C++ 3D

Open-source C++ projects categorized as 3D
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Top 23 C++ 3D Projects

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  1. FreeCAD

    Official source code of FreeCAD, a free and opensource multiplatform 3D parametric modeler.

    Project mention: QymCAD VS FreeCAD - a user suggested alternative | libhunt.com/r/QymCAD | 2026-09-01

    QymCAD is a similar parametric CAD, also built on the OpenCASCADE B-rep kernel like FreeCAD.

  2. Kargo

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  3. tinyrenderer

    A brief computer graphics / rendering course

    Project mention: Software rendering in 500 lines of bare C++ | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-07-23

  4. blender

    Official mirror of Blender

    Project mention: .NET MAUI Is Coming to Linux and the Browser, Powered by Avalonia | news.ycombinator.com | 2025-11-11

    > Blender: frontend Python, backend C++.

    blender's frontend is pretty much exclusively C++? https://github.com/blender/blender/tree/main/source/blender/...

    > Houdini: frontend Python(PyQt),

    I would be infinitely surprised if Houdini's frontend wasn't also a majority C++. Likewise consider large apps such as Ardour, Krita, etc.

  5. 3d-game-shaders-for-beginners

    🎮 A step-by-step guide to implementing SSAO, depth of field, lighting, normal mapping, and more for your 3D game.

  6. Open3D

    Open3D: A Modern Library for 3D Data Processing

  7. openscad

    OpenSCAD - The Programmers Solid 3D CAD Modeller

    Project mention: Show HN: FluidCAD – Parametric CAD with JavaScript | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-04-10

    I'll throw my hat in on the feedback... looks great!

    https://github.com/openscad/openscad/pull/4478#issuecomment-...

    My pet use case is: "My naive approach as a programmer would be: `pen := new Pen(q,r,s,t); box := new Box( pen.L, pen.W, pen.H )`" along with being able to sometimes work with the whole pen, and sometimes touch the pen vs. the cap separately.

    Since it's all javascript, it seems like there's a chance that this use case would work (ie: `p = Pen(...).render().getWidth()`)? Additionally, your intermediate step screenshots really makes it seem like a SketchUp-ish GUI would be perfect! Obviously a ton of work, but SketchUp's "grab face + extrude / push", but if it were "sticky" to the underlying parametric components seems like it'd be an awesome combo... something like group/components, but backed by code instead of GUI-only (or GUI-centric) editing.

  8. cocos-engine

    Cocos simplifies game creation and distribution with Cocos Creator, a free, open-source, cross-platform game engine. Empowering millions of developers to create high-performance, engaging 2D/3D games and instant web entertainment.

    Project mention: From LayaAir to Cocos Creator: A Solo Dev's Engine Migration After iOS Builds Kept Crashing | dev.to | 2026-04-19

    Cocos Creator was the natural alternative:

  9. AppSignal

    Monitoring that respects your time & budget. APM, error tracking, and dashboards for modern web apps. Ten-minute setup, transparent flat pricing, and support from engineers who actually use the product.

    AppSignal logo

  10. meshlab

    The open source mesh processing system

    Project mention: WorldClaw Agentic 3D open-world generation at scale | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-08-11

  11. tinyraytracer

    A brief computer graphics / rendering course

  12. magnum

    Lightweight and modular C++11 graphics middleware for games and data visualization

  13. F3D

    Fast and minimalist 3D viewer.

  14. ActionRoguelike

    Co-op Action Roguelike in Unreal Engine C++

  15. tinyobjloader

    Tiny but powerful single file wavefront obj loader

  16. dust3d

    Dust3D is a cross-platform 3D modeling software that makes it easy to create low poly 3D models for video games, 3D printing, and more.

    Project mention: Show HN: Dust3D 1.0 – low-poly 3D modeling tool (10 years in the making) | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-05-04

  17. armory

    3D Engine with Blender Integration

  18. UEViewer

    Viewer and exporter for Unreal Engine 1-4 assets (UE Viewer).

  19. OCCT

    Open CASCADE Technology (OCCT) is an open-source software development platform for 3D CAD, CAM, CAE.

    Project mention: FreeCAD is an open-source parametric 3D modeler | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-02-20

    It's probably impossible for FreeCAD to catch up with the industry-standard CAD systems (SOLIDWORKS, NX, Fusion) unless they somehow pour a stupendous amount of money into their geometry kernel [1].

    All major CAD systems use mature geometry kernels like Parasolid [2]. Parasolid was developed for 40 years and is still in active development. This is the piece of code that enables CAD systems to do things like computing an intersection of a G3 smooth fillet with embossed text, handling all corner cases.

    FreeCAD runs on OpenCASCADE [3], which is both less sophisticated today and is slower to gain new features than Parasolid, being seemingly maintained by one person [4]. FreeCAD's geometry is hard limited by what OpenCASCADE can do.

    This is the main difference from Blender. Blender ultimately operates on vertices, which doesn't require nearly the same level of inherent complexity. Blender isn't bottlenecked in what it can do like FreeCAD is.

    [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometric_modeling_kernel

    [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasolid

    [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Cascade_Technology

    [4]: https://github.com/Open-Cascade-SAS/OCCT/commits/master/

  20. tinykaboom

    A brief computer graphics / rendering course

  21. OpenSplat

    Production-grade 3D gaussian splatting with CPU/GPU support for Windows, Mac and Linux 💦

  22. PyMesh

    Geometry Processing Library for Python

  23. pioneer

    A game of lonely space adventure

  24. zeno

    ZEn NOde system - a simulation & rendering engine in nodes (by zenustech)

  25. implot3d

    Immediate Mode 3D Plotting

  26. SaaSHub

    SaaSHub - Software Alternatives and Reviews. SaaSHub helps you find the best software and product alternatives

    SaaSHub logo
NOTE: The open source projects on this list are ordered by number of github stars. The number of mentions indicates repo mentiontions in the last 12 Months or since we started tracking (Dec 2020).

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Index

What are some of the best open-source 3D projects in C++? This list will help you:

# Project Stars
1 FreeCAD 33,276
2 tinyrenderer 24,189
3 blender 19,974
4 3d-game-shaders-for-beginners 19,705
5 Open3D 13,940
6 openscad 10,124
7 cocos-engine 9,786
8 meshlab 5,816
9 tinyraytracer 5,342
10 magnum 5,205
11 F3D 4,673
12 ActionRoguelike 4,577
13 tinyobjloader 3,872
14 dust3d 3,484
15 armory 3,318
16 UEViewer 2,860
17 OCCT 2,835
18 tinykaboom 2,423
19 OpenSplat 2,177
20 PyMesh 2,043
21 pioneer 1,907
22 zeno 1,399
23 implot3d 1,256

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