Three.js Fundamentals

Targets three.js r186. Examples use WebGLRenderer; the WebGPU and TSL section uses WebGPURenderer.

Quick Start

import * as THREE from "three";

const renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({ antialias: true });
renderer.setPixelRatio(window.devicePixelRatio);
renderer.setSize(window.innerWidth, window.innerHeight);
document.body.appendChild(renderer.domElement);

const scene = new THREE.Scene();
scene.background = new THREE.Color(0x111318);

const camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera(75, window.innerWidth / window.innerHeight, 0.1, 1000);
camera.position.set(0, 1.5, 5);

const cube = new THREE.Mesh(
  new THREE.BoxGeometry(1, 1, 1),
  new THREE.MeshStandardMaterial({ color: 0x3a86ff }),
);
scene.add(cube);
const light = new THREE.DirectionalLight(0xffffff, 2);
light.position.set(3, 4, 5); // shines from its position toward the origin
scene.add(light);
scene.add(new THREE.AmbientLight(0xffffff, 0.4));

const timer = new THREE.Timer();
timer.connect(document); // freezes the delta while the tab is hidden

function animate() {
  timer.update(); // advance the timer first thing each frame
  cube.rotation.y += timer.getDelta(); // seconds since the previous frame
  renderer.render(scene, camera);
}
renderer.setAnimationLoop(animate);

window.addEventListener("resize", () => {
  camera.aspect = window.innerWidth / window.innerHeight;
  camera.updateProjectionMatrix();
  renderer.setSize(window.innerWidth, window.innerHeight);
});

Without a bundler, the browser loads three.js as ES modules through an import map; this is the map for the WebGLRenderer examples above:

<script type="importmap">
{
  "imports": {
    "three": "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/three@0.186.0/build/three.module.js",
    "three/addons/": "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/three@0.186.0/examples/jsm/"
  }
}
</script>

For WebGPURenderer work, map all four keys, three.tsl.js imports three/webgpu, so the map fails without that entry: