Open Source Avatars

February 23, 2026 · View on GitHub

A curated registry of free 3D avatars for games, VR, and the metaverse

🌐 opensourceavatars.com

What is this?

A simple directory that helps you find VRM avatars you can actually use. Whether you're building a game, creating VR experiences, or just need a 3D avatar - we've collected links to avatars with clear licensing so you know exactly what you can do with them.

Quick Start

Just want an avatar? Visit opensourceavatars.com to browse and download.

Building something? Grab our JSON files:

Each avatar includes:

  • Direct download link to the VRM file
  • Preview images
  • Clear license (CC0, CC-BY, etc.)
  • Metadata and traits

What's VRM?

VRM is a 3D avatar file format that works across different apps and games. Think of it like a universal avatar format - load it once, use it everywhere (Unity, web browsers, VR apps, etc.).

Collections

We curate two types of collections:

Original Collections (CC0)

  • 100Avatars Series - Our own free avatars, no attribution needed
  • Stored permanently on Arweave

Community Collections (various licenses)

  • VIPE Heroes - NFT avatars (CC-BY, attribution required)
  • Grifters Squaddies - NFT avatars (CC0, no attribution needed)
  • ToxSam - NFT avatars across Ethereum and Base (CC0, no attribution needed)
  • Halloween Rising - Spooky Halloween avatars on Optimism (CC0, no attribution needed)
  • Xmas Chibis - Christmas avatar collection on Polygon (CC0, no attribution needed)
  • NeonGlitch86 Collection - Open source avatars by NeonGlitch86 (CC0, no attribution needed) More avatars from this artist coming soon!
  • More coming soon!

Each collection clearly states its license - check projects.json for details.

For Developers

  • Start here: AGENTS.md — schema, data URLs, field names (model_file_url, thumbnail_url, etc.), and where to find everything. Use it so your integration uses the right endpoints and doesn’t assume a single “all avatars” file.
  • API & schema: docs/api-reference.md — full types and examples.
  • Integrations: integrations/ — Mixamo→VRM rig map and animation loader reference (VRM 0.x only), plus vrm-gotchas.md so retargeting and loading work across avatars.
  • License: This registry (metadata, docs, integration code in this repo) is CC0. Per-avatar license is per collection in projects.json.

Simple Integration

// Fetch available collections
const collections = await fetch('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ToxSam/open-source-avatars/main/data/projects.json')
  .then(r => r.json());

// Get avatars from a collection
const avatars = await fetch(`https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ToxSam/open-source-avatars/main/data/${collections[0].avatar_data_file}`)
  .then(r => r.json());

// Load the VRM
const vrmUrl = avatars[0].model_file_url;

Need help loading VRM files?

Data Structure

/data/
  projects.json          → List of all collections
  /avatars/
    100avatars-r1.json   → Avatars from each collection
    vipe-heroes-genesis.json
    grifters-squaddies.json
    toxsam.json
    halloween-rising.json
    xmas-chibis.json
    NeonGlitch86.json
  • projects.json tells you what collections exist and their licenses.
  • avatars/*.json contains the actual avatar data (download links, metadata, etc.)

Contributing

Want to add your collection?

Open a GitHub Discussion with:

  • Collection name & description
  • License type (must be open source: CC0, CC-BY, etc.)
  • Links to VRM files (IPFS, Arweave, or permanent hosting)
  • Preview images

We'll review and add it to the registry!

Requirements

  • ✅ VRM format
  • ✅ Open source license
  • ✅ Permanently hosted files (no temporary links)
  • ✅ Preview images

License

  • This registry (metadata, docs, integration code in this repo): CC0 1.0 Universal — public domain.
  • Individual avatars: Check each collection’s license in projects.json.

Support

Made by @ToxSam