GLB to OBJ Converter

What the OBJ file contains

The converter loads your GLB with three.js and writes a single plain-text .obj file. Every mesh becomes a named object with vertex positions and vertex normals, so the model can be unwrapped, sculpted, or re-textured in any tool that reads OBJ. UV coordinates are included when the source mesh provides them. Node transforms from the GLB, such as the position, rotation, and scale of child objects, are baked into the vertex positions, so parts stay where they were even though OBJ has no scene hierarchy.

Material names are written as usemtl lines when the source material provides a name, but no .mtl file and no texture images are produced. After import, those named slots are ready for you to assign images or new materials.

What is lost between GLB and OBJ

• Embedded textures and PBR settings such as base color, metallic, roughness, and normal maps. Keep the original GLB as your material source.
• Animations, skinning, and morph targets. Skinned meshes are exported in their rest pose.
• Cameras, lights, and the node hierarchy. Objects are flattened into a list of meshes.
• Compact binary storage. OBJ is plain text, so the file is usually several times larger than the GLB.

Before you convert

GLB files that use Draco (KHR_draco_mesh_compression) or meshopt compression are not decoded by this converter. If loading fails, re-export the GLB without mesh compression from Blender or your pipeline and convert again. The GLB inspector shows what a file contains before you start.

glTF uses meters and a Y-up axis. OBJ has no fixed units or axis, but Blender, Maya, and most DCC tools import OBJ as Y-up by default, so the model normally arrives upright and at the same size. If it appears rotated or scaled, adjust the forward axis, up axis, and scale options in your importer.

When you need the textures too

1. 1

   Import the GLB into Blender

   Use File > Import > glTF 2.0. Blender packs the embedded textures into the .blend file.

2. 2

   Unpack the textures

   Choose File > External Data > Unpack Resources to write the images to disk next to your project.

3. 3

   Export OBJ with materials

   Use File > Export > Wavefront (.obj) with material export enabled and Path Mode set to Copy. Blender writes an .mtl file that references the texture images.

4. 4

   Share the files together

   Zip the .obj, the .mtl, and the texture images so the next tool can find everything.

Common reasons to convert GLB to OBJ

OBJ is still the most widely accepted mesh format. It is a safe choice for sculpting and retopology apps with OBJ-first import, older DCC versions without glTF support, 3D printing slicers, and scripts or research code that parse the OBJ text format. If your destination already reads glTF, keeping the GLB preserves more of the asset.

FAQ