Three.js Geometry

Three.js Geometry

Overview

Three.js geometry creation - built-in shapes, BufferGeometry, custom geometry, instancing. Use when creating 3D shapes, working with vertices, building custom meshes, or optimizing with instanced rendering.

Quick Start

import * as THREE from "three";

// Built-in geometry
const box = new THREE.BoxGeometry(1, 1, 1);
const sphere = new THREE.SphereGeometry(0.5, 32, 32);
const plane = new THREE.PlaneGeometry(10, 10);

// Create mesh
const material = new THREE.MeshStandardMaterial({ color: 0x00ff00 });
const mesh = new THREE.Mesh(box, material);
scene.add(mesh);

Built-in Geometries

Basic Shapes

// Box - width, height, depth, widthSegments, heightSegments, depthSegments
new THREE.BoxGeometry(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1);

// Sphere - radius, widthSegments, heightSegments, phiStart, phiLength, thetaStart, thetaLength
new THREE.SphereGeometry(1, 32, 32);
new THREE.SphereGeometry(1, 32, 32, 0, Math.PI * 2, 0, Math.PI); // Full sphere
new THREE.SphereGeometry(1, 32, 32, 0, Math.PI); // Hemisphere

// Plane - width, height, widthSegments, heightSegments
new THREE.PlaneGeometry(10, 10, 1, 1);

// Circle - radius, segments, thetaStart, thetaLength
new THREE.CircleGeometry(1, 32);
new THREE.CircleGeometry(1, 32, 0, Math.PI); // Semicircle

// Cylinder - radiusTop, radiusBottom, height, radialSegments, heightSegments, openEnded
new THREE.CylinderGeometry(1, 1, 2, 32, 1, false);
new THREE.CylinderGeometry(0, 1, 2, 32); // Cone
new THREE.CylinderGeometry(1, 1, 2, 6); // Hexagonal prism

// Cone - radius, height, radialSegments, heightSegments, openEnded
new THREE.ConeGeometry(1, 2, 32, 1, false);

// Torus - radius, tube, radialSegments, tubularSegments, arc
new THREE.TorusGeometry(1, 0.4, 16, 100);

// TorusKnot - radius, tube, tubularSegments, radialSegments, p, q
new THREE.TorusKnotGeometry(1, 0.4, 100, 16, 2, 3);

// Ring - innerRadius, outerRadius, thetaSegments, phiSegments
new THREE.RingGeometry(0.5, 1, 32, 1);

Advanced Shapes

// Capsule - radius, length, capSegments, radialSegments
new THREE.CapsuleGeometry(0.5, 1, 4, 8);

// Dodecahedron - radius, detail
new THREE.DodecahedronGeometry(1, 0);

// Icosahedron - radius, detail (0 = 20 faces, higher = smoother)
new THREE.IcosahedronGeometry(1, 0);

// Octahedron - radius, detail
new THREE.OctahedronGeometry(1, 0);

// Tetrahedron - radius, detail
new THREE.TetrahedronGeometry(1, 0);

// Polyhedron - vertices, indices, radius, detail
const vertices = [1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1, -1, 1, -1, 1, -1, -1];
const indices = [2, 1, 0, 0, 3, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 3, 1];
new THREE.PolyhedronGeometry(vertices, indices, 1, 0);

Path-Based Shapes

// Lathe - points[], segments, phiStart, phiLength
const points = [
  new THREE.Vector2(0, 0),
  new THREE.Vector2(0.5, 0),
  new THREE.Vector2(0.5, 1),
  new THREE.Vector2(0, 1),
];
new THREE.LatheGeometry(points, 32);

// Extrude - shape, options
const shape = new THREE.Shape();
shape.moveTo(0, 0);
shape.lineTo(1, 0);
shape.lineTo(1, 1);
shape.lineTo(0, 1);
shape.lineTo(0, 0);

const extrudeSettings = {
  steps: 2,
  depth: 1,
  bevelEnabled: true,
  bevelThickness: 0.1,
  bevelSize: 0.1,
  bevelSegments: 3,
};
new THREE.ExtrudeGeometry(shape, extrudeSettings);

// Tube - path, tubularSegments, radius, radialSegments, closed
const curve = new THREE.CatmullRomCurve3([
  new THREE.Vector3(-1, 0, 0),
  new THREE.Vector3(0, 1, 0),
  new THREE.Vector3(1, 0, 0),
]);
new THREE.TubeGeometry(curve, 64, 0.2, 8, false);

Text Geometry

import { FontLoader } from "three/examples/jsm/loaders/FontLoader.js";
import { TextGeometry } from "three/examples/jsm/geometries/TextGeometry.js";

const loader = new FontLoader();
loader.load("fonts/helvetiker_regular.typeface.json", (font) => {
  const geometry = new TextGeometry("Hello", {
    font: font,
    size: 1,
    depth: 0.2, // Was 'height' in older versions
    curveSegments: 12,
    bevelEnabled: true,
    bevelThickness: 0.03,
    bevelSize: 0.02,
    bevelSegments: 5,
  });

  // Center text
  geometry.computeBoundingBox();
  geometry.center();

  const mesh = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material);
  scene.add(mesh);
});

BufferGeometry

The base class for all geometries. Stores data as typed arrays for GPU efficiency.

Custom BufferGeometry

const geometry = new THREE.BufferGeometry();

// Vertices (3 floats per vertex: x, y, z)
const vertices = new Float32Array([
  -1,
  -1,
  0, // vertex 0
  1,
  -1,
  0, // vertex 1
  1,
  1,
  0, // vertex 2
  -1,
  1,
  0, // vertex 3
]);
geometry.setAttribute("position", new THREE.BufferAttribute(vertices, 3));

// Indices (for indexed geometry - reuse vertices)
const indices = new Uint16Array([
  0,
  1,
  2, // triangle 1
  0,
  2,
  3, // triangle 2
]);
geometry.setIndex(new THREE.BufferAttribute(indices, 1));

// Normals (required for lighting)
const normals = new Float32Array([0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1]);
geometry.setAttribute("normal", new THREE.BufferAttribute(normals, 3));

// UVs (for texturing)
const uvs = new Float32Array([0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1]);
geometry.setAttribute("uv", new THREE.BufferAttribute(uvs, 2));

// Colors (per-vertex colors)
const colors = new Float32Array([
  1,
  0,
  0, // red
  0,
  1,
  0, // green
  0,
  0,
  1, // blue
  1,
  1,
  0, // yellow
]);
geometry.setAttribute("color", new THREE.BufferAttribute(colors, 3));
// Use with: material.vertexColors = true

BufferAttribute Types

// Common attribute types
new THREE.BufferAttribute(array, itemSize);

// Typed array options
new Float32Array(count * itemSize); // Positions, normals, UVs
new Uint16Array(count); // Indices (up to 65535 vertices)
new Uint32Array(count); // Indices (larger meshes)
new Uint8Array(count * itemSize); // Colors (0-255 range)

// Item sizes
// Position: 3 (x, y, z)
// Normal: 3 (x, y, z)
// UV: 2 (u, v)
// Color: 3 (r, g, b) or 4 (r, g, b, a)
// Index: 1

Modifying BufferGeometry

const positions = geometry.attributes.position;

// Modify vertex
positions.setXYZ(index, x, y, z);

// Access vertex
const x = positions.getX(index);
const y = positions.getY(index);
const z = positions.getZ(index);

// Flag for GPU update
positions.needsUpdate = true;

// Recompute normals after position changes
geometry.computeVertexNormals();

// Recompute bounding box/sphere after changes
geometry.computeBoundingBox();
geometry.computeBoundingSphere();

Interleaved Buffers (Advanced)

// More efficient memory layout for large meshes
const interleavedBuffer = new THREE.InterleavedBuffer(
  new Float32Array([
    // pos.x, pos.y, pos.z, uv.u, uv.v (repeated per vertex)
    -1, -1, 0, 0, 0, 1, -1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, -1, 1, 0, 0, 1,
  ]),
  5, // stride (floats per vertex)
);

geometry.setAttribute(
  "position",
  new THREE.InterleavedBufferAttribute(interleavedBuffer, 3, 0),
); // size 3, offset 0
geometry.setAttribute(
  "uv",
  new THREE.InterleavedBufferAttribute(interleavedBuffer, 2, 3),
); // size 2, offset 3

EdgesGeometry & WireframeGeometry

// Edge lines (only hard edges)
const edges = new THREE.EdgesGeometry(boxGeometry, 15); // 15 = threshold angle
const edgeMesh = new THREE.LineSegments(
  edges,
  new THREE.LineBasicMaterial({ color: 0xffffff }),
);

// Wireframe (all triangles)
const wireframe = new THREE.WireframeGeometry(boxGeometry);
const wireMesh = new THREE.LineSegments(
  wireframe,
  new THREE.LineBasicMaterial({ color: 0xffffff }),
);

Points

// Create point cloud
const geometry = new THREE.BufferGeometry();
const positions = new Float32Array(1000 * 3);

for (let i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
  positions[i * 3] = (Math.random() - 0.5) * 10;
  positions[i * 3 + 1] = (Math.random() - 0.5) * 10;
  positions[i * 3 + 2] = (Math.random() - 0.5) * 10;
}

geometry.setAttribute("position", new THREE.BufferAttribute(positions, 3));

const material = new THREE.PointsMaterial({
  size: 0.1,
  sizeAttenuation: true, // Size decreases with distance
  color: 0xffffff,
});

const points = new THREE.Points(geometry, material);
scene.add(points);

Lines

// Line (connected points)
const points = [
  new THREE.Vector3(-1, 0, 0),
  new THREE.Vector3(0, 1, 0),
  new THREE.Vector3(1, 0, 0),
];
const geometry = new THREE.BufferGeometry().setFromPoints(points);
const line = new THREE.Line(
  geometry,
  new THREE.LineBasicMaterial({ color: 0xff0000 }),
);

// LineLoop (closed loop)
const loop = new THREE.LineLoop(geometry, material);

// LineSegments (pairs of points)
const segmentsGeometry = new THREE.BufferGeometry();
segmentsGeometry.setAttribute(
  "position",
  new THREE.BufferAttribute(
    new Float32Array([
      -1,
      0,
      0,
      0,
      1,
      0, // segment 1
      0,
      1,
      0,
      1,
      0,
      0, // segment 2
    ]),
    3,
  ),
);
const segments = new THREE.LineSegments(segmentsGeometry, material);

InstancedMesh

Efficiently render many copies of the same geometry.

const geometry = new THREE.BoxGeometry(1, 1, 1);
const material = new THREE.MeshStandardMaterial({ color: 0x00ff00 });
const count = 1000;

const instancedMesh = new THREE.InstancedMesh(geometry, material, count);

// Set transforms for each instance
const dummy = new THREE.Object3D();
const matrix = new THREE.Matrix4();

for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
  dummy.position.set(
    (Math.random() - 0.5) * 20,
    (Math.random() - 0.5) * 20,
    (Math.random() - 0.5) * 20,
  );
  dummy.rotation.set(Math.random() * Math.PI, Math.random() * Math.PI, 0);
  dummy.scale.setScalar(0.5 + Math.random());
  dummy.updateMatrix();

  instancedMesh.setMatrixAt(i, dummy.matrix);
}

// Flag for GPU update
instancedMesh.instanceMatrix.needsUpdate = true;

// Optional: per-instance colors
instancedMesh.instanceColor = new THREE.InstancedBufferAttribute(
  new Float32Array(count * 3),
  3,
);
for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
  instancedMesh.setColorAt(
    i,
    new THREE.Color(Math.random(), Math.random(), Math.random()),
  );
}
instancedMesh.instanceColor.needsUpdate = true;

scene.add(instancedMesh);

Update Instance at Runtime

// Update single instance
const matrix = new THREE.Matrix4();
instancedMesh.getMatrixAt(index, matrix);
// Modify matrix...
instancedMesh.setMatrixAt(index, matrix);
instancedMesh.instanceMatrix.needsUpdate = true;

// Raycasting with instanced mesh
const intersects = raycaster.intersectObject(instancedMesh);
if (intersects.length > 0) {
  const instanceId = intersects[0].instanceId;
}

InstancedBufferGeometry (Advanced)

For custom per-instance attributes beyond transform/color.

const geometry = new THREE.InstancedBufferGeometry();
geometry.copy(new THREE.BoxGeometry(1, 1, 1));

// Add per-instance attribute
const offsets = new Float32Array(count * 3);
for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
  offsets[i * 3] = Math.random() * 10;
  offsets[i * 3 + 1] = Math.random() * 10;
  offsets[i * 3 + 2] = Math.random() * 10;
}
geometry.setAttribute("offset", new THREE.InstancedBufferAttribute(offsets, 3));

// Use in shader
// attribute vec3 offset;
// vec3 transformed = position + offset;

Geometry Utilities

import * as BufferGeometryUtils from "three/examples/jsm/utils/BufferGeometryUtils.js";

// Merge geometries (must have same attributes)
const merged = BufferGeometryUtils.mergeGeometries([geo1, geo2, geo3]);

// Merge with groups (for multi-material)
const merged = BufferGeometryUtils.mergeGeometries([geo1, geo2], true);

// Compute tangents (required for normal maps)
BufferGeometryUtils.computeTangents(geometry);

// Interleave attributes for better performance
const interleaved = BufferGeometryUtils.interleaveAttributes([
  geometry.attributes.position,
  geometry.attributes.normal,
  geometry.attributes.uv,
]);

Common Patterns

Center Geometry

geometry.computeBoundingBox();
geometry.center(); // Move vertices so center is at origin

Scale to Fit

geometry.computeBoundingBox();
const size = new THREE.Vector3();
geometry.boundingBox.getSize(size);
const maxDim = Math.max(size.x, size.y, size.z);
geometry.scale(1 / maxDim, 1 / maxDim, 1 / maxDim);

Clone and Transform

const clone = geometry.clone();
clone.rotateX(Math.PI / 2);
clone.translate(0, 1, 0);
clone.scale(2, 2, 2);

Morph Targets

// Base geometry
const geometry = new THREE.BoxGeometry(1, 1, 1, 4, 4, 4);

// Create morph target
const morphPositions = geometry.attributes.position.array.slice();
for (let i = 0; i < morphPositions.length; i += 3) {
  morphPositions[i] *= 2; // Scale X
  morphPositions[i + 1] *= 0.5; // Squash Y
}

geometry.morphAttributes.position = [
  new THREE.BufferAttribute(new Float32Array(morphPositions), 3),
];

const mesh = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material);
mesh.morphTargetInfluences[0] = 0.5; // 50% blend

Performance Tips

1. Use indexed geometry: Reuse vertices with indices
2. Merge static meshes: Reduce draw calls with mergeGeometries
3. Use InstancedMesh: For many identical objects
4. Choose appropriate segment counts: More segments = smoother but slower
5. Dispose unused geometry: geometry.dispose()

// Good segment counts for common uses
new THREE.SphereGeometry(1, 32, 32); // Good quality
new THREE.SphereGeometry(1, 64, 64); // High quality
new THREE.SphereGeometry(1, 16, 16); // Performance mode

// Dispose when done
geometry.dispose();

See Also

• threejs-fundamentals - Scene setup and Object3D
• threejs-materials - Material types for meshes
• threejs-shaders - Custom vertex manipulation