XGL to FBX Converter
FileFlip converts XGL 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 XGL file to FBX?#
- Drop your XGL 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 XGL to FBX lose quality?#
Not in the sense of pixels or samples. Converting XGL 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 XGL files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts XGL 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 XGL to FBX actually does to the file#
Converting XGL 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: XGL → 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 XGL file?#
An XGL file is an XML document describing a tessellated 3D scene under a root WORLD element, holding meshes, materials, lighting and a transform hierarchy the way CAD visualisation tools laid scenes out before glTF existed.
Use XGL when an existing CAD visualisation pipeline already produces it and the destination tool reads XML scene data directly.
Convert XGL to glTF or OBJ for anything outside that original CAD tooling, since XGL support is rare elsewhere.
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.
XGL to FBX questions people ask#
What is an XGL file?
An XGL file is an XML-based 3D scene, storing tessellated meshes, materials, lighting and a transform hierarchy under a root WORLD element. It comes from CAD visualisation tooling that predates glTF.
What's the difference between XGL and ZGL?
A ZGL file is the exact same XGL XML data, just run through gzip compression to shrink it. Any reader that handles ZGL simply decompresses it first and then parses it as ordinary XGL.
Can I edit an XGL file by hand?
Yes, since XGL is plain XML text, small edits to a mesh, material or transform can be made in any text editor. Large scenes get unwieldy quickly, though, given how verbose the XML is compared to a binary format.
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.