Free Online LightWave Viewer (No Signup)
Also opens DWG, DXF, STEP, IGES, IFC, SKP, STL, OBJ, GLB, FBX, 3DM and other 3D/CAD files. Drop any file on the viewer.
Works directly in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge
Also from Innerscene: Circadian Lab, a free lighting calculator for room illuminance, melanopic EML, and glare.
Create a model with AI
Describe what you need, or add a photo, and AI builds it at real size in the viewer. Ask for changes in the chat, then export it. Free, with your own Anthropic or OpenAI key.
Open the AI GeneratorWhat Is a LightWave File?
A .lwo file is an IFF file of tagged chunks. Since LightWave 6 it is LWO2: one or more layers, each with its points, its polygons and the vertex maps that carry UV coordinates and weights, plus a list of named surfaces that the polygons point to. LightWave 2015 and later write LWO3, the same layout with longer chunk sizes, and LightWave 5 wrote the older LWOB. Polygons can be plain faces or subdivision cages (PTCH and SUBD), which LightWave smooths when it draws them.
A .lws file is a text file written by LightWave Layout. It holds no geometry: each LoadObjectLayer line names a .lwo file and one of its layers, and the lines after it give the object’s position, rotation (heading, pitch and bank), scale, pivot and parent, with lights, cameras, bones and animation. To see a scene, the .lwo files it names have to come with it.
For models exported from LightWave, see the FBX viewer and the OBJ viewer.
Who Uses LightWave Files?
Motion-graphics and broadcast artists, visual-effects studios and game modellers who built their libraries in LightWave 3D; architects and product designers with LightWave renderings in their archives; model sites and stock libraries that still sell .lwo files; and anyone who is sent a LightWave object or scene without LightWave on the computer in front of them.
Common Use Cases
- Look at a LightWave object from an archive or a model library without installing LightWave
- Open a Layout scene together with the objects it loads and see them placed
- Check the surfaces, textures and layers of a model before sending it on
- Share a model with a client as a link they can orbit in a browser
- Convert an LWO to FBX, OBJ, GLB or STL for another program
Features
Opens .lwo Objects
LightWave objects from LightWave 5 through 2020 (LWOB, LWO2 and LWO3), loose or inside a .zip.
Opens .lws Scenes
A Layout scene places the objects it loads where LightWave puts them: position, rotation, scale, pivot and parent.
Every Layer
Each layer of an object is drawn and listed, so it can be hidden on its own.
Smooth Subdivision Surfaces
Subpatch and Catmull-Clark cages are smoothed, so the model looks the way LightWave draws it.
Surfaces as Materials
Colour, luminosity, transparency, specular and glossiness from each surface, smoothed within its smoothing angle.
Image Textures
PNG, JPEG, TGA and BMP textures opened with the object, on UV maps or planar, cylindrical, spherical and cubic projections.
Concave Polygons
Polygons of any number of corners are cut into triangles in their own plane, so concave faces keep their shape.
Missing Files Asked For
A scene names the objects it needs, and a model names the images it uses; drop them on the viewer to add them.
Measure the Model
Click two points to measure a distance or a height, in meters.
Convert to FBX, OBJ or GLB
Export the model as FBX, OBJ, GLB, glTF, STL, 3MF, PLY, USDZ or COLLADA, or save the view as PDF, PNG or JPG.
Nothing Is Uploaded
The model is read entirely in your browser. No account, no upload, no copy on a server.
Share and Embed
Send a link that opens the model in any browser, or drop the viewer into your own page with one iframe.
Compatibility & Format Notes
Objects in LWO2 and LWO3 (LightWave 6 to 2020) and in LightWave 5’s LWOB and LWLO open. Every layer is drawn and can be hidden on its own. Polygons of any number of corners are cut into triangles in their own plane, so concave faces keep their shape. Subdivision cages are smoothed with two levels of Catmull-Clark subdivision. Curves, bones and metaballs are left out. LightWave’s left-handed axes are turned into the viewer’s, and sizes are in meters.
Each surface becomes a material with its colour, luminosity, transparency, specular and glossiness, smoothed within its smoothing angle and double-sided when the surface says so. A colour texture is drawn from the image file it names (PNG, JPEG, TGA or BMP) when that file is opened with the object, by file name, whatever folder the object names; UV maps, per-polygon UVs and planar, cylindrical, spherical and cubic projections are read. Procedural textures and node-based surfaces are left out.
A scene places each object it loads at its first-frame position, rotation, scale and pivot, under its parent object or null. Open the .lws together with its .lwo files, in a .zip or picked at once, or drop the files on the viewer when it asks for them; the scene names the files it needs. Lights, cameras, bones and animation are not drawn.
Embed on Your Website
Add this viewer to your own site with a single line of HTML. Click Embed in the toolbar to generate an embed code, or use the snippet below with your own file URL.
Your Files Stay on Your Computer
Your LightWave files are parsed entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, stored, or shared unless you explicitly click the Share button. Shared files are hosted for 90 days then deleted.
Frequently Asked Questions
▶Why does my LightWave scene ask for files?
A .lws scene holds no geometry, only the names of the .lwo objects it loads and where to put them. The viewer lists the objects it needs; drop them on the viewer (or choose them), or open a .zip of the folder that holds the scene and its objects. Files are matched by name, so the folders the scene was saved with do not matter.
▶Which LightWave versions open?
Objects from LightWave 5 (LWOB and LWLO) through LightWave 2020 (LWO2 and LWO3), and scenes from every version of Layout.
▶Are subdivision surfaces smoothed?
Yes. Subpatch and Catmull-Clark cages are subdivided twice, so the model looks smooth the way LightWave shows it. A very large cage is subdivided once, or not at all, to keep the model light enough for the browser.
▶Why is my model untextured?
The surfaces name image files that did not come with the object. The viewer lists them; add the images and the model reloads with its textures. Images in LightWave’s own IFF format or TIFF are not read, so save them as PNG or JPEG.
▶Are lights, cameras and animation shown?
No. The objects are drawn where the scene puts them on its first frame; lights, cameras, bones and keyframed motion are read past. The viewer lights the model with its own studio lighting.
▶Is this LightWave viewer really free?
Yes, completely free. No signup, no watermarks, no file size limits on the viewer (the optional share-link feature has a 100 MB upload cap). Built by Innerscene as a tool for architects, engineers, and designers.
▶Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. All parsing, rendering, and conversion runs in your browser: nothing is uploaded, stored, or transmitted by default. The Share button is the only feature that uploads a file, and only when you explicitly click it.
▶Can I convert to another format?
Yes. Click Export in the toolbar to save as STL (3D printing), OBJ (Wavefront), GLB (glTF binary), or PDF (snapshot of the current view).
▶Can I embed this viewer on my own site?
Yes. Click Embed in the toolbar to generate a one-line <iframe> snippet you can paste into any HTML page. You can choose whether the embed shows the viewer’s toolbar.