PlayCanvas Texture Tool
June 15, 2026 ยท View on GitHub
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The PlayCanvas Texture Tool is a browser-based utility for inspecting, visualizing, and reprojecting textures and environment maps.
You can find a live version at:
https://playcanvas.com/texture-tool
Features
- Texture Inspection - View texture dimensions, pixel format, structure (2D/cubemap), and encoding
- Mipmap Visualization - Browse individual mipmap levels
- Cubemap Face Navigation - View and inspect individual cubemap faces
- Alpha Channel - Toggle alpha channel visualization with checkerboard background
- Filtering Toggle - Switch between linear and nearest filtering
- Reprojection - Convert between equirectangular and cubemap projections
- Export - Save textures as PNG, WebP (lossless), or HDR files
Supported Formats
The texture tool can load the following texture formats:
| Format | Extension |
|---|---|
| PNG | .png |
| JPEG | .jpg, .jpeg |
| WebP | .webp |
| HDR | .hdr |
| DDS | .dds |
| KTX | .ktx, .ktx2 |
| Basis | .basis |
| PVR | .pvr |
Viewing Textures
Drag and drop texture files directly into the tool to load them. Multiple textures can be loaded and inspected simultaneously using the file browser panel.
Supported URL Parameters
Some URL query parameters are available to control the texture tool:
| Parameter | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
load | Specify URL to a texture to load | ?load=URL |
type | Override the view type (gamma, linear, rgbm, rgbe, rgbp, a) | ?type=gamma |
How to build
Ensure you have Node.js installed (v22.0+). Then, from a command prompt, run:
npm install
npm run build
This will invoke Rollup and output the built tool to the dist folder. To invoke Rollup with the --watch flag (which rebuilds the tool on saving any source file), do:
npm run build:watch
How to run
Run:
npm run serve
Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000.
Development
Run:
npm run develop
Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000.
Library integration testing
The Texture Tool is built on the following open source libraries:
| Library | Details |
|---|---|
| PlayCanvas Engine | Texture loading and GPU rendering |
| Observer | Data binding |
| PCUI | Front-end component library |
To test the integration of these libraries use npm link. Follow these steps:
-
Create a global link from source
cd <library> npm link -
Create a link to the global link
cd texture-tool npm link <library>