F3D(1)

📦

version 4.0.1 · 13 versions

🦋 F3D — NAME 🦋

okay bestie, gather round, because this is the F3D(1) manual page and it's literally the user-commands one 💅

F3D — fast and minimalist 3D viewer ✨

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

F3D — A fast and minimalist 3D viewer. Usage, and I'm gonna give it to you raw because that's just how it is:

f3d [OPTIONS...] file1 file2 ...

so yeah, options first, then however many files you want, no cap 🫶

🎀 Applicative options

like, the main character options. the ones that actually do the big stuff 💖

--input <files> — the actual input files, bestie. the whole point 🦋
-D, --define libf3d.option=value — define libf3d options, go set 'em ✨
-R, --reset libf3d.option — reset libf3d options, undo era 💅
--output <png file> — render to a file, png style 🎀
--output-video <h264 file> — render to a video, h264 style 🔥
--no-background [=<bool>(=1)] — no background when you render to file (default: false) 🌈
--no-cache [=<bool>(=1)] — no cache is used, and I mean both reading and writing (default: false) 💀
-h, --help — print help, the classic 🫶
--version — print version details, iykyk ⭐
--list-readers — print the list of readers 👑
--force-reader <reader> — force a specific reader to be used, straight up disregarding the file extension. rude but iconic 💅
--skip-content-check [=<bool>(=1)] — select a reader to read the file without checking its header content, only based on the file extension (default: false) 🙈
--list-bindings [=<bool>(=1)] — print the list of interaction bindings and exits. it's ignored with --no-render, and it only considers the first file group (default: false) 🦋
--config <filePath/filename/fileStem> — specify the configuration file to use. absolute/relative path, or filename/filestem to search in the configuration file locations 🌸
--no-config [=<bool>(=1)] — do not read the configuration file (default: false) 🚫
--no-render [=<bool>(=1)] — do not render anything and quit right after loading the first file. use it with --verbose to recover information about a file (default: false) 🔍
--load-statefile <file path> — restore the application state from a statefile, applied above config files but below command line options. use - for the standard input 💜
--save-statefile <file path> — save the application state to a statefile right after loading, then continue. supports the same template variables as --output. use - for the standard output 🎀
--statefile-filename <file path> — default filename used by the statefile save and load interactions when no file is provided. supports the same template variables as --output. use - for the standard output (save) or standard input (load) ⭐
--rendering-backend <string> — backend to use when rendering (auto|glx|wgl|egl|osmesa) (default: auto) 🔥
--list-rendering-backends — print the list of rendering backends available on this system 👑
--list-video-encoders — print the list of video encoders available on this system 🌈
--video-encoder <name> — select the video encoder to use for output 🎥
--video-bitrate <bitrate> — select the video bitrate in Mbps to use for output (default: 5) 📶
--video-low-latency [=<bool>(=1)] — enable low latency mode for video encoding (default: false) ⚡
--max-size <size in Mib> — maximum size in Mib of a file to load, leave it empty for unlimited 🐘
--dpi-aware [=<bool>(=1)] — scale font and window resolution according to system scale (default: false) 🖥️
--watch [=<bool>(=1)] — watch the current file and automatically reload it whenever it's modified on disk (default: false) 👀
--frame-rate <fps> — frame rate used to refresh animation and other repeated tasks (watch, UI). does not impact rendering frame rate (default: 30.0) 🎞️
--load-plugins <paths or names> — list of plugins to load, separated with a comma 🧩
--plugins-path <path> — path specifying where to load plugins from 📁
--scan-plugins — scan standard directories for plugins and display available plugins (heads up: the result can be incomplete) 🔎
--screenshot-filename <filename> — screenshot filename (default: {app}/{model}_{n}.png) 📸

✨ General options ✨

the everyday essentials, the ones that just live in your config 🫶

--verbose [={debug, info, warning, error, quiet}(=debug)] — set verbose level, providing more information about the loaded data in the console output (default: info) 🗣️
--loading-progress [=<bool>(=1)] — show loading progress bar (default: false) ⏳
--animation-progress [=<string>(=default)] — animation progress bar mode ("none", "default" or "advanced") (default: none) 🎠
--multi-file-mode <single|all|dir> — choose the behavior when opening multiple files. "single" will show one file at a time, "all" will show all files in a single scene, "dir" will show files from the same directory in the same scene (default: single) 🗂️
--multi-file-regex <regex> — regular expression pattern to group files. captured groups are replaced with "*" so that, for example, the pattern "part(\d+)" would group files "foo-part1.xyz" and "foo-part2.xyz" together as "foo-part*.xyz" 🧠
--recursive-dir-add [=<bool>(=1)] — add directories recursively (default: false) 🌳
--remove-empty-file-groups [=<bool>(=1)] — remove file groups that results into an empty scene (default: false) 🧹
--up <direction> — up direction (default: +Y) ⬆️
-x, --axis [=<bool>(=1)] — show axes (default: false) 📐
-g, --grid [=<bool>(=1)] — show grid (default: false) 🔲
--x-color <color> — color of the X axis (default: #f94306) ❤️
--y-color <color> — color of the Y axis (default: #7aff7a) 💚
--z-color <color> — color of the Z axis (default: #788bff) 💙
--grid-absolute [=<bool>(=1)] — position grid at the absolute origin instead of below the model (default: false) 🎯
--grid-unit <value> — size of grid unit square, automatically computed by default 📏
--grid-subdivisions <value> — number of grid subdivisions (default: 10) 🔢
--grid-color <color> — color of main grid lines (default: #000000) 🖤
--grid-opacity <value> — opacity of the grid lines (default: 1) 🫧
--grid-reflection <value> — reflection strength of the grid (default: 0) 🪞
--axes-grid [=<bool>(=1)] — enable grid axis (default: false) ✨
-e, --edges [=<bool>(=1)] — show cell edges 🕸️
--armature [=<bool>(=1)] — enable armature visualization (default: false) 🦴
--camera-index <index> — select the camera to use 🎥
-k, --interaction-style [=<style>(=2d)] — interaction style (default: default) 🖱️
--invert-zoom [=<bool>(=1)] — invert zoom direction with right mouse click (default: false) 🔄
--animation-autoplay [=<bool>(=1)] — automatically start animation (default: false) ▶️
--animation-indices <index,index,index> — select animations to show (default: 0) 🎬
--animation-speed-factor <ratio> — set animation speed factor (default: 1) 🏃‍♀️
--animation-time <time> — set animation time to load ⏱️
--font-file <file_path> — path to a FreeType compatible font file 🔤
--font-scale <ratio> — scale fonts (default: 1) 🔍
--font-color <color> — set font color (default: #f4f4f4) 🎨
--backdrop-opacity <value> — UI backdrop opacity (default: 0.9) 🫧
--backdrop-color <color> — UI backdrop color (default: #141414) 🌑
--command-script <file_path> — path to a script file containing commands to execute 📜
--normal-glyphs [=<bool>(=1)] — enable normal glyphs (default: false) 🧭
--normal-glyphs-scale <ratio> — scale normal glyphs (default: 1) 📊

💜 Material options 💜

this is where the lewks happen, bestie. textures, colors, the whole vibe 💅

-o, --point-sprites [=<string>(=sphere)] — select point sprites type ("none", "sphere", "gaussian", "circle", "stddev", "bound") (default: none) 🔵
--point-sprites-size <size> — point sprites sphere size (default: 10) 📐
--point-sprites-absolute-size [=<bool>(=1)] — do not scale point sprites size by scene size (default: false) 📌
--point-size <size> — point size when showing vertices, model specified by default 🔘
--line-width <width> — line width when showing edges, model specified by default ➖
--backface-type <visible|hidden> — backface type, can be visible or hidden, model specified by default 🔃
--color <color> — solid color 🎨
--opacity <opacity> — opacity 🫥
--roughness <roughness> — roughness coefficient (0.0-1.0) 🪨
--metallic <metallic> — metallic coefficient (0.0-1.0) 🪩
--base-ior <base-ior> — Index Of Refraction of the base layer (1.0-2.5) 💎
--hdri-file <file path> — path to an image file that can be used as a light source and skybox 🌅
-f, --hdri-ambient [=<bool>(=1)] — enable HDRI ambient lighting (default: false) 💡
-j, --hdri-skybox [=<string>(=enabled)] — enable HDRI skybox background (default: disabled) 🌌
--texture-matcap <file path> — path to a texture file containing a material capture 🫧
--texture-base-color <file path> — path to a texture file that sets the color of the object 🎨
--texture-material <file path> — path to a texture file that sets the Occlusion, Roughness and Metallic values of the object 🧱
--texture-emissive <file path> — path to a texture file that sets the emitted light of the object ✨
--textures-transform <transform2d> — 3x3 matrix to transform textures 🔲
--emissive-factor <color> — Emissive factor. this value is multiplied with the emissive color when an emissive texture is present 🌟
--texture-normal <file path> — path to a texture file that sets the normal map of the object 🗺️
--checkerboard [=<bool>(=1)] — apply checkerboard texture to objects (default: false) 🏁
--normal-scale <normalScale> — Normal scale affects the strength of the normal deviation from the normal texture 📈
--unlit [=<bool>(=1)] — ignore shading and make the material unlit 💡

🎀 Window options 🎀

the actual window itself. the stage. the main character energy 🪟

--background-color <color> — background color (default: #333333) 🖤
--resolution <width,height> — window resolution (default: 1000, 600) 📺
--position <x,y> — window position 📍
-z, --fps [=<bool>(=1)] — display rendering frame per second (default: false) 🎞️
-n, --filename [=<bool>(=1)] — display filename (default: false) 📄
-m, --metadata [=<bool>(=1)] — display file metadata (default: false) 🏷️
--scene-hierarchy [=<bool>(=1)] — display the scene hierarchy widget (default: false) 🌳
--notifications [=<bool>(=1)] — display notifications (default: false) 🔔
--hdri-filename [=<bool>(=1)] — display hdri filename (default: false) 🖼️
--blur-coc <value> — the blur circle-of-confusion radius, aka how extra your depth-of-field bokeh gets (default: 20)
--light-intensity <value> — how hard the lights go (default: 1)

Scientific visualization options ✨

-s, --coloring-mode [=<material|scivis|direct>(=scivis)] — switch up the color mode (default: material)
--coloring-array <array_name> — the name of the array you wanna color with
-y, --coloring-component [=<comp_index>(=0)] — which component of that array you're coloring with. Don't specify one? It uses magnitude, periodt.
--coloring-field [=<string>(=cells)] — pick which field does the coloring, e.g. "cells" or "points" (default: any)
--coloring-range <min,max> — set a custom range for the coloring-by-array. If you don't, it just computes it for you automatically, no cap.
-b, --coloring-scalar-bar [=<bool>(=1)] — show the scalar bar (default: false)
--colormap-file <filePath/filename/fileStem> — hand over a colormap image 🎨
--colormap-discretization <int> — how many colors live in the colormap
--colormap <color_list> — build a custom colormap (lowkey ignored if "colormap-file" is specified) (default: 0,#000000,0.4,0.9,0,0,0.8,0.9,0.9,0,1,#ffffff)
--volume-opacity-map <opacity_list> — a custom opacity map for volume rendering (default: 0,0,1,1)
--volume-opacity-file <filePath/filename/fileStem> — a custom opacity map image for volume rendering 🫶
-v, --volume [=<bool>(=1)] — show the volume, but only if the file is compatible (default: false)
-i, --volume-inverse [=<bool>(=1)] — flip the opacity function for volume rendering (default: false)

Camera options 📸

--camera-position <X,Y,Z> — where the camera sits. Heads up bestie: this overrides camera direction and camera zoom factor if you passed any. It's giving main character energy, it wins.
--camera-focal-point <X,Y,Z> — the camera focal point
--camera-view-up <direction> — the camera view up
--camera-view-angle <angle> — camera view angle (non-zero, in degrees) (default: 0.0)
--camera-direction <direction> — the camera direction
--camera-zoom-factor <factor> — camera zoom factor (non-zero) (default: 0.0)
--camera-azimuth-angle <angle> — camera azimuth angle (in degrees), and it's performed after the other camera options (default: 0.0)
--camera-elevation-angle <angle> — camera elevation angle (in degrees), also performed after the other camera options (default: 0.0)
--camera-orthographic [=<bool>(=1)] — use an orthographic camera

Raytracing options 🔥

-r, --raytracing [=<bool>(=1)] — turn on raytracing (default: false)
--raytracing-samples <samples> — samples per pixel (default: 5)
-d, --raytracing-denoise [=<bool>(=1)] — denoise the image (default: false)

PostFX (OpenGL) options 💅

-p, --blending [=<string>(=ddp)] — pick your translucency blending mode: "none", "ddp", "sort", "sort_cpu" or "stochastic" (default: none)
-q, --ambient-occlusion [=<bool>(=1)] — enable ambient occlusion for approximate shadows and better depth perception, implemented using SSAO (default: false)
-a, --anti-aliasing [=<string>(=fxaa)] — pick your anti-aliasing method: "none", "fxaa", "ssaa" or "taa" (default: none)
-t, --tone-mapping [=<bool>(=1)] — enable Tone Mapping for balanced coloring (default: false)
--final-shader <GLSL code> — run the final shader at the very end of the rendering pipeline, the grand finale ✨
--display-depth [=<bool>(=1)] — display the depth buffer as a grayscale image, or with a colormap if "--scalar-coloring" is specified (default: false)

Testing options 🧪

--reference <png file> — reference
--reference-threshold <threshold> — testing threshold (default: 0.04)
--interaction-test-record <file_path> — path to an interaction log file to record interaction events to
--interaction-test-play <file_path> — path to an interaction log file to play interaction events from when loading a file

🦋 EXAMPLES 🦋

f3d file.vtu -xtgans

View a unstructured mesh in a typical nice looking sciviz style — she ate, ngl 💅

f3d file.glb -tuqap --hdri-file=file.hdr --hdri-ambient --hdri-skybox

View a gltf file in a realistic environment 🌈

f3d file.ply -o --point-size=0 --coloring-mode=direct

View a point cloud file with direct scalars rendering ⭐

f3d folder

View all files in folder — literally the whole folder, iconic 📁

🐛 REPORTING BUGS 🐛

Found a bug? Spill it here, bestie: https://github.com/f3d-app/f3d/issues

ok so here's the little ID-card moment at the bottom of the page, and yes it's all staying because it's part of the vibe check 💖

F3D - A fast and minimalist 3D viewer

Version: 4.0.1.
Build date: 2026-10-31 14:33:59.
Build system: Linux 64-bits.
Compiler: GNU 16.2.1.
Module FFmpeg: OFF.
Module ImGui: ON.
Module OpenEXR: ON.
Module Raytracing: ON.
Module WebP: OFF.
VTK version: 9.7.1.
License BSD-3-Clause.

and that's the whole page, bestie 🎀 this little legend is F3D 4.0.1, dated October 2026, and she lives in section F3D(1) — go forth and render something gorgeous, ily 🫶✨

📦 where this page comes from

arch rolling: f3d 4.0.1-1 · BSD-3-Clause
💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on 2026-11-06: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms