OBJ to GLB API
One file instead of three, and a format the browser actually speaks.
An OBJ is rarely just an OBJ. It is an .obj, plus an .mtl
describing materials, plus however many texture images — all referenced by relative
path, all easy to lose. Anyone who has received a "broken" model that was really a
missing .mtl knows the problem. GLB packs the whole thing into a single
binary file with nothing to lose.
Example
curl -X POST "https://apimycad.com/v1/mesh?to=glb" \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
-F "file=@model.obj" \
-o model.glbAbout that .mtl file
This endpoint takes a single uploaded file, so an OBJ that references an external
.mtl converts with its geometry intact but without those material
definitions. If appearance matters, either bake materials before exporting, or export
GLB directly from your 3D tool. If you only need the shape — a preview, a viewer, a
configurator body — the conversion is exactly what you want.
Why GLB is the right delivery format
| Single file | Geometry, materials and textures in one binary — nothing to lose in transit |
|---|---|
| Smaller | Binary rather than ASCII text; an OBJ's vertex list is enormous by comparison |
| Native support | Loads directly in three.js, Babylon.js, <model-viewer> and iOS/Android AR |
| Open standard | Khronos glTF 2.0 — no vendor licence, no proprietary reader |
Common uses
- Adding a rotatable 3D preview to a product page or configurator
- Serving user-uploaded models in a web app without a client-side converter
- Shrinking page weight on model-heavy sites
- Standardising an asset library that arrived as a mix of OBJ, FBX and DAE