About threejs-materials
threejs-materials is an agent skill for answering questions about three.js core materials, including PBR, transparency, and custom shaders. It helps distinguish classic materials from node-based shading and highlights configuration pitfalls.
Key features
- 01Choose materials by lighting model
- 02Configure material maps and color spaces
- 03Handle environment maps and transparency
- 04Work with ShaderMaterial and RawShaderMaterial
- 05Avoid performance and rendering pitfalls
Use cases
- 01Select a three.js material for a lighting model
- 02Troubleshoot map color-space or normal issues
- 03Address transparency sorting and alpha behavior
- 04Decide between classic materials and node shading
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/ / github.com/ full-stack-skills/ threejs-skills --skill threejs-materialsAfter installing, type/threejs-materialsin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Bundled filesagents/openai.yamlexamples/workflow-pbr-transparent.md
Details
From the project READMEWhen to use this skill
ALWAYS use this skill when the user mentions:
- Choosing among built-in mesh materials, map slots (albedo, normal, roughness, metalness, ao, emissive),
envMap - Transparency sorting issues,
alphaTest,depthWrite, blending modes, side/double-sided rendering ShaderMaterial/RawShaderMaterialuniforms, includes, and compatibility with lights pipeline- Line, points, sprite materials for vector overlays and particles
IMPORTANT: classic materials vs node-tsl
| Need | Skill |
|---|---|
| Standard PBR with maps, physical clearcoat/sheen | threejs-materials |
TSL nodes, NodeMaterial, WebGPU-first shading, compute-style graph | threejs-node-tsl |
| Migrating ShaderMaterial → TSL | threejs-node-tsl (conceptual), keep ShaderMaterial here until cutover |
Trigger phrases include:
- "MeshStandardMaterial", "MeshPhysicalMaterial", "ShaderMaterial", "transparent", "alphaTest"
- "PBR", "物理材质", "透明", "自定义着色器"
How to use this skill
- Select class by lighting model:
MeshBasic(unlit), Lambert/Phong (legacy lit), Standard/Physical (PBR). - Assign maps and ensure color space correctness for albedo vs data maps (link threejs-textures).
- Environment: set
envMapfrom cube or equirect; alignmetalness/roughness; considerMeshPhysicalMaterialfor transmission/IOR when needed. - Transparency: order objects or use
alphaTest/depthWritetrade-offs; mention sorting limitations. - ShaderMaterial: minimize re-lit work unless intentional; document required lights and
lights: trueflag behavior per version docs. - Performance: share materials across meshes; avoid cloning per frame.
- Skinning/morph: set
skinning/morphTargetswhere applicable—mesh side in threejs-objects.
See examples/workflow-pbr-transparent.md.
Doc map (official)
| Docs section | Representative links |
|---|---|
| Materials (core) | https://threejs.org/docs/Material.html |
| PBR | https://threejs.org/docs/MeshStandardMaterial.html |
| Physical | https://threejs.org/docs/MeshPhysicalMaterial.html |
| Custom GLSL | https://threejs.org/docs/ShaderMaterial.html |
Scope
- In scope: Non-Node materials listed under Core Materials in docs (except
*NodeMaterial). - Out of scope: Full Nodes catalog (threejs-node-tsl); post pass materials inside composer (threejs-postprocessing).
Common pitfalls and best practices
- Wrong normal map
normalMapTypeor tangent space breaks lighting; verify geometry has tangents or use appropriate mode. - Premultiplied alpha vs straight alpha mismatches cause fringe halos on foliage.
MeshPhysicalMaterialtransmissionneeds thickness and good env—combine with threejs-textures / PMREM.- Too many unique materials hurts sorting and batching—merge where possible.
Documentation and version
PBR and ShaderMaterial behavior track the Materials section in three.js docs. Color management and default envMap handling changed in modern releases—always pair material answers with renderer/output settings from threejs-renderers when colors look wrong.
Agent response checklist
When answering under this skill, prefer responses that:
- Link
MeshStandardMaterial,MeshPhysicalMaterial, orShaderMaterialpages as appropriate. - Force a clear choice vs threejs-node-tsl when the user asks for “shaders” or “nodes”.
- Separate map roles (albedo vs roughness vs normal) and
colorSpaceexpectations with threejs-textures. - Call out transparency and
depthWritetrade-offs for sorted rendering. - Note that
*NodeMaterialtypes belong to the node skill, not this one.
References
- https://threejs.org/docs/#Materials
- https://threejs.org/docs/MeshStandardMaterial.html
- https://threejs.org/docs/MeshPhysicalMaterial.html
- https://threejs.org/docs/ShaderMaterial.html
Keywords
English: meshstandardmaterial, meshphysicalmaterial, shadermaterial, pbr, transparency, envmap, materials, three.js
中文: 材质、PBR、MeshStandardMaterial、物理材质、透明、环境贴图、ShaderMaterial、three.js