Simple Model Viewer

Preview OBJ, GLB, glTF, and FBX models directly in Visual Studio Code. Simple Model Viewer opens supported files as an interactive 3D editor with material inspection, wireframes, animation playback, and EXR environment lighting.

Features

• Opens .obj, .glb, .gltf, and .fbx files automatically
• Centers every model at the origin and normalizes its largest dimension to one unit
• Provides PBR, Albedo, Roughness, Metalness, Normal, and unlit Geometry views
• Preserves original OBJ polygon boundaries, including quads and ngons, and uses triangle topology for triangulated formats
• Bundles six EXR environments with background and rotation controls
• Supports glTF animations, Draco compression, and Meshopt compression
• Resolves relative glTF buffers/textures and OBJ material/texture files
• Shows mesh, vertex, triangle, and material statistics
• Includes framing, orbit, pan, zoom, grid, auto-rotate, and PNG snapshots
• Adapts to VS Code light, dark, and high-contrast themes
• Works in Remote SSH windows when installed on the remote extension host

Getting started

Open a supported model from the Explorer. The viewer is registered as the default editor, so no command is required.

To choose it explicitly, right-click a model and select Open in 3D Model Viewer. To inspect an OBJ or glTF source file, use the Text button in the viewer or VS Code's Reopen Editor With... command.

Keep external buffers, material files, and textures beside the model, in one of its subdirectories, or elsewhere in the open workspace. Embedded GLB and FBX resources work without companion files.

Inspection modes

Wireframe topology is selected automatically. OBJ files use their original face boundaries, so source quads and ngons are shown without triangulation diagonals. GLB, glTF, FBX, and already-triangulated OBJ files show triangle topology. Lighting is reduced automatically for textureless models so their shape remains readable.

Controls

Use the environment control in the bottom-right corner to select an EXR map, render it as the background, or rotate its lighting.

Install

After the Marketplace listing is live, install the extension from VS Code's Extensions view or run:

code --install-extension hwanhuh.simple-model-viewer

To build and install a .vsix manually:

git clone https://github.com/hwanhuh/vscode-simple-model-viewer.git
cd vscode-simple-model-viewer
npm install
npm run package

Then install the generated package:

code --install-extension simple-model-viewer-0.1.3.vsix

For a Remote SSH workspace, install the extension on the SSH host from VS Code's Extensions view.

Development

Requirements: Node.js 20 or newer and VS Code 1.96 or newer.

npm install
npm run check

Open the repository in VS Code and press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host. Opening a supported model in that window exercises the custom editor.

Build a local extension package with:

npm run package

Privacy

Models are rendered inside the VS Code webview. The extension does not upload model data or include analytics.

License

Simple Model Viewer is released under the MIT License. Bundled third-party components and EXR environments are documented in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.