bevyengine/bevy · error · MissingRenderTargetInfoError

RenderTarget::Window missing ({window:?}): Make sure the pro

Error message

RenderTarget::Window missing ({window:?}): Make sure the provided entity has a Window component.

What it means

`get_render_target_info` (behind `Camera::target_info`) resolves a camera's `RenderTarget` into a `RenderTargetInfo` and returns `MissingRenderTargetInfoError` when the target cannot be found. The `Window` variant fires when `RenderTarget::Window(entity)` names an entity that is not among the extracted `(Entity, &Window)` pairs: the entity has no `Window` component or was despawned.

Source

Thrown at crates/bevy_render/src/camera.rs:332

        &self,
        changed_window_ids: &EntityHashSet,
        changed_image_handles: &HashSet<&AssetId<Image>>,
    ) -> bool {
        match self {
            NormalizedRenderTarget::Window(window_ref) => {
                changed_window_ids.contains(&window_ref.entity())
            }
            NormalizedRenderTarget::Image(image_target) => {
                changed_image_handles.contains(&image_target.handle.id())
            }
            NormalizedRenderTarget::TextureView(_) | NormalizedRenderTarget::None { .. } => true,
        }
    }
}

#[derive(Debug, thiserror::Error)]
pub enum MissingRenderTargetInfoError {
    #[error("RenderTarget::Window missing ({window:?}): Make sure the provided entity has a Window component.")]
    Window { window: Entity },
    #[error("RenderTarget::Image missing ({image:?}): Make sure the Image's usages include RenderAssetUsages::MAIN_WORLD.")]
    Image { image: AssetId<Image> },
    #[error("RenderTarget::TextureView missing ({texture_view:?}): make sure the texture view handle was not removed.")]
    TextureView {
        texture_view: ManualTextureViewHandle,
    },
}

/// System in charge of updating a [`Camera`] when its window or projection changes.
///
/// The system detects window creation, resize, and scale factor change events to update the camera
/// [`Projection`] if needed.
///
/// ## World Resources
///
/// [`Res<Assets<Image>>`](Assets<Image>) -- For cameras that render to an image, this resource is used to
/// inspect information about the render target. This system will not access any other image assets.

View on GitHub (pinned to 8d743eb7dc)

Solutions

Ensure the entity used in `RenderTarget::Window` is an actual window (spawned with a `Window` component)
Use the primary window or `Camera::default()` targeting when you only have one window
When despawning windows, update or despawn cameras that still target them first

Example fix

// before
let entity = commands.spawn_empty().id();
camera.target = RenderTarget::Window(entity.into()); // entity has no Window

// after
let entity = commands.spawn(Window::default()).id();
camera.target = RenderTarget::Window(entity.into());

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// before assigning a camera target
if world.get::<Window>(target_entity).is_some() {
    camera.target = RenderTarget::Window(target_entity.into());
} else {
    warn!("entity {target_entity} has no Window component; using primary window");
    camera.target = RenderTarget::Window(primary_window_entity.into());
}

Type guard

fn target_window_exists(
    target: &RenderTarget,
    windows: &Query<(Entity, &Window)>,
) -> bool {
    match target {
        RenderTarget::Window(w) => windows.get(w.entity()).is_ok(),
        _ => true,
    }
}

Try / catch

match camera.target_info(windows, images, manual_texture_views) {
    Ok(info) => { /* use info */ }
    Err(MissingRenderTargetInfoError::Window { window }) => {
        warn!("camera target window {window:?} missing; skipping update");
    }
    Err(other) => { warn!("render target problem: {other:?}"); }
}

Prevention

Only pass entities spawned with a Window component to RenderTarget::Window
Retarget or despawn cameras before despawning their window
Treat target_info as fallible and handle all three MissingRenderTargetInfoError variants

When it happens

Trigger: Reading `camera.target_info(...)` (directly or through systems that consume RenderTargetInfo) while the camera's target entity lacks a `Window` component, references a despawned window, or before the window exists.

Common situations: Spawning a camera with `target: RenderTarget::Window(entity.into())` where the entity is a plain spawned entity that never got a Window; despawning a window without retargeting its cameras.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of bevyengine/bevy@8d743eb7dc (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f75da88c4fc7e50a. Report an issue: GitHub.