3D Model Preview

Open a 3D model in VS Code and look at it, instead of at a wall of binary.

Platform: VS Code
Version: 0.3.0
Updated: 17 Oct 2026
Size: 857 KB

VS Code.vsix, 857 KBDownload
Version 0.3.0. Installs from the file.

SHA-256 checksum of 3d-model-preview-0.3.0.vsix
5ae0b32deb6dd43d0a8c7d0d32f373ca49e52f830ef105d71227306f3c707d03
Check the file after downloading with sha256sum 3d-model-preview-0.3.0.vsix.

VS Code with the 3D Models tree in the side bar and a copper torus knot open in the viewer, with an info panel showing its size, triangles and vertices. — A model open in VS Code, with the 3D Models tree beside it.

Open a .glb, .gltf, .obj, .fbx, .stl, .ply, .dae or .3mf file in VS Code and it opens in an interactive viewer, with orbit, pan and zoom, instead of as unreadable text or binary.

A 3D Models view in the side bar lists only the model files in your project, as a folder tree or as a gallery of thumbnails. The viewer and the view follow your colour theme.

What it does

Opens glTF 2.0 (.glb and .gltf, with textures, PBR materials, animations, and Draco, Meshopt and KTX2 compression), OBJ with its .mtl and textures, FBX with skeletal animations, STL, PLY, COLLADA and 3MF files
A 3D Models view that shows only the model files and the folders that hold them, and updates as files are added, moved or deleted
A gallery with rendered thumbnails, a name filter and a size slider; thumbnails are kept for each workspace and redrawn only when a model changes
Orbit, pan and zoom, an info panel (meshes, triangles, vertices, materials, size) and animation playback with a timeline
Wireframe, grid and axes switches, a Z-up switch for CAD and 3D-printing files, and a screenshot of the view as a PNG with a transparent background
Reloads by itself when the model, or a texture it uses, changes on disk
Missing textures are listed as warnings, and the preview carries on

Install

You need

VS Code 1.90 or newer
Any system VS Code runs on; the viewer uses WebGL

Steps

Download the .vsix file.
In VS Code, open the Extensions view, click the … menu at its top, choose Install from VSIX…, and pick the file. Or, from a terminal:
```
code --install-extension 3d-model-preview-0.3.0.vsix
```
Open a model file, or click the cube in the Activity Bar to see every model in your project.

Good to know

It isn't on the Visual Studio Marketplace or Open VSX yet, so it installs from the file.
In the gallery, models larger than 100 MB get a placeholder card instead of a thumbnail.
To see a .gltf or .obj file as text, right-click its tab and choose Reopen Editor With… then Text Editor.

More screenshots

The gallery view, with a thumbnail of every model.
STL files open Z-up, the way CAD and 3D-printing tools expect.
PLY files show their vertex colours.
Wireframe, one key press away (W).
The viewer follows your colour theme, light or dark.

The models in the screenshots are shapes made for them; nothing here is from a real project.