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r3f-geometry

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$97 forever

BufferGeometry creation, built-in geometries, custom geometry with buffer attributes, instanced meshes for rendering thousands of objects, and geometry manipulation. Use when creating custom shapes, optimizing with instancing, or working with vertex data directly.

General

What this skill does


# R3F Geometry

Geometry defines the shape of 3D objects via vertices, faces, normals, and UVs stored in buffer attributes.

## Quick Start

```tsx
// Built-in geometry
<mesh>
  <boxGeometry args={[1, 1, 1]} />
  <meshStandardMaterial />
</mesh>

// Custom geometry
<mesh>
  <bufferGeometry>
    <bufferAttribute
      attach="attributes-position"
      count={3}
      array={new Float32Array([0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0.5, 1, 0])}
      itemSize={3}
    />
  </bufferGeometry>
  <meshBasicMaterial side={THREE.DoubleSide} />
</mesh>
```

## Built-in Geometries

All geometries accept `args` array matching constructor parameters:

```tsx
// Box: [width, height, depth, widthSegments?, heightSegments?, depthSegments?]
<boxGeometry args={[1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1]} />

// Sphere: [radius, widthSegments, heightSegments, phiStart?, phiLength?, thetaStart?, thetaLength?]
<sphereGeometry args={[1, 32, 32]} />

// Plane: [width, height, widthSegments?, heightSegments?]
<planeGeometry args={[10, 10, 10, 10]} />

// Cylinder: [radiusTop, radiusBottom, height, radialSegments?, heightSegments?, openEnded?]
<cylinderGeometry args={[0.5, 0.5, 2, 32]} />

// Cone: [radius, height, radialSegments?, heightSegments?, openEnded?]
<coneGeometry args={[1, 2, 32]} />

// Torus: [radius, tube, radialSegments, tubularSegments, arc?]
<torusGeometry args={[1, 0.3, 16, 100]} />

// TorusKnot: [radius, tube, tubularSegments, radialSegments, p?, q?]
<torusKnotGeometry args={[1, 0.3, 100, 16]} />

// Ring: [innerRadius, outerRadius, thetaSegments?, phiSegments?]
<ringGeometry args={[0.5, 1, 32]} />

// Circle: [radius, segments?, thetaStart?, thetaLength?]
<circleGeometry args={[1, 32]} />

// Dodecahedron/Icosahedron/Octahedron/Tetrahedron: [radius, detail?]
<icosahedronGeometry args={[1, 0]} />
```

## Buffer Attributes

Geometry data lives in typed arrays attached as attributes:

| Attribute | ItemSize | Purpose |
|-----------|----------|---------|
| `position` | 3 | Vertex positions (x, y, z) |
| `normal` | 3 | Surface normals for lighting |
| `uv` | 2 | Texture coordinates (u, v) |
| `color` | 3 | Per-vertex colors (r, g, b) |
| `index` | 1 | Triangle indices (optional) |

### Custom Geometry from Scratch

```tsx
import { useMemo } from 'react';
import * as THREE from 'three';

function Triangle() {
  const geometry = useMemo(() => {
    const geo = new THREE.BufferGeometry();
    
    // 3 vertices × 3 components (x, y, z)
    const positions = new Float32Array([
      -1, -1, 0,  // vertex 0
       1, -1, 0,  // vertex 1
       0,  1, 0   // vertex 2
    ]);
    
    // 3 vertices × 3 components (nx, ny, nz)
    const normals = new Float32Array([
      0, 0, 1,
      0, 0, 1,
      0, 0, 1
    ]);
    
    // 3 vertices × 2 components (u, v)
    const uvs = new Float32Array([
      0, 0,
      1, 0,
      0.5, 1
    ]);
    
    geo.setAttribute('position', new THREE.BufferAttribute(positions, 3));
    geo.setAttribute('normal', new THREE.BufferAttribute(normals, 3));
    geo.setAttribute('uv', new THREE.BufferAttribute(uvs, 2));
    
    return geo;
  }, []);
  
  return (
    <mesh geometry={geometry}>
      <meshStandardMaterial side={THREE.DoubleSide} />
    </mesh>
  );
}
```

### Declarative Buffer Attributes

```tsx
function Triangle() {
  const positions = useMemo(() => 
    new Float32Array([-1, -1, 0, 1, -1, 0, 0, 1, 0]), 
  []);
  
  return (
    <mesh>
      <bufferGeometry>
        <bufferAttribute
          attach="attributes-position"
          count={3}
          array={positions}
          itemSize={3}
        />
      </bufferGeometry>
      <meshBasicMaterial side={THREE.DoubleSide} />
    </mesh>
  );
}
```

### Indexed Geometry

Use indices to share vertices between triangles:

```tsx
function Quad() {
  const geometry = useMemo(() => {
    const geo = new THREE.BufferGeometry();
    
    // 4 unique vertices
    const positions = new Float32Array([
      -1, -1, 0,  // 0: bottom-left
       1, -1, 0,  // 1: bottom-right
       1,  1, 0,  // 2: top-right
      -1,  1, 0   // 3: top-left
    ]);
    
    // 2 triangles, 6 indices
    const indices = new Uint16Array([
      0, 1, 2,  // first triangle
      0, 2, 3   // second triangle
    ]);
    
    geo.setAttribute('position', new THREE.BufferAttribute(positions, 3));
    geo.setIndex(new THREE.BufferAttribute(indices, 1));
    geo.computeVertexNormals();
    
    return geo;
  }, []);
  
  return (
    <mesh geometry={geometry}>
      <meshStandardMaterial side={THREE.DoubleSide} />
    </mesh>
  );
}
```

## Dynamic Geometry Updates

```tsx
import { useRef } from 'react';
import { useFrame } from '@react-three/fiber';
import * as THREE from 'three';

function WavingPlane() {
  const geometryRef = useRef<THREE.BufferGeometry>(null!);
  
  useFrame(({ clock }) => {
    const positions = geometryRef.current.attributes.position;
    const time = clock.elapsedTime;
    
    for (let i = 0; i < positions.count; i++) {
      const x = positions.getX(i);
      const y = positions.getY(i);
      const z = Math.sin(x * 2 + time) * Math.cos(y * 2 + time) * 0.5;
      positions.setZ(i, z);
    }
    
    positions.needsUpdate = true;  // Critical!
    geometryRef.current.computeVertexNormals();
  });
  
  return (
    <mesh rotation={[-Math.PI / 2, 0, 0]}>
      <planeGeometry ref={geometryRef} args={[10, 10, 50, 50]} />
      <meshStandardMaterial color="royalblue" side={THREE.DoubleSide} />
    </mesh>
  );
}
```

## Instanced Mesh

Render thousands of identical meshes with different transforms in a single draw call:

```tsx
import { useRef, useMemo } from 'react';
import { useFrame } from '@react-three/fiber';
import * as THREE from 'three';

function Particles({ count = 1000 }) {
  const meshRef = useRef<THREE.InstancedMesh>(null!);
  
  // Pre-allocate transformation objects
  const dummy = useMemo(() => new THREE.Object3D(), []);
  
  // Initialize instance matrices
  useEffect(() => {
    for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
      dummy.position.set(
        (Math.random() - 0.5) * 10,
        (Math.random() - 0.5) * 10,
        (Math.random() - 0.5) * 10
      );
      dummy.rotation.set(
        Math.random() * Math.PI,
        Math.random() * Math.PI,
        0
      );
      dummy.scale.setScalar(0.1 + Math.random() * 0.2);
      dummy.updateMatrix();
      meshRef.current.setMatrixAt(i, dummy.matrix);
    }
    meshRef.current.instanceMatrix.needsUpdate = true;
  }, [count, dummy]);
  
  // Animate instances
  useFrame(({ clock }) => {
    for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
      meshRef.current.getMatrixAt(i, dummy.matrix);
      dummy.matrix.decompose(dummy.position, dummy.quaternion, dummy.scale);
      
      dummy.rotation.x += 0.01;
      dummy.rotation.y += 0.01;
      
      dummy.updateMatrix();
      meshRef.current.setMatrixAt(i, dummy.matrix);
    }
    meshRef.current.instanceMatrix.needsUpdate = true;
  });
  
  return (
    <instancedMesh ref={meshRef} args={[undefined, undefined, count]}>
      <boxGeometry args={[1, 1, 1]} />
      <meshStandardMaterial color="hotpink" />
    </instancedMesh>
  );
}
```

### Instance Colors

```tsx
function ColoredInstances({ count = 1000 }) {
  const meshRef = useRef<THREE.InstancedMesh>(null!);
  
  useEffect(() => {
    const color = new THREE.Color();
    
    for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
      color.setHSL(i / count, 1, 0.5);
      meshRef.current.setColorAt(i, color);
    }
    
    meshRef.current.instanceColor!.needsUpdate = true;
  }, [count]);
  
  return (
    <instancedMesh ref={meshRef} args={[undefined, undefined, count]}>
      <sphereGeometry args={[0.1, 16, 16]} />
      <meshStandardMaterial />
    </instancedMesh>
  );
}
```

### Instance Attributes (Custom Data)

```tsx
function CustomInstanceData({ count = 1000 }) {
  const meshRef = useRef<THREE.InstancedMesh>(null!);
  
  // Custom per-instance data
  const speeds = useMemo(() => {
    const arr = new Float32Array(count);
    for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
      arr[i] = 0.5 + Math.random(
Files: 3
Size: 19.5 KB
Complexity: 34/100
Category: General

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