glTF 2.0 (Binary) .glb
Self-contained glTF. One file, textures baked in. The safe default.
What a .glb file holds
GLB is glTF 2.0 packed into a single binary container: the JSON scene description, the vertex buffers and every texture in one file with nothing to lose in transit. It is the format to reach for when you are handing a model to somebody else, embedding it on a web page, or pushing it into a game engine. If you are not sure what to convert to, convert to GLB.
Commonly seen in: three.js, Babylon.js, Godot, Unreal Engine, Windows 3D Viewer, Facebook 3D posts.
| Data | Stored in GLB |
|---|---|
| Geometry | Yes |
| Materials and colour | Yes |
| Texture maps | Yes |
| Animation and rigs | Yes |
| Scene hierarchy | Yes |
| Read here | Yes |
| Written here | Yes |
Tested against a real file
The last sweep loaded BoxTextured.glb from Assimp test models, glTF 2.0 through the viewer on this site: 12 triangles across 1 meshes and 1 materials, in 1.9 seconds. Every format's result is on the test results page, run 2026-09-08.
Convert GLB to another format
Every pairing has a page saying what survives the trip.
Convert something else to GLB
Other things to do with a .glb file
Questions about GLB
How do I open a .glb file?
Drop it into the viewer on this site and it opens in the browser, with the scene tree, the materials and the mesh statistics. Nothing is uploaded. If you want it in another program instead, convert it to GLB, which almost everything reads.
Is GLB a good format to archive in?
GLB carries geometry, materials, textures and animation, so an archive copy keeps nearly everything. The usual caveat applies: a format is only as future-proof as the readers that exist for it, and .glb is well served.
Does converting GLB lose quality?
Geometry is copied vertex for vertex, so the shape does not degrade. What gets lost is whatever the target format has no field for: convert to STL and the materials go, convert to OBJ and the animation goes. The comparison table on each converter page says exactly which.
Written up on the blog
Formats that hold the same things
Or go back to the full format reference.