# erichlof/THREE.js-PathTracing-Renderer

Real-time PathTracing with global illumination and progressive rendering, all on top of the Three.js WebGL framework. Click here for Live Demo: https://erichlof.github.io/THREE.js-PathTracing-Renderer/Geometry_Showcase.html

Repository: https://github.com/erichlof/THREE.js-PathTracing-Renderer
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/threejs-pathtracing-renderer
Language: GLSL
License: CC0-1.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: pathtracing, raytracing, realtime, global-illumination, webgl, path-tracer, threejs, three-js, path, tracing, ray, tracer
Last push: 2026-07-07T20:39:41+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 73/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 91, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3704, "days_push": 57, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2243, forks 201 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:29.887939+00:00)

## What it is
A real-time path tracing renderer built on top of the Three.js WebGL framework, providing global illumination, progressive rendering, reflections, refractions, and soft shadows via GLSL shaders. It runs at 30-60 FPS in the browser, including on mobile devices, and ships with numerous live demos.

## Use cases
- render photorealistic scenes with global illumination in the browser
- real-time path tracing on mobile and desktop
- demonstrate ray tracing effects like caustics and soft shadows
- render volumetric fog and light shafts in WebGL
- simulate realistic ocean, sky, and water surfaces
- teach physically-based rendering techniques
- compare path traced renders to real photographs like the Cornell Box

## When to choose
- you need real-time global illumination in a web browser
- you want to build interactive 3D demos with physically-based lighting on top of Three.js
- you need path tracing that works on mobile devices
- you are experimenting with or teaching rendering algorithms like ray marching and path tracing

## When to avoid
- you need offline, production-quality film rendering rather than real-time approximation
- you need a native GPU renderer outside the browser
- your project requires complex triangle mesh scenes beyond the renderer's supported geometry
- you need a full game engine with asset pipelines and animation systems

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: graphics, simulation, image-processing
- domain: graphics, web-development, simulation
- platform: browser, cross-platform
- tags: path-tracing, ray-tracing, global-illumination, webgl, glsl, threejs, realtime-rendering, progressive-rendering, web-server

## Member repositories
- erichlof/THREE.js-PathTracing-Renderer (main) score 73

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:29.887939+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:44:03.493370+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/erichlof/THREE.js-PathTracing-Renderer (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:29.887939+00:00, sha e2a27522b509)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.