GLB vs glTF: which one should you export?
GLB is the binary container form of glTF 2.0. Same spec, same PBR materials — different packaging. When to ship which, and how to convert between them locally.
One spec, two packages
glTF 2.0 is Khronos' open format for 3D scenes. A .gltf file is human-readable JSON that points at separate .bin and texture files. A .glb file is the same data packed into one binary container: JSON chunk, buffer chunk and images all in one file.
Because they carry the same spec, nothing is lost converting either direction — meshes, PBR materials, textures, node hierarchies and animations all survive.
When to ship GLB
GLB wins whenever the asset travels: web viewers, model-viewer tags, game engine imports, sharing links. One file is one attachment; no path-resolution bugs, no missing texture files. It is also typically smaller, since the container avoids base64 bloat.
Every renderer ecosystem treats GLB as the default. If you are not sure, export GLB.
When to ship glTF
The loose .gltf form earns its keep when you need to inspect or hand-edit: the JSON is readable in any text editor, and textures sit alongside as ordinary image files you can swap without re-exporting. Pipelines that diff or patch assets version-control .gltf much more cleanly than binary blobs.
Converting locally
The on-site converter parses either form with the same loader and re-serializes the other, entirely in the browser — the file never touches a server. Geometry and materials are identical byte-for-byte in spirit; only the packaging changes.