        .add_plugins(DefaultPlugins)
+        .add_plugins(InspectorPlugin::debug()) // Use debug preset with F11 toggle
+        .run();
+}
+```
+
+### Local Usage - TO BE COMPLETED
+
+- Press **F11** to toggle the inspector overlay
+- Browse entities in the left panel
+- Click on entities to view their components in the right panel
+- Component values update in real-time
+
+### Example
+
+Run the local inspector example:
+
+```bash
+cargo run --example inspector --features="bevy_dev_tools"
+```
+
+## Remote Inspector (External Application)
+
+The remote inspector runs as a separate application that connects to your game over HTTP using the `bevy_remote` protocol. This is particularly useful for:
+
+- Inspecting headless applications
+- Debugging without UI overlay interference
+- External tooling and automation
+- Multi-monitor setups
+
+### Remote Setup
+
+#### Target Application (Your Game)
+
+Add `bevy_remote` plugins to enable external connections:
+
+```rust
+use bevy::prelude::*;
+use bevy::remote::{RemotePlugin, http::RemoteHttpPlugin};
+
+fn main() {
+    App::new()
+        .add_plugins(DefaultPlugins)
+        .add_plugins(RemotePlugin::default())        // Enable JSON-RPC
+        .add_plugins(RemoteHttpPlugin::default())    // Enable HTTP transport
+        // Your game systems here...
+        .run();
+}
+```
+
+#### Inspector Application
+
+Create a separate inspector app:
+
+```rust
+use bevy::prelude::*;
+use bevy::dev_tools::inspector::InspectorPlugin;
+
+fn main() {
+    App::new()
+        .add_plugins(DefaultPlugins)
+        .add_plugins(InspectorPlugin) // Remote inspector (no debug preset)
+        .run();
+}
+```
+
+### Remote Usage
+
+1. **Start your target application** with `bevy_remote` enabled:
+
+   ```bash
+   cargo run --example server --features="bevy_remote"
+   ```
+
+2. **Start the inspector** in a separate terminal/window:
+
+   ```bash
+   cargo run --example entity_inspector_minimal --features="bevy_dev_tools"
+   ```
+
+The inspector will automatically connect to `localhost:15702` and display your entities.
+
+### Features
+
+- **Real-time Updates**: Component values update live as they change
+- **Interactive UI**: Click to select entities, text selection with copy/paste
+- **Connection Resilience**: Auto-retry logic handles connection failures gracefully
+- **Performance**: Virtual scrolling efficiently handles large numbers of entities
+- **All Components**: Automatically discovers and displays all component types
+
+### Connection Details
+
+- **Default Address**: `localhost:15702`
+- **Protocol**: HTTP with JSON-RPC 2.0
+- **Endpoints**:
+  - `/health` - Connection health check
+  - `/jsonrpc` - Main JSON-RPC interface
+
+## Component Registration
+
+For components to be visible in the inspector, they must implement `Reflect`:
+
+```rust
+use bevy::prelude::*;
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+
+#[derive(Component, Reflect, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+#[reflect(Component, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+struct Player {
+    health: i32,
+    speed: f32,
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    App::new()
+        .add_plugins(DefaultPlugins)
+        .register_type::<Player>() // Required for reflection
+        .run();
+}
+```
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Remote Inspector Issues
+
+**Inspector shows "Awaiting connection":**
+
+- Ensure target app is running with `bevy_remote` plugins enabled
+- Verify target app is listening on port 15702
+- Check firewall/network connectivity
+
+**Components not visible:**
+
+- Ensure components implement `Reflect`
+- Register component types with `.register_type::<YourComponent>()`
+- Verify components implement `Serialize`/`Deserialize` for remote inspection
+
+**Connection drops frequently:**
+
+- Check target application stability
+- Monitor network connectivity
+- The inspector will automatically retry connections
+
+### Local Inspector Issues
+
+**F11 doesn't toggle inspector:**
+
+- Ensure you're using `InspectorPlugin::debug()` not `InspectorPlugin`
+- Check if another system is handling F11 key input
+
+**UI elements not visible:**
+
+- Verify UI camera is present in your scene
+- Check for UI layer conflicts
+
+## Architecture
+
+The inspector uses several key components:
+
+- **HTTP Client** (`crates/bevy_dev_tools/src/inspector/http_client.rs`): Manages remote connections and JSON-RPC communication
+- **UI Components** (`crates/bevy_dev_tools/src/inspector/ui/`): Entity list, component viewer, connection status
+- **Virtual Scrolling**: Efficient rendering for large entity lists
+- **Live Updates**: Real-time component value streaming
+
+## Examples
+
+| Example | Purpose | Command |
+|---------|---------|---------|
+| `inspector` | Local in-game overlay | `cargo run --example inspector --features="bevy_dev_tools"` |
+| `server` | Target app for remote inspection | `cargo run --example server --features="bevy_remote"` |
+| `entity_inspector_minimal` | Remote inspector client | `cargo run --example entity_inspector_minimal --features="bevy_dev_tools"` |