voxolithGetting started
What you need to build with Voxolith, how its packages fit together, and the shortest path from an empty folder to a voxel scene in the browser.
Voxolith is a set of TypeScript packages that you compile into your own web app. There is no editor to install and no runtime to download: you add the packages to a Vite project, create a canvas, and draw voxels into it with WebGPU.
Not on npm yet
The packages are not published yet, so for now you work from a checkout of the repos inside a bun workspace. Installation shows how; nothing else in these pages changes once they are on npm.
What you need
- bun 1.4 or newer. Voxolith's own tooling is bun only.
- A browser with WebGPU: Chrome or Edge 113+, Safari 26+, or Firefox with WebGPU enabled. Troubleshooting covers the cases where it is missing or slow.
- Some TypeScript. The APIs are small functions and plain objects; there are few classes.
The packages
| package | what you use it for |
|---|---|
@voxolith/renderer | the GPU: initGpu, createRenderer, cameras, lights, the frame loop, .vox files |
@voxolith/engine | everything above the GPU: entities and palettes, placing models, streaming worlds, input, animation, time of day and weather |
@voxolith/gen-* | procedural models from a seed: terrain, trees, bushes, grass, rocks, buildings, creatures |
You always need the renderer. The engine and the generators are optional, but most games use both: the engine's input layer alone saves a lot of work on phones.
Where to go next
Installation
A Vite project with the packages linked, TypeScript set up, and an HTTPS dev server.
Your first scene
Load a MagicaVoxel model and draw it, walked through line by line.
Project structure
The files of a small app, rendering on demand, where assets go, and deploying under a sub-path.
Tutorial: your first game
Build a small game in seven steps, each of which runs.
Introduction
Voxolith is an open-source WebGPU voxel engine for the browser. What it is, how it is layered, what you need, and how these docs are organised.
Installation
Set up a Vite and TypeScript app with the Voxolith packages from a bun workspace checkout, WebGPU types, optimizeDeps and an HTTPS dev server.