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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.
name: threejs-geometry description: 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. risk: unknown source: community
Three.js Geometry
When to Use
- You need to create or optimize geometry in Three.js.
- The task involves built-in shapes, custom
BufferGeometry, vertices, or instanced rendering. - You are working on mesh structure rather than scene setup or materials alone.
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));
Compatible Tools
Claude CodeCursor
Tags
Frontend