Project structure

A dacha project separates the data the engine consumes from the TypeScript that extends it. Most of the layout is a suggestion. One part of it, the file-name suffixes, is relied on by tooling and is not.

After init

data/
  assets/
  data.json
dacha-workbench.config.js
package.json

That is the minimum the editor needs: somewhere to read and write the configuration, and somewhere to keep assets.

What a project grows into

data/
  data.json                    the configuration the engine consumes
  assets/                      textures, audio, fonts
src/
  index.ts                     builds the Engine and calls play()
  game/
    components/
      health/health.component.ts
    systems/
      combat/combat.system.ts
    behaviors/
      camera/camera.behavior.ts
    events/index.ts            project event names
  ui/                          optional, mounted through the UI bridge
dacha-workbench.config.js
webpack.config.js

Nothing forces the game and ui split, or the one-directory-per-class arrangement. Use whatever grouping suits the project.

The suffixes are not decoration

These endings are matched by a glob at build time:

Suffix	What it declares
*.component.ts	A component
*.system.ts	A system
*.behavior.ts	A behavior
*.shader.ts	A shader
*.filter-effect.ts	A filter effect

A file named correctly is collected into the game automatically. A file named health.ts is not, and the component it defines will be missing at runtime with no build error to warn you. The class must also be the default export of its file.

This is the mechanism behind generating scripts from the editor, and it is worth reading in full on Scripts & auto-registration.

The two configuration files

data/data.json is the game. It is read by the engine at runtime and written by the editor as you work. You can edit it by hand, but you rarely want to.

dacha-workbench.config.js is the editor’s own settings: where the configuration lives, where assets live, which project events exist, and how autosave behaves. It is never read by the engine. Every key is documented in the configuration reference.

What to commit

Commit data/, src/ and both configuration files. The data/assets directory holds source assets your game needs at runtime, so it belongs in version control alongside the configuration that references it.