3D Model Viewer

GLB Viewer — Open GLB Files Online

View, inspect and convert GLB models straight in your browser. Geometry, PBR materials, textures and animation, with nothing to install and nothing uploaded.

Textures & PBR materials
Animation playback
Nothing uploaded

Your GLB file is read and rendered entirely by your own browser. It is never uploaded to A23D, never stored, and never seen by anyone but you.

How to open a GLB file

No account, no plugin, no upload. Three steps and your model is on screen.

1

Drop in your file

Drag the .glb onto the viewer, or click to browse. If the model references separate material or texture files, drop the whole folder or a .zip so everything resolves.

2

Inspect the scene

Orbit, pan and zoom to look around. The inspector lists every mesh in the hierarchy with its triangle count, and reports the bounding box so you can sanity-check scale.

3

Convert or capture

Save a PNG of the viewport, or download the model converted to GLB, OBJ, STL, PLY or USDZ — all without the file leaving your browser.

What is a GLB file?

GLB is the binary form of glTF, the royalty-free 3D transmission format published by the Khronos Group — the same standards body behind OpenGL and Vulkan. glTF 2.0 arrived in 2017 and has since become the closest thing the industry has to a universal delivery format for real-time 3D, in the way that JPEG is for photographs.

The distinction between GLB and glTF is packaging, not capability. A .gltf file is JSON that points outward at a separate .bin buffer and loose image files. A .glb packs that same JSON, the binary buffer and every texture into one file. That is why GLB is what almost everyone ships: one file, nothing to lose in transit.

GLB describes materials with the metallic-roughness PBR model, so a file carries base colour, metalness, roughness, normal, occlusion and emissive maps that render consistently everywhere. It also carries a full node hierarchy, skeletal rigs, skinning weights, morph targets and multiple animation clips.

The format is opinionated in ways that remove ambiguity. GLB is always Y-up, always right-handed, and its unit is always the metre. A model that arrives at the wrong scale is almost always one exported from software that measures in centimetres or inches without converting.

Two optional extensions can trip a viewer up. Draco compresses mesh data to a fraction of its size, and KTX2/Basis does the same for textures. Both need a separate decoder, and neither is supported here yet — re-export without them and the file opens normally.

GLB at a glance

Extension
.glb
Developer
Khronos Group
Current version
glTF 2.0 (2017)
Encoding
Binary container
Up axis
Y-up, right-handed
Unit
Metres
Stores
Meshes, PBR, rigs, animation

What this viewer supports

  • Full glTF 2.0 geometry and node hierarchy
  • Metallic-roughness PBR materials
  • Embedded textures, no extra files needed
  • Skeletal animation and morph targets
  • Export to OBJ, STL, PLY, USDZ
  • Draco-compressed meshes
  • KTX2 / Basis compressed textures

GLB viewer FAQs

The questions we get asked most about opening GLB files.

Is my GLB file uploaded to a server?

No. The file is read by your browser and drawn by your own graphics card. Nothing is transmitted to A23D, which also means there is no upload size limit and nothing to delete afterwards. You can confirm it by opening your browser network tab while loading a model.

What is the difference between GLB and glTF?

They are the same format with different packaging. A .gltf file is JSON that references a separate .bin buffer and loose texture images, so it travels as a folder. A .glb packs all of that into one binary file. GLB is the better choice for sharing because nothing can go missing.

Why will my GLB not open?

The most common cause is Draco mesh compression, an optional glTF extension that needs a separate decoder this viewer does not load yet. The viewer tells you explicitly when that is the reason. Re-export without Draco and it will open. A truncated download will also fail.

Can I convert GLB to OBJ, STL or USDZ?

Yes. Once the model is loaded, use Convert to and pick your target. The conversion runs in your browser, so a confidential model stays confidential. USDZ is the right choice for iOS AR Quick Look; STL for 3D printing.

Does the viewer play GLB animations?

Yes. If the file contains animation clips a timeline appears below the model with a clip selector, play and pause, scrubbing and playback speed. Skeletal animation and morph targets both play back.

Why does my model look too big or too small?

glTF defines one unit as one metre. Software that exports in centimetres without converting produces a model a hundred times too large. The camera auto-frames whatever it finds so you always see the object, and the inspector lets you read real-world dimensions.

More format viewers

All browser-based, all free, nothing uploaded.

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