3D Asset Server

// Overview

3D Asset Server (3d-asset-server) is a self-hosted TypeScript server that searches 23 sites for 3D models, materials, textures, HDRIs and game assets in one query and downloads what you pick, ready to drop into a game or a website. Sources include Poly Haven, ambientCG, BlenderKit, Kenney, Quaternius, Sketchfab, OpenGameArt, CGTrader and itch.io. The same engine is reachable four ways: a web UI, an HTTP API with an OpenAPI 3.1 description, a command-line tool, and a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets an AI assistant such as Claude Code, Claude Desktop or Cursor search and fetch assets itself.

Each site has its own adapter: some are queried through official or WordPress APIs, some by parsing their public pages, and a few that sit behind bot walls (Fab, Poliigon, TurboSquid) come back only as links to the same search on that site. A search picks the sources that carry the requested asset type, queries them in parallel with a timeout each, then ranks and merges the results and returns a status report for every site. A slow or broken site never fails the whole search; it appears in the report with its error and a link to the site's own search.

Results are licence-first: every asset states its licence, whether it is free, and whether the author must be credited. From sources that allow direct downloads, the server fetches glTF with its `.bin` and textures, PBR maps at a chosen resolution, HDRIs, or zipped packs that it extracts, and keeps companion files in their relative paths so a glTF loads straight away. Paid, login-gated and hotlink-protected content is never bypassed, only public http(s) hosts are fetched, and each download has a size guard. A public instance runs at 3d.shep.bot, and the project's code is licensed under Apache-2.0.

// What it does

• Searches 23 3D asset sites in parallel and returns merged, ranked results with a per-site status report (ok, error, timeout, skipped, link)

• Every result carries its licence, whether it is free and whether attribution is required; `download_asset` returns an attribution line when credit is needed
• Direct downloads from free sources: glTF with companion files, PBR maps at a chosen resolution, HDR/EXR HDRIs and auto-extracted zip packs, preferring game- and web-friendly formats
• MCP server over stdio or Streamable HTTP with four tools: `search_assets`, `get_asset`, `download_asset` and `list_providers`
• REST API (`/v1/search`, `/v1/assets/{provider}:{id}`, `/v1/assets/{id}/download`) with an OpenAPI 3.1 spec, plus a web UI and a `search` / `serve` / `mcp` CLI
• Self-hosting options including a published Docker image, an optional API key, per-client rate limiting and Prometheus metrics

// Getting started

The server needs Node.js 20 or newer, or Docker. One process serves the web UI, the HTTP API and the MCP endpoint on port 8787; the commands below come from the project README.

git clone https://github.com/arielshad/3d-asset-server.git
cd 3d-asset-server
npm install
npm run build

npm start

# or, with Docker
docker run -p 8787:8787 ghcr.io/arielshad/3d-asset-server

curl 'localhost:8787/v1/search?q=brick+wall&type=material&free=true&limit=5'
curl -OJ 'localhost:8787/v1/assets/polyhaven:WoodenChair_01/download?format=gltf&resolution=1k'

node dist/cli.js search "low poly tree" --type model --free

claude mcp add 3d-assets -e ASSET_DOWNLOAD_DIR="$PWD/assets" -- node /path/to/3d-asset-server/dist/cli.js mcp

claude mcp add --transport http 3d-assets https://3d.shep.bot/mcp

Commands and code are distilled from the project's own documentation — always check the official repo for the latest.

// When to use it

• Let a coding assistant find a model, a material and an HDRI for a Three.js or game scene and save them into the project's assets folder
• Check the licence and attribution terms of 3D assets across many libraries before downloading anything
• Give a game or web pipeline one REST API for searching and downloading free CC0 assets instead of integrating each site separately
• Self-host a shared asset search for a team, restricted to chosen sources with `ASSET_SERVER_PROVIDERS` and protected with an API key

// How 3D Asset Server compares

3D Asset Server alongside other open-source 3d & cad generation tools AI/TLDR tracks, ranked by GitHub stars.