GLB is the single-file binary packaging of glTF, the "JPEG of 3D". One file carries geometry, materials, textures and animations, optimized for fast GPU loading. It is the standard for web 3D, AR on Android, e-commerce product viewers and real-time applications.
GLB comes out of Blender, Substance, Sketchfab, product-configurator pipelines and any glTF exporter. It is the format web viewers, AR on Android and real-time engines actually consume, because one binary file carries geometry, materials and animation together.
Best for: Web viewers, AR and real-time 3D delivery. There is a fuller write-up on the GLB format reference page.
Every format on this site also gets the same viewport tools: orbit, pan and zoom with fit-to-view, isometric and the six standard views, a perspective/orthographic toggle, shaded, shaded-with-edges, wireframe and X-ray display, hide-selected, and a PNG screenshot of the current view. The same controls are on the general 3D and CAD viewer, which accepts every importable format at once.
Worth knowing before you rely on it. A viewer that overstates what it can read wastes more of your time than one that is specific about its limits.
| GLB files | |
|---|---|
| Extensions | .glb |
| Geometry | GPU-ready triangle mesh |
| Units | Meters by spec |
| Colors & materials | Full PBR materials |
| Animations | Yes |
| Typical use | Web, AR & real-time delivery |
glTF and GLB are metres by specification, but the viewer labels raw coordinates as millimetres. A 1.00 mm reading on a GLB almost always means one metre.
GLB is both readable and writable here. The useful directions are unpacking it into a plain mesh for printing, or into the JSON glTF variant for a pipeline that wants text. The converter runs on the same local pipeline as this viewer, so a conversion is just as private as a preview: GLB to STL is the usual choice.
No. Animation clips, skinning and morph targets are not evaluated — the geometry is shown at its baked pose. Everything static (hierarchy, triangle counts, dimensions, sections, measurements) is accurate.
The viewer draws each mesh in its material’s base color rather than sampling texture maps. That is deliberate: it is a geometry inspector with measurement and section tools, not a render preview.
Yes. The Draco decoder is served from this site as WebAssembly and runs in your browser, so compressed meshes open without any extra step and without the file leaving your device.
Because glTF stores metres and the readout appends a millimetre suffix to the raw coordinates. The proportions and measurements are correct; only the unit label is not. Read millimetres as metres for GLB files.
Geometry: gpu-ready triangle mesh. Units: meters by spec. Colors and materials: full pbr materials. Animations: yes. Of that, the viewer draws geometry and flat base colors; texture maps and animation are never displayed. glTF and GLB are metres by specification, but the viewer labels raw coordinates as millimetres. A 1.00 mm reading on a GLB almost always means one metre.
Read the GLB format reference for the format itself, open the general 3D and CAD viewer if you have several formats to look at, or start from the 3D and CAD converter.
If the model is heavier than it needs to be, the mesh simplifier reads .glb directly, decimates it in your browser and previews the result before you export. If the file is headed for a 3D printer, the G-code viewer shows the sliced toolpath layer by layer once your slicer has run.
GLB is the binary form of glTF — the standard format for 3D on the web and in AR. What GLB files contain, how to open them free, and how to convert to and from GLB.
Which 3D format should you ship on the web? A practical comparison of glTF, GLB and OBJ — file size, materials, loading speed — with free conversion tools.