SketchUp .skp
SketchUp models, read without Trimble’s SDK.
What an .skp file holds
SKP is Trimble SketchUp’s native format, and for most of its life it was effectively unreadable outside SketchUp; the only route in was Trimble’s own closed SDK. It is read here through OpenSKP, an MIT-licensed clean-room implementation built by reverse engineering the container, covering both the modern layout and the older one used up to 2020. Because SketchUp models are usually assembled from repeated component instances, those instances are resolved against their definitions rather than coming through as empty placeholders.
Commonly seen in: SketchUp, 3D Warehouse, architecture, interior design, woodworking.
| Data | Stored in SKP |
|---|---|
| Geometry | Yes |
| Materials and colour | Yes |
| Texture maps | Yes |
| Animation and rigs | No |
| Scene hierarchy | Yes |
| Read here | Yes |
| Written here | No |
Tested against a real file
The last sweep loaded capilla_quiroz_v17.skp from OpenSKP test fixtures through the viewer on this site: 939 triangles across 21 meshes and 13 materials, in 1.9 seconds. Every format's result is on the test results page, run 2026-09-08.
Convert SKP to another format
Every pairing has a page saying what survives the trip.
Other things to do with an .skp file
Questions about SKP
How do I open an .skp 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 SKP a good format to archive in?
SKP stores geometry, materials and colour, texture maps, scene hierarchy. Anything outside that list will not be in the file at all, so archive the original alongside it if the surfacing or the rig matters.
Does converting SKP 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.
Formats that hold the same things
Or go back to the full format reference.