glyphcss — turn 3D models into ASCII art (browser, React/Vue & terminal)

> Turn 3D models into ASCII art, rendered as text in a single <pre>. No WebGL. No <canvas> — inspect, hover, and click every cell.

> Load OBJ, glTF, GLB, STL, and MagicaVoxel VOX — with UV textures and material colors. Works with vanilla JS, React, and Vue, or straight in your terminal.

runtimes: vanilla js react vue

[ INSTALLATION ]

┌─ package managers ─┐

terminal

$ npm install glyphcss

terminal

$ npm install @glyphcss/react

terminal

$ npm install @glyphcss/vue

┌─ cdn ─┐

index.html

<script type="module" src="https://esm.sh/glyphcss/elements"></script>

[ HOW IT WORKS ]

> glyphcss loads OBJ, glTF, GLB, STL, and VOX mesh files. Each scene renders into a single <pre>: the rasteriser projects every polygon, fills a cols × rows character grid, and writes one string to textContent per render. There are no per-polygon DOM nodes and no matrix3d.

> Interactivity is opt-in and sparse: drop a <GlyphHotspot> at any 3D anchor and glyphcss emits one absolutely-positioned <div> over the projected cell. Real DOM events, real :hover styles, real role="button" accessibility — without one DOM node per polygon.

[ → core concepts ]

[ HELLO WORLD ]

> glyphcss provides custom elements (<glyph-scene>, <glyph-mesh>), an imperative createGlyphScene API, and optional React / Vue bindings. Use whichever entry point fits your stack.

<script type="module" src="https://esm.sh/glyphcss/elements"></script>

<glyph-camera rot-x="23" zoom="1.3">
  <glyph-scene>
    <glyph-orbit-controls drag wheel></glyph-orbit-controls>
    <glyph-mesh geometry="dodecahedron">
      <glyph-hotspot at="0,1,0"></glyph-hotspot>
    </glyph-mesh>
  </glyph-scene>
</glyph-camera>

import { GlyphCamera, GlyphScene, GlyphOrbitControls, GlyphMesh, GlyphHotspot } from "@glyphcss/react";

export function App() {
  return (
    <GlyphCamera rotX={23} zoom={1.3}>
      <GlyphScene>
        <GlyphOrbitControls drag wheel />
        <GlyphMesh geometry="dodecahedron">
          <GlyphHotspot at={[0, 1.2, 0]} onClick={() => alert("vertex")} />
        </GlyphMesh>
      </GlyphScene>
    </GlyphCamera>
  );
}

<template>
  <GlyphCamera :rot-x="23" :zoom="1.3">
    <GlyphScene>
      <GlyphOrbitControls drag wheel />
      <GlyphMesh geometry="dodecahedron">
        <GlyphHotspot :at="[0, 1.2, 0]" @click="onVertex" />
      </GlyphMesh>
    </GlyphScene>
  </GlyphCamera>
</template>
<script setup lang="ts">
import { GlyphCamera, GlyphScene, GlyphOrbitControls, GlyphMesh, GlyphHotspot } from "@glyphcss/vue";
function onVertex() { alert("vertex"); }
</script>

[ → api reference ]