LXO File Format (.lxo)
An LXO file is Foundry Modo's native scene, holding meshes, materials and Modo's item and mesh-operation hierarchy for a scene built or edited in the application.
LXO at a glance#
| Full name | Modo Object |
|---|---|
| File extension | .lxo |
| Category | 3D Models |
| Developer | Luxology, LLC |
| First released | 2004 |
| Compression | Uncompressed |
| FileFlip support | FileFlip reads this format but does not write it |
What a .lxo file can hold#
These are the things a LXO file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.
| Embedded metadata | Yes |
|---|---|
| Textures and materials | Yes |
Strengths and limitations of LXO#
What LXO does well
- Carries Modo's procedural mesh operations, not just baked-down geometry, so a scene stays editable when reopened
- Modo's shading model, built around its own node-based material system, comes through in full
- Grew out of the same engineering lineage as LightWave, so it shares that format family's clean, chunked approach to storing surfaces
Where LXO falls short
- Foundry discontinued Modo in November 2024, so the format has no further tooling on the way
- Procedural mesh operations and Modo-specific shading don't translate to other applications' native formats
- Outside Modo, LXO support is limited to the handful of importers, such as Assimp's, that were written against it
Keep a scene as LXO while it's still being modelled or shaded inside Modo, to preserve its procedural mesh operations.
Convert LXO to FBX or glTF once the scene needs to move into an engine or another modeller, since Modo-specific data won't survive the trip either way.
How to open a .lxo file#
A .lxo file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts LXO into a format your machine already opens, and it does it in the browser tab rather than on a server.
| Platform | Programs that open it |
|---|---|
| Windows | Modo |
| macOS | Modo |
| Web | FileFlip |
LXO questions people ask#
What is an LXO file?
An LXO file is a Modo scene, storing meshes, materials and Modo's own item and mesh-operation hierarchy. Modo was built by Luxology, a studio founded by former LightWave 3D engineers, which is why LXO shares some structural DNA with LWO.
Is Modo still available to open LXO files?
Foundry, which acquired Luxology in 2012, discontinued Modo in November 2024. Existing licenses still run the application, but there's no further development, which makes converting an LXO scene to a more current format worth doing before Modo becomes harder to run.
Can other 3D software open LXO files?
Only a small number of tools, since LXO was never published as an open interchange format. Libraries like Assimp include an LXO importer for basic geometry and materials, but Modo-specific features such as its procedural mesh operations aren't something another application can reconstruct.
Converting LXO files#
Convert LXO to another format
FileFlip does not write .lxo files, so nothing on the site converts into this format. It works as a source only.
Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.