diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a5406c2..7ab009f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ import PackageDescription
 let package = Package(
     name: "YourPackageName",
     dependencies: [
-        .package(url: "https://github.com/fireblade-engine/ecs.git", from: "0.15.3")
+        .package(url: "https://github.com/fireblade-engine/ecs.git", from: "0.15.4")
     ],
     targets: [
         .target(
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ then create entities by letting the `Nexus` generate them.
 let newEntity = nexus.createEntity()
 ```
 
-To define components conform your class to the `Component` protocol
+To define components, conform your class to the `Component` protocol
 
 ```swift
 final class Position: Component {
diff --git a/Sources/FirebladeECS/EntityIdentifier.swift b/Sources/FirebladeECS/EntityIdentifier.swift
index f8a649a..6c2e98e 100644
--- a/Sources/FirebladeECS/EntityIdentifier.swift
+++ b/Sources/FirebladeECS/EntityIdentifier.swift
@@ -5,19 +5,57 @@
 //  Created by Christian Treffs on 08.10.17.
 //
 
+/// **EntityIdentifier**
+///
+/// An entity identifier represents the unique identity of an entity.
 public struct EntityIdentifier {
-    public static let invalid = EntityIdentifier(.max)
+    /// Entity identifier type.
+    ///
+    /// Provides 4294967295 unique identifiers.
+    public typealias Identifier = UInt32
 
-    public typealias Idx = Int
-
-    /// provides 4294967295 unique identifiers since it's constrained to UInt32 - invalid.
-    @usableFromInline let id: Idx
+    /// The entity identifier.
+    public let id: Identifier
 
     @inlinable
-    public init(_ uint32: UInt32) {
-        self.id = Idx(uint32)
+    public init(_ id: Identifier) {
+        self.init(rawValue: id)
     }
 }
 
 extension EntityIdentifier: Equatable { }
 extension EntityIdentifier: Hashable { }
+
+extension EntityIdentifier: RawRepresentable {
+    /// The entity identifier represented as a raw value.
+    @inline(__always)
+    public var rawValue: Identifier { id }
+
+    @inlinable
+    public init(rawValue: Identifier) {
+        self.id = rawValue
+    }
+}
+
+extension EntityIdentifier: ExpressibleByIntegerLiteral {
+    public init(integerLiteral value: Identifier) {
+        self.init(value)
+    }
+}
+
+extension EntityIdentifier {
+    /// Invalid entity identifier
+    ///
+    /// Used to represent an invalid entity identifier.
+    public static let invalid = EntityIdentifier(.max)
+}
+
+extension EntityIdentifier {
+    /// Provides the entity identifier as an index
+    ///
+    /// This is a convenience property for collection indexing and does not represent the raw identifier.
+    ///
+    /// Use `id` or `rawValue` instead.
+    @inline(__always)
+    public var index: Int { Int(id) }
+}
diff --git a/Sources/FirebladeECS/EntityIdentifierGenerator.swift b/Sources/FirebladeECS/EntityIdentifierGenerator.swift
index 8a58673..46fb50d 100644
--- a/Sources/FirebladeECS/EntityIdentifierGenerator.swift
+++ b/Sources/FirebladeECS/EntityIdentifierGenerator.swift
@@ -32,12 +32,12 @@ public protocol EntityIdentifierGenerator {
 public struct DefaultEntityIdGenerator: EntityIdentifierGenerator {
     @usableFromInline
     final class Storage {
-        @usableFromInline var stack: [UInt32]
+        @usableFromInline var stack: [EntityIdentifier.Identifier]
         @usableFromInline var count: Int { stack.count }
 
         @usableFromInline
         init(inUse entityIds: [EntityIdentifier]) {
-            stack = entityIds.reversed().map { UInt32($0.id) }
+            stack = entityIds.reversed().map(\.id)
         }
 
         @usableFromInline
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ public struct DefaultEntityIdGenerator: EntityIdentifierGenerator {
 
         @usableFromInline
         func markUnused(entityId: EntityIdentifier) {
-            stack.append(UInt32(entityId.id))
+            stack.append(entityId.id)
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/Sources/FirebladeECS/Family.swift b/Sources/FirebladeECS/Family.swift
index 8178894..ca0804a 100644
--- a/Sources/FirebladeECS/Family.swift
+++ b/Sources/FirebladeECS/Family.swift
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ public struct Family<R> where R: FamilyRequirementsManaging {
         nexus.onFamilyInit(traits: traits)
     }
 
-    @inlinable var memberIds: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx> {
+    @inlinable var memberIds: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier> {
         nexus.members(withFamilyTraits: traits)
     }
 
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ extension Family: LazySequenceProtocol { }
 // MARK: - components iterator
 extension Family {
     public struct ComponentsIterator: IteratorProtocol {
-        @usableFromInline var memberIdsIterator: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx>.ElementIterator
+        @usableFromInline var memberIdsIterator: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier>.ElementIterator
         @usableFromInline unowned let nexus: Nexus
 
         public init(family: Family<R>) {
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ extension Family {
     }
 
     public struct EntityIterator: IteratorProtocol {
-        @usableFromInline var memberIdsIterator: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx>.ElementIterator
+        @usableFromInline var memberIdsIterator: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier>.ElementIterator
         @usableFromInline unowned let nexus: Nexus
 
         public init(family: Family<R>) {
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ extension Family {
     }
 
     public struct EntityComponentIterator: IteratorProtocol {
-        @usableFromInline var memberIdsIterator: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx>.ElementIterator
+        @usableFromInline var memberIdsIterator: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier>.ElementIterator
         @usableFromInline unowned let nexus: Nexus
 
         public init(family: Family<R>) {
diff --git a/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Component.swift b/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Component.swift
index 4635a97..f45bd7b 100644
--- a/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Component.swift
+++ b/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Component.swift
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ extension Nexus {
         guard let uniforms = componentsByType[componentId] else {
             return false
         }
-        return uniforms.contains(entityId.id)
+        return uniforms.contains(entityId.index)
     }
 
     public final func count(components entityId: EntityIdentifier) -> Int {
@@ -36,13 +36,13 @@ extension Nexus {
         guard let uniformComponents = componentsByType[componentId] else {
             return nil
         }
-        return uniformComponents.get(at: entityId.id)
+        return uniformComponents.get(at: entityId.index)
     }
 
     @inlinable
     public final func get(unsafeComponent componentId: ComponentIdentifier, for entityId: EntityIdentifier) -> Component {
         let uniformComponents = componentsByType[componentId].unsafelyUnwrapped
-        return uniformComponents.get(unsafeAt: entityId.id)
+        return uniformComponents.get(unsafeAt: entityId.index)
     }
 
     @inlinable
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ extension Nexus {
     @discardableResult
     public final func remove(component componentId: ComponentIdentifier, from entityId: EntityIdentifier) -> Bool {
         // delete component instance
-        componentsByType[componentId]?.remove(at: entityId.id)
+        componentsByType[componentId]?.remove(at: entityId.index)
         // un-assign component from entity
         componentIdsByEntity[entityId]?.remove(componentId)
 
@@ -95,6 +95,6 @@ extension Nexus {
         guard let uniformComponents = componentsByType[componentId] else {
             return nil
         }
-        return uniformComponents.get(at: entityId.id) as? C
+        return uniformComponents.get(at: entityId.index) as? C
     }
 }
diff --git a/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Family.swift b/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Family.swift
index f4357b2..00d81ff 100644
--- a/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Family.swift
+++ b/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Family.swift
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ extension Nexus {
         return traits.isMatch(components: componentIds)
     }
 
-    public func members(withFamilyTraits traits: FamilyTraitSet) -> UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx> {
-        familyMembersByTraits[traits] ?? UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx>()
+    public func members(withFamilyTraits traits: FamilyTraitSet) -> UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier> {
+        familyMembersByTraits[traits] ?? UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier>()
     }
 
     public func isMember(_ entity: Entity, in family: FamilyTraitSet) -> Bool {
diff --git a/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Internal.swift b/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Internal.swift
index d0e570d..43bd5d2 100644
--- a/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Internal.swift
+++ b/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus+Internal.swift
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ extension Nexus {
         if componentsByType[componentId] == nil {
             componentsByType[componentId] = ManagedContiguousArray<Component>()
         }
-        componentsByType[componentId]?.insert(component, at: entityId.id)
+        componentsByType[componentId]?.insert(component, at: entityId.index)
     }
 
     func assign(_ componentId: ComponentIdentifier, _ entityId: EntityIdentifier) {
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ extension Nexus {
             return
         }
 
-        familyMembersByTraits[traits] = UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx>()
+        familyMembersByTraits[traits] = UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier>()
         update(familyMembership: traits)
     }
 
diff --git a/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus.swift b/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus.swift
index df77235..948a7a5 100644
--- a/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus.swift
+++ b/Sources/FirebladeECS/Nexus.swift
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 public final class Nexus {
     /// Main entity storage.
     /// Entities are tightly packed by EntityIdentifier.
-    @usableFromInline final var entityStorage: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx>
+    @usableFromInline final var entityStorage: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier>
 
     /// - Key: ComponentIdentifier aka component type.
     /// - Value: Array of component instances of same type (uniform).
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ public final class Nexus {
 
     /// - Key: FamilyTraitSet aka component types that make up one distinct family.
     /// - Value: Tightly packed EntityIdentifiers that represent the association of an entity to the family.
-    @usableFromInline final var familyMembersByTraits: [FamilyTraitSet: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx>]
+    @usableFromInline final var familyMembersByTraits: [FamilyTraitSet: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier>]
 
     /// The entity identifier generator responsible for providing unique ids for entities during runtime.
     ///
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ public final class Nexus {
     public final weak var delegate: NexusEventDelegate?
 
     public convenience init() {
-        self.init(entityStorage: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx>(),
+        self.init(entityStorage: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier>(),
                   componentsByType: [:],
                   componentsByEntity: [:],
                   entityIdGenerator: DefaultEntityIdGenerator(),
@@ -47,11 +47,11 @@ public final class Nexus {
                   codingStrategy: DefaultCodingStrategy())
     }
 
-    internal init(entityStorage: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx>,
+    internal init(entityStorage: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier>,
                   componentsByType: [ComponentIdentifier: ManagedContiguousArray<Component>],
                   componentsByEntity: [EntityIdentifier: Set<ComponentIdentifier>],
                   entityIdGenerator: EntityIdentifierGenerator,
-                  familyMembersByTraits: [FamilyTraitSet: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Idx>],
+                  familyMembersByTraits: [FamilyTraitSet: UnorderedSparseSet<EntityIdentifier, EntityIdentifier.Identifier>],
                   codingStrategy: CodingStrategy) {
         self.entityStorage = entityStorage
         self.componentsByType = componentsByType
diff --git a/Tests/FirebladeECSTests/EntityTests.swift b/Tests/FirebladeECSTests/EntityTests.swift
index a6103d3..8b3905f 100644
--- a/Tests/FirebladeECSTests/EntityTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/FirebladeECSTests/EntityTests.swift
@@ -11,15 +11,15 @@ import XCTest
 class EntityTests: XCTestCase {
     func testEntityIdentifierAndIndex() {
         let min = EntityIdentifier(.min)
-        XCTAssertEqual(min.id, Int(UInt32.min))
+        XCTAssertEqual(min.id, UInt32.min)
 
         let uRand = UInt32.random(in: UInt32.min...UInt32.max)
         let rand = EntityIdentifier(uRand)
-        XCTAssertEqual(rand.id, Int(uRand))
+        XCTAssertEqual(rand.id, uRand)
 
         let max = EntityIdentifier(.max)
         XCTAssertEqual(max, EntityIdentifier.invalid)
-        XCTAssertEqual(max.id, Int(UInt32.max))
+        XCTAssertEqual(max.id, UInt32.max)
     }
 
     func testAllComponentsOfEntity() {