FBX Converter
FileFlip converts FBX files into 13 other formats entirely inside your browser, using Assimp compiled to WebAssembly. The FBX file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. There is no file-size limit and no account to create.
How do I convert an FBX file?#
- Drop your FBX file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer.
- Choose the format you want out of it. FileFlip downloads the engine that conversion needs, once, and your browser caches it.
- Conversion starts the moment you pick the format, and the result is yours to download. The work happens in this tab, so nothing is uploaded and nothing is queued.
Is it safe to convert FBX files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts FBX files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What happens to a FBX file#
FileFlip converts FBX into 13 formats with Assimp, all of it inside the browser tab. Each conversion below names the engine it uses, what it downloads, and exactly what that conversion keeps or drops.
| Category | 3D Models |
|---|---|
| File extension | .fbx |
| FileFlip support | Read and written |
| Conversions available | 13 |
| Engines | Assimp |
| Downloaded to your browser | 11.2 MB on the first conversion, then cached |
What is an FBX file?#
An FBX file is Autodesk's proprietary binary or ASCII scene format, originally built by Kaydara for its Filmbox motion-capture software in 1996, that carries a full scene, meshes, materials, skeletons, skinning and animation together in one container.
Use FBX when a full rigged, animated scene needs to move between a DCC tool and a game engine, since almost every pipeline tool expects it.
Convert an FBX file when the destination needs an open, patent-unencumbered format, or when the application that wrote it isn't the one reading it and something is coming through wrong.
The FBX file format reference covers the specification, the programs that open one, and what each conversion keeps or drops.
FBX questions people ask#
What software opens FBX files?
Blender, Autodesk Maya, 3ds Max, Unity and Unreal Engine all open FBX files, since it's the format most 3D and game pipelines use to move scenes between tools. Which application wrote the file matters more than which one is opening it, because FBX exporters don't all interpret the format identically.
Why won't my FBX file import correctly?
FBX has no official public specification and Autodesk has shipped many versions of the FBX SDK, so an importer's behaviour depends on which application and version wrote the file. The usual fix is finding out exactly which tool exported it and using a matching or newer FBX SDK version to read it back.
Is FBX free to use?
Autodesk provides the FBX SDK free of charge, which is why so many applications support reading and writing FBX despite the format itself being proprietary and closed. There's no licence fee, but there's also no independent specification a developer can implement without Autodesk's SDK.
What's the difference between binary and ASCII FBX?
Binary FBX is compact and is what most software writes by default, while ASCII FBX lays the same scene out as readable, tree-structured text. The ASCII form is useful for inspecting or debugging a file by hand, but it isn't used in ordinary pipelines because of its larger size.