MDL to FBX Converter
FileFlip converts MDL to FBX entirely inside your browser, using Assimp compiled to WebAssembly. The file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. That means no file-size limit, no queue and no account.
How do I convert an MDL file to FBX?#
- Drop your MDL file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer. You can add as many as you like.
- Leave the target set to FBX and the conversion starts on its own. FileFlip downloads 11.2 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, then runs Assimp on your own machine.
- Save the FBX file. Your browser writes it straight to your downloads folder, because there was never a server holding it.
Does converting MDL to FBX lose quality?#
Not in the sense of pixels or samples. Converting MDL to FBX rebuilds the file in FBX's own model rather than re-encoding it, so everything FBX can represent comes through exactly and anything it cannot has to be dropped. Expect the geometry to be exact, and anything the target has no place for, such as a rig, to be left behind.
Is it safe to convert MDL files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts MDL 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 MDL to FBX actually does to the file#
Converting MDL to FBX runs on Assimp, downloads 11.2 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, rebuilds the file in the target's own model.
| Engine | Assimp |
|---|---|
| Conversion path | One step: MDL → FBX |
| Downloaded to your browser | 11.2 MB, once, then cached by your browser |
| Quality | Rebuilt in the target's model |
| You get back | One file |
| Where it runs | In a background worker, so the page stays responsive |
What survives the conversion
| What is in the file | This conversion | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | Sometimes | Survives for some files and not others. |
| Textures | Sometimes | Survives for some files and not others. |
| Skeleton and animation | Sometimes | Survives for some files and not others. |
What is an MDL file?#
An MDL file is most often id Software's original Quake model, a small vertex-animated mesh with a single texture, or an unrelated 3D GameStudio model that happens to share the same extension, so the extension alone never says which format a given file actually is.
Use MDL only when working directly inside the specific pipeline that produced it, whether that's Quake modding or 3D GameStudio, since the two formats aren't interchangeable despite the shared extension.
Convert an MDL file to a modern interchange format once its origin (Quake, 3D GameStudio, or something else entirely) is confirmed, since converting the wrong format's loader against it will simply fail.
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.
MDL to FBX questions people ask#
What is an MDL file?
Most commonly, an MDL file is id Software's original Quake model format from 1996, a small vertex-animated mesh with one texture, identified internally by the magic bytes IDPO. The same extension is also used by 3D GameStudio's unrelated model format and by other software entirely, so the name alone doesn't guarantee which one you have.
Is every MDL file a Quake model?
No. 3D GameStudio's model format uses the same .mdl extension across several incompatible versions, and Valve's studiomdl compiler also writes its compiled GoldSrc and Source engine models as .mdl. None of these read as a Quake model, so the file has to be checked before assuming which format it is.
What software still opens Quake's MDL format?
Modern Quake source ports like Quakespasm load the original MDL models directly, and tools such as Noesis, MilkShape 3D and QuArK read them for inspection or conversion outside the game.
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.