threejs

Three.js is a cross-browser JavaScript library that enables the creation and display of animated 3D graphics in web browsers using WebGL. It provides a high-level API that abstracts the low-level WebGL details, allowing developers to construct 3D scenes with objects, lights, materials, and cameras without writing raw shaders. The library was created by Ricardo Cabral, known as Mr.doob, and released in 2010 with ongoing development by a global community. Three.js is distributed under the MIT license.

Its core concepts include a scene graph, where objects such as meshes and lights live; cameras for viewing the scene (PerspectiveCamera and OrthographicCamera); and renderers (primarily WebGLRenderer) that draw the scene to a canvas. It offers a wide range of built-in geometries and materials, including physically based materials such as MeshStandardMaterial and MeshPhysicalMaterial, and supports textures, shading, shadows, and post-processing via EffectComposer. The library also provides utilities for animation, time management, and interaction.

Three.js includes numerous helpers and controls, like OrbitControls, TrackballControls, and PointerLockControls, as well as loaders for 3D formats such as GLTF/GLB, OBJ, and FBX. The GLTFLoader and DRACOLoader enable efficient model loading with compressed meshes. It can be extended with a broad ecosystem of plugins, post-processing effects, and utilities, and is commonly distributed via npm or loaded from a CDN.

Three.js is not a full game engine; it focuses on rendering and visualization, offering a balance of power and approachability for developers. It is widely used for interactive product demonstrations, architectural visualizations, data visualization, and educational projects, supported by an active community that contributes tutorials, plugins, and extensions.