MD3 Converter
FileFlip converts MD3 files into 14 other formats entirely inside your browser, using Assimp compiled to WebAssembly. The MD3 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 MD3 file?#
- Drop your MD3 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 MD3 files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts MD3 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 MD3 file#
FileFlip converts MD3 into 14 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 | .md3 |
| FileFlip support | Read only, so it is a source rather than a target |
| Conversions available | 14 |
| Engines | Assimp |
| Downloaded to your browser | 11.2 MB on the first conversion, then cached |
What is an MD3 file?#
An MD3 file is a Quake III Arena model, typically one piece of a character split into head, torso and legs that align through named tag points so the pieces can move and aim independently.
Use MD3 when authoring content for Quake III Arena or one of its still-active engine derivatives, since that ecosystem expects the head/torso/legs split.
Convert MD3 to a modern interchange format when the model needs to leave the Quake III engine family, since the three-piece split and tag system have no equivalent elsewhere.
The MD3 file format reference covers the specification, the programs that open one, and what each conversion keeps or drops.
MD3 questions people ask#
What is an MD3 file?
An MD3 file is id Software's model format for Quake III Arena, released in 1999, and it usually represents one part of a character, such as the head, torso or legs, joined to the others through tag points. Vertex-animated meshes replaced Quake II's single-piece MD2 models with this split so aiming and movement could animate separately.
Why is a Quake III character split into three files instead of one?
MD3 splits a player model into head, torso and legs so the torso and arms can aim independently of which way the legs are running or standing, a limitation of the whole-mesh vertex animation both MD2 and MD3 use. Tag points in each piece tell the engine exactly where to attach the next piece so the split is invisible during gameplay.
What opens MD3 files today?
The open-source ioquake3 engine and games built on it, like OpenArena, load MD3 files the same way the original Quake III Arena did. Standalone viewers such as Noesis and older editors like MilkShape 3D and QuArK also read MD3 for inspection or conversion outside the game.