MD5MESH File Format (.md5mesh)
An MD5MESH file is a Doom 3 character or object's bind-pose skeleton and skinned geometry, written as plain text, with the actual motion supplied separately by a matching MD5ANIM file.
MD5MESH at a glance#
| Full name | Doom 3 mesh |
|---|---|
| File extension | .md5mesh |
| Category | 3D Models |
| Developer | id Software |
| First released | 2004 |
| Compression | Uncompressed |
| FileFlip support | FileFlip reads this format but does not write it |
What a .md5mesh file can hold#
These are the things a MD5MESH file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.
| Textures and materials | Yes |
|---|---|
| Skeletons and animation | Yes |
| Human readable | Yes |
Strengths and limitations of MD5MESH#
What MD5MESH does well
- Text format, so a mesh and its joint hierarchy can be inspected or hand-edited with nothing but an editor
- Skinning data lives apart from any specific animation, so one skeleton definition can be driven by any MD5ANIM file that shares its joint hierarchy
- One of the first widely used game formats to store a real skeleton with per-vertex bone weights, replacing the vertex-snapshot animation of id Software's earlier MD2 and MD3
Where MD5MESH falls short
- Carries no animation of its own; a model does nothing without at least one matching MD5ANIM file
- Plain text encoding makes the files noticeably larger than an equivalent binary skeletal format
- The joint hierarchy has to match exactly between an MD5MESH and any MD5ANIM used with it, so animations aren't interchangeable across unrelated skeletons
Use MD5MESH when authoring or modding content for Doom 3 or another id Tech 4 game that expects the format natively.
Convert MD5MESH to a modern interchange format when the model needs to move into current 3D software, since MD5's text syntax is specific to id Tech 4 tooling.
How to open a .md5mesh file#
A .md5mesh file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts MD5MESH 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 | Noesis, QuArK |
| macOS | dhewm3 |
| Linux | dhewm3 |
| Web | FileFlip |
MD5MESH questions people ask#
What is an MD5MESH file?
An MD5MESH file holds a Doom 3 model's skeleton and skinned geometry as plain text, one of id Software's first formats to use real bone-based animation instead of the vertex snapshots earlier Quake models used. On its own it just holds a bind pose; a separate MD5ANIM file supplies the motion.
Why are Doom 3 models split into MD5MESH and MD5ANIM instead of one file?
Splitting the skeleton and skinned mesh (MD5MESH) from the keyframed motion (MD5ANIM) means one walk, run or death animation can drive every model that shares the same joint hierarchy, instead of every character needing its own copy of the same motion baked in.
Does MD5MESH have anything to do with the MD5 hash function?
No. MD5MESH just continues id Software's naming pattern from MD2 and MD3, using MD5 as the next number in that sequence for Doom 3's format. It shares nothing with the MD5 cryptographic hash beyond the name.
Converting MD5MESH files#
Convert MD5MESH to another format
FileFlip does not write .md5mesh 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.