GLTFGLB

GLTFGLB refers to the GL Transmission Format family, consisting of the text-based GLTF (.gltf) and the binary GLB (.glb) formats, developed by the Khronos Group as efficient, interoperable standards for transmitting 3D assets. Both are designed to enable realistic rendering with compact, web-friendly data structures that are easy to parse in real time.

GLTF is a JSON-based file format that describes a scene graph, including nodes, meshes, materials, textures, animations, skins, cameras, and lights. It can reference buffers and textures as external binary files or embed them directly using data URIs, offering flexibility for asset packaging and streaming. This makes GLTF well suited for editing tools and debugging, since the human-readable JSON can be inspected and modified.

GLB is the binary container form of glTF. It stores the same scene description in JSON, but places all binary data, textures, and other resources into a single compact file. GLB often loads faster and is easier to distribute, especially for applications that prefer a single, self-contained asset.

Both formats support modern features such as physically based rendering materials, metallic-roughness workflows, textures, animations, morph targets, and scene hierarchies, along with extensions for additional capabilities. They enjoy broad tool and engine support, including exporters from major 3D packages and runtime loaders for WebGL and game engines. The design emphasizes small payloads, streaming efficiency, and cross-platform interoperability, making GLTF/GLB a popular choice for web, AR/VR, and game development.