model-viewer

PlayCanvas Model Viewer

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The PlayCanvas glTF scene viewer is blazingly fast and 100% compliant with the glTF 2.0 spec.

You can find a live version at:

https://playcanvas.com/model-viewer

Viewing Scenes

The viewer can load any glTF 2.0 scene. Embedded glTF and binary glTF (GLB) can be dragged directly into the 3D view. To load an unpacked glTF scene, drag its parent folder into the 3D view.

You can also drag and drop images into the 3D view to set a background. Options are:

• Single file images are treated as equirectangular projections. Supported formats are PNG, JPG and HDR. Find high quality HDR images at HDRHaven.
• Six images are treated as cube map faces. Naming should be one of the following 5 forms, where each face name below should be incorporated in the overall filename like name_posx.png for example:

Face 0	Face 1	Face 2	Face 3	Face 4	Face 5
posx	negx	posy	negy	posz	negz
px	nx	py	ny	pz	nz
right	left	up	down	front	back
right	left	top	bottom	forward	backward
0	1	2	3	4	5

Supported URL Parameters

Some URL query parameters are available to override certain aspects of the viewer:

Parameter	Description	Example
load/assetUrl	Specify URL to a glTF scene to load	?load=URL
cameraPosition	Override the initial camera position	?cameraPosition=0,0,20

How to build

Ensure you have Node.js installed (v22.22+). Then, from a command prompt, run:

npm install
npm run build

This will invoke Vite and esbuild and output the built viewer to the dist folder. To rebuild the viewer on saving any source file, do:

npm run watch

How to run

Run:

npm run serve

Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000.

Development

Run:

npm run develop

Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000.

N.B. To load local models run npx server --cors in the directory containing the model (disables CORS).

Library integration testing

The Model Viewer is built on the following open source libraries:

Library	Details
PlayCanvas Engine	Powers the Editor's 3D View and Launch Page
Observer	Data binding and history
PCUI	Front-end component library

To test the integration of these libraries use npm link. Follow these steps:

1. Create a global link from source

   cd <library>
   npm link
   

2. Create a link to the global link

   cd model-viewer
   npm link <library>