# Header only C++ tiny glTF library(loader/saver). `TinyGLTF` is a header only C++ glTF 2.0 https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glTF library. ## TinyGLTF v3 (new major release) **`tiny_gltf_v3.h`** is the new major version of TinyGLTF. The new C implementation (`tiny_gltf_v3.c` + `tinygltf_json_c.h`) is currently **experimental**. ### What's new in v3 v3 is a ground-up rewrite with a C-centric, low-overhead design: - **Pure C POD structs** — no STL containers in the public API; easy to bind to other languages. - **Arena-based memory management** — all parse-time allocations come from a single arena; a single `tg3_model_free()` frees everything. - **Structured error reporting** — `tg3_error_stack` provides machine-readable errors with severity levels and source locations. - **Custom JSON backend** — backed by `tinygltf_json_c.h`, a locale-independent pure-C JSON parser/serializer used by the v3 runtime. - **Streaming callbacks** — opt-in streaming parse/write via user-supplied callbacks. - **No RTTI, no exceptions required** — suitable for embedded and game-engine use. - **Opt-in filesystem and image I/O** — `TINYGLTF3_ENABLE_FS` / `TINYGLTF3_ENABLE_STB_IMAGE` are off by default; you control when and how assets are loaded. - **C++20 coroutine facade** (optional, auto-detected). C17/C++17 default. - **Hardened against untrusted input** — URI sanitization, post-parse index-bounds validation (default-on, opt-out via `tg3_parse_options.validate_indices = 0`), strict numeric range checks; exercised by a libFuzzer harness and by a cross-version verifier that compares parsed output against the v1 C++ reference loader. See the `Security Considerations` block at the top of `tiny_gltf_v3.h`. ### Quick start (v3) Copy `tiny_gltf_v3.h`, `tiny_gltf_v3.c`, and `tinygltf_json_c.h` to your project. Compile `tiny_gltf_v3.c` as C11 or newer. Define `TINYGLTF3_ENABLE_FS` when building `tiny_gltf_v3.c` if you want `tg3_parse_file()` to use stdio-backed filesystem helpers. The legacy `TINYGLTF3_IMPLEMENTATION` include path remains available for compatibility. ```c #include "tiny_gltf_v3.h" ``` Loading a glTF file: ```c tg3_parse_options opts; tg3_error_stack errors; tg3_model model; tg3_parse_options_init(&opts); tg3_error_stack_init(&errors); tg3_error_code err = tg3_parse_file(&model, &errors, "scene.gltf", 10, &opts); if (err != TG3_OK) { for (uint32_t i = 0; i < errors.count; i++) { fprintf(stderr, "[%d] %s\n", (int)errors.entries[i].severity, errors.entries[i].message ? errors.entries[i].message : "(null)"); } } // ... use model ... tg3_model_free(&model); tg3_error_stack_free(&errors); ``` ### Testing & verification The v3 C runtime ships with three layers of automated coverage: - **`tests/tester_v3_c.c`** — internal unit checks plus security regression tests (path traversal, negative `byteStride`, OOB indices, error-message lifetime, …). Build via `make` in `tests/`; run `./tester_v3_c` for the internal suite or `./tester_v3_c ` to parse a single asset. - **`test_runner.py`** — a cross-version verifier that runs the v1 C++ reference loader (`loader_example`) and the v3 C tester against every model in `glTF-Sample-Models/2.0`, then diffs a structured DIGEST block (buffer FNV64 hashes, accessor/bufferView fields, primitive attribute maps, node TRS, material PBR factors, skin/animation/scene topology, …). v1 is the ground truth. - **`tests/v3/fuzzer/`** — libFuzzer harness with ASan + UBSan (`make run` builds and runs `fuzz_gltf_v3_c`). Crafted regression inputs live in `tests/v3/security/` and are seeded into `tests/v3/fuzzer/corpus/`. ## Status > ⚠️ **v2 deprecation notice:** `tiny_gltf.h` (v2) remains fully functional and is still supported, > but it is now in **maintenance mode only** — no new features will be added. > v2 will be **sunset after mid-2026**. `tiny_gltf_v3.h` is the intended successor, but the new C v3 runtime is still **experimental**. TinyGLTF v3's C runtime (`tiny_gltf_v3.h` + `tiny_gltf_v3.c`) is available for evaluation and early adoption, but its API/behavior may still change while the implementation matures. Currently TinyGLTF v2 is stable and in maintenance mode. No drastic changes and feature additions planned. - v2.9.0 Various fixes and improvements. Filesystem callback API change. - v2.8.0 Add URICallbacks for custom URI handling in Buffer and Image. PR#397 - v2.7.0 Change WriteImageDataFunction user callback function signature. PR#393 - v2.6.0 Support serializing sparse accessor(Thanks to @fynv). - v2.5.0 Add SetPreserveImageChannels() option to load image data as is. - v2.4.0 Experimental RapidJSON support. Experimental C++14 support(C++14 may give better performance) - v2.3.0 Modified Material representation according to glTF 2.0 schema(and introduced TextureInfo class) - v2.2.0 release(Support loading 16bit PNG. Sparse accessor support) - v2.1.0 release(Draco decoding support) - v2.0.0 release(22 Aug, 2018)! ### Branches * `sajson` : Use sajson to parse JSON. Parsing only but faster compile time(2x reduction compared to json.hpp and RapidJson), but not well maintained. ## Builds ![C/C++ CI](https://github.com/syoyo/tinygltf/workflows/C/C++%20CI/badge.svg) ## Features Probably mostly feature-complete. Last missing feature is Draco encoding: https://github.com/syoyo/tinygltf/issues/207 * Written in portable C++. C++-11 with STL dependency only. * [x] macOS + clang(LLVM) * [x] iOS + clang * [x] Linux + gcc/clang * [x] Windows + MinGW * [x] Windows + Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 or later. * Visual Studio 2013 is not supported since they have limited C++11 support and failed to compile `json.hpp`. * [x] Android NDK * [x] Android + CrystaX(NDK drop-in replacement) GCC * [x] Web using Emscripten(LLVM) * Moderate parsing time and memory consumption. * glTF specification v2.0.0 * [x] ASCII glTF * [x] Load * [x] Save * [x] Binary glTF(GLB) * [x] Load * [x] Save(.bin embedded .glb) * Buffers * [x] Parse BASE64 encoded embedded buffer data(DataURI). * [x] Load `.bin` file. * Image(Using stb_image) * [x] Parse BASE64 encoded embedded image data(DataURI). * [x] Load external image file. * [x] Load PNG(8bit and 16bit) * [x] Load JPEG(8bit only) * [x] Load BMP * [x] Load GIF * [x] Custom Image decoder callback(e.g. for decoding OpenEXR image) * Morph traget * [x] Sparse accessor * Load glTF from memory * Custom callback handler * [x] Image load * [x] Image save * Extensions * [x] Draco mesh decoding * [ ] Draco mesh encoding ## Note on extension property In extension(`ExtensionMap`), JSON number value is parsed as int or float(number) and stored as `tinygltf::Value` object. If you want a floating point value from `tinygltf::Value`, use `GetNumberAsDouble()` method. `IsNumber()` returns true if the underlying value is an int value or a floating point value. ## Examples * [glview](examples/glview) : Simple glTF geometry viewer. * [validator](examples/validator) : Simple glTF validator with JSON schema. * [basic](examples/basic) : Basic glTF viewer with texturing support. * [build-gltf](examples/build-gltf) : Build simple glTF scene from a scratch. ### WASI/WASM build Users who want to run TinyGLTF securely and safely(e.g. need to handle malcious glTF file to serve online glTF conver), I recommend to build TinyGLTF for WASM target. WASI build example is located in [wasm](wasm) . ## TODOs * [ ] Robust URI decoding/encoding. https://github.com/syoyo/tinygltf/issues/369 * [ ] Mesh Compression/decompression(Open3DGC, etc) * [x] Load Draco compressed mesh * [ ] Save Draco compressed mesh * [ ] Open3DGC? * [x] Support `extensions` and `extras` property * [ ] HDR image? * [ ] OpenEXR extension through TinyEXR. * [ ] 16bit PNG support in Serialization * [ ] Write example and tests for `animation` and `skin` ### Optional * [ ] Write C++ code generator which emits C++ code from JSON schema for robust parsing? ## Licenses TinyGLTF is licensed under MIT license. TinyGLTF uses the following third party libraries. * json.hpp : Copyright (c) 2013-2017 Niels Lohmann. MIT license. * base64 : Copyright (C) 2004-2008 René Nyffenegger * stb_image.h : v2.08 - public domain image loader - [Github link](https://github.com/nothings/stb/blob/master/stb_image.h) * stb_image_write.h : v1.09 - public domain image writer - [Github link](https://github.com/nothings/stb/blob/master/stb_image_write.h) ## Build and example Copy `stb_image.h`, `stb_image_write.h`, `json.hpp` and `tiny_gltf.h` to your project. ### Loading glTF 2.0 model ```c++ // Define these only in *one* .cc file. #define TINYGLTF_IMPLEMENTATION #define STB_IMAGE_IMPLEMENTATION #define STB_IMAGE_WRITE_IMPLEMENTATION // #define TINYGLTF_NOEXCEPTION // optional. disable exception handling. #include "tiny_gltf.h" using namespace tinygltf; Model model; TinyGLTF loader; std::string err; std::string warn; std::string filename = "input.gltf"; bool ret = loader.LoadASCIIFromFile(&model, &err, &warn, filename); //bool ret = loader.LoadBinaryFromFile(&model, &err, &warn, filename); // for binary glTF(.glb) if (!warn.empty()) { printf("Warn: %s\n", warn.c_str()); } if (!err.empty()) { printf("Err: %s\n", err.c_str()); } if (!ret) { printf("Failed to parse glTF: %s\n", filename.c_str()); } ``` #### Loader options * `TinyGLTF::SetPreserveimageChannels(bool onoff)`. `true` to preserve image channels as stored in image file for loaded image. `false` by default for backward compatibility(image channels are widen to `RGBA` 4 channels). Effective only when using builtin image loader(STB image loader). ## Compile options * `TINYGLTF_NOEXCEPTION` : Disable C++ exception in JSON parsing. You can use `-fno-exceptions` or by defining the symbol `JSON_NOEXCEPTION` and `TINYGLTF_NOEXCEPTION` to fully remove C++ exception codes when compiling TinyGLTF. * `TINYGLTF_NO_STB_IMAGE` : Do not load images with stb_image. Instead use `TinyGLTF::SetImageLoader(LoadimageDataFunction LoadImageData, void *user_data)` to set a callback for loading images. * `TINYGLTF_NO_STB_IMAGE_WRITE` : Do not write images with stb_image_write. Instead use `TinyGLTF::SetImageWriter(WriteimageDataFunction WriteImageData, void *user_data)` to set a callback for writing images. * `TINYGLTF_NO_EXTERNAL_IMAGE` : Do not try to load external image file. This option would be helpful if you do not want to load image files during glTF parsing. * `TINYGLTF_ANDROID_LOAD_FROM_ASSETS`: Load all files from packaged app assets instead of the regular file system. **Note:** You must pass a valid asset manager from your android app to `tinygltf::asset_manager` beforehand. * `TINYGLTF_ENABLE_DRACO`: Enable Draco compression. User must provide include path and link correspnding libraries in your project file. * `TINYGLTF_NO_INCLUDE_JSON `: Disable including `json.hpp` from within `tiny_gltf.h` because it has been already included before or you want to include it using custom path before including `tiny_gltf.h`. * `TINYGLTF_NO_INCLUDE_RAPIDJSON `: Disable including RapidJson's header files from within `tiny_gltf.h` because it has been already included before or you want to include it using custom path before including `tiny_gltf.h`. * `TINYGLTF_NO_INCLUDE_STB_IMAGE `: Disable including `stb_image.h` from within `tiny_gltf.h` because it has been already included before or you want to include it using custom path before including `tiny_gltf.h`. * `TINYGLTF_NO_INCLUDE_STB_IMAGE_WRITE `: Disable including `stb_image_write.h` from within `tiny_gltf.h` because it has been already included before or you want to include it using custom path before including `tiny_gltf.h`. * `TINYGLTF_USE_RAPIDJSON` : Use RapidJSON as a JSON parser/serializer. RapidJSON files are not included in TinyGLTF repo. Please set an include path to RapidJSON if you enable this feature. ## CMake options You can add tinygltf using `add_subdirectory` feature. If you add tinygltf to your project using `add_subdirectory`, it would be better to set `TINYGLTF_HEADER_ONLY` on(just add an include path to tinygltf) and `TINYGLTF_INSTALL` off(Which does not install tinygltf files). ``` // Your project's CMakeLists.txt ... set(TINYGLTF_HEADER_ONLY ON CACHE INTERNAL "" FORCE) set(TINYGLTF_INSTALL OFF CACHE INTERNAL "" FORCE) add_subdirectory(/path/to/tinygltf) ``` NOTE: Using tinygltf as a submodule doesn't automatically add the headers to your include path (as standard for many libraries). To get this functionality, add the following to the CMakeLists.txt file from above: ``` target_include_directories(${PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE "/path/to/tinygltf") ``` ### Saving gltTF 2.0 model * Buffers. * [x] To file * [x] Embedded * [ ] Draco compressed? * [x] Images * [x] To file * [x] Embedded * Binary(.glb) * [x] .bin embedded single .glb * [ ] External .bin ## Running tests. ### glTF parsing test #### Setup Python required. Git clone https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glTF-Sample-Models to your local dir. #### Run parsing test After building `loader_example`, edit `test_runner.py`, then, ```bash $ python test_runner.py ``` ### Unit tests ```bash $ cd tests $ make $ ./tester $ ./tester_noexcept ``` ### Fuzzing tests See `tests/fuzzer` for details. After running fuzzer on Ryzen9 3950X a week, at least `LoadASCIIFromString` looks safe except for out-of-memory error in Fuzzer. We may be better to introduce bounded memory size checking when parsing glTF data. ## Third party licenses * json.hpp : Licensed under the MIT License . Copyright (c) 2013-2017 Niels Lohmann . * stb_image : Public domain. * catch : Copyright (c) 2012 Two Blue Cubes Ltd. All rights reserved. Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. * RapidJSON : Copyright (C) 2015 THL A29 Limited, a Tencent company, and Milo Yip. All rights reserved. http://rapidjson.org/ * dlib(uridecode, uriencode) : Copyright (C) 2003 Davis E. King Boost Software License 1.0. http://dlib.net/dlib/server/server_http.cpp.html