threejs-dev-setup

WebXR integration for three.js: WebXRManager and XRManager on the renderer, session initialization patterns, VRButton and ARButton helpers, XRControllerModelFactory and hand model families, XREstimatedLight, XRPlanes, and related addon Webxr utilities. Use for immersive sessions and controller/hand tracking—not for standard desktop camera projection (threejs-camera) or composer post effects (threejs-postprocessing).

three.js textures: Texture, DataTexture, CubeTexture, CompressedTexture variants, DepthTexture, VideoTexture, CanvasTexture, 3D/array textures, Source; sampling parameters, mipmaps, anisotropy, wrap/mag/min filters; PMREMGenerator in Extras for environment map prefiltering. Use when configuring GPU texture objects and PMREM; for Draco/KTX2 transcoder file paths use threejs-loaders; for material map slots use threejs-materials; for output color pipeline use threejs-renderers.

three.js Scene graph root object, linear Fog and exponential FogExp2, Scene.background for solid colors or textures, and high-level environment background concepts that tie to PMREM and loaders in other skills. Use when configuring world container, atmospheric fog, or background; for HDR env map file loading use threejs-loaders; for GPU texture settings after load use threejs-textures; for tone mapping use threejs-renderers.

Core rendering pipeline for three.js using WebGLRenderer and WebGPURenderer, canvas sizing, device pixel ratio, color space and tone mapping, output encoding, WebGL/WebGPU render targets, Info statistics, and addon overlay renderers (CSS2D/CSS3D/SVG). Use when tuning the draw loop, performance, or switching WebGPU vs WebGL; for EffectComposer passes use threejs-postprocessing; for XR session lifecycle use threejs-webxr; for shader graphs use threejs-node-tsl.

Addon screen-space post-processing for three.js using EffectComposer, Pass base class, RenderPass, and stock passes such as UnrealBloomPass, SSAOPass, SSRPass, BokehPass, OutlinePass, FXAAPass/SMAAPass, TAARenderPass, and ShaderPass; references the Shaders addon group for underlying shader modules. Use when building composer chains for bloom, SSAO, or other screen-space effects; not for basic renderer tone mapping alone (threejs-renderers).

three.js scene graph objects: Object3D transforms and hierarchy, Group, Mesh, InstancedMesh, SkinnedMesh, BatchedMesh, LOD, Line/LineLoop/LineSegments, Points, Sprite, Bone, Skeleton, ClippingGroup; interaction via Raycaster, Layers masks, and EventDispatcher patterns. Use when building scene hierarchies, picking objects with Raycaster, or configuring instanced/skinned meshes; for pure vector math use threejs-math; for skeletal clips use threejs-animation.

three.js node-based shading: Nodes API surface, NodeMaterial and MeshStandardNodeMaterial-style families, TSL (Three.js Shading Language) entry at TSL.html, WebGPURenderer pairing, and core PostProcessing (class) versus addon EffectComposer at a high level. Use when authoring shaders as graphs, using TSL builtins, compute-oriented nodes, or modern WebGPU pipelines; for classic ShaderMaterial GLSL use threejs-materials; for stock EffectComposer passes use threejs-postprocessing; for WebGLRenderer-only tuning use threejs-renderers.

three.js math library: Vector2/3/4, Matrix3/4, Quaternion, Euler, Color, Box2/Box3, Sphere, Plane, Ray, Line3, Triangle, Frustum, Cylindrical/Spherical coords, MathUtils, and Interpolant base classes; addon math utilities such as OBB, Octree, Capsule, ConvexHull, MeshSurfaceSampler. Use for transforms, intersection tests, and spatial queries; for keyframe interpolation tied to AnimationMixer use threejs-animation; for picking implementation use threejs-objects with Raycaster.

Classic three.js materials (non-Node): MeshStandardMaterial, MeshPhysicalMaterial, Phong/Lambert/Toon/Basic, Line/Points/Sprite materials, MeshMatcapMaterial, MeshNormalMaterial, depth/distance materials, ShaderMaterial and RawShaderMaterial. Use when tuning PBR maps, transparency, depth write, skinning flags, or writing GLSL in ShaderMaterial; for TSL/NodeMaterial/WebGPU shader graphs use threejs-node-tsl instead.

three.js asset I/O using LoadingManager, Cache, FileLoader, image and texture loaders, GLTFLoader with DRACOLoader and KTX2Loader, and common format loaders under Addons; symmetric exporters such as GLTFExporter and texture/buffer exporters. Use when loading or exporting models, HDR, LUT, fonts, or compressed textures; for runtime Texture object parameters after load use threejs-textures; for scene graph placement use threejs-objects.

three.js lighting: AmbientLight, HemisphereLight, DirectionalLight, PointLight, SpotLight, RectAreaLight, LightProbe, IESSpotLight, ProjectorLight, shadow subtypes, and addon helpers such as RectAreaLightUniformsLib, RectAreaLightTexturesLib, LightProbeGenerator, TiledLighting. Use when configuring direct/indirect light, shadows, probes, or area lights; for IES file loading use threejs-loaders; for node-based light graphs use threejs-node-tsl; for debug helpers use threejs-helpers.

Debug and visualization helpers in three.js Core Helpers (AxesHelper, GridHelper, CameraHelper, light helpers, SkeletonHelper, bounding box helpers, PlaneHelper, PolarGridHelper, ArrowHelper) and Addons Helpers (VertexNormalsHelper, VertexTangentsHelper, RectAreaLightHelper, LightProbeHelper, ViewHelper, OctreeHelper, TextureHelper, PositionalAudioHelper, AnimationPathHelper, RapierHelper). Use only for development and editor overlays—not for shipping art; for gizmo-style manipulation use threejs-controls.