# Viewing Splats

Once you've created a Gaussian splat, you'll want to preview and evaluate it before proceeding to editing or integration into your projects. The **PlayCanvas Model Viewer** provides a convenient way to quickly view and inspect your splat files without needing to set up a full PlayCanvas project.

## PlayCanvas Model Viewer

The [PlayCanvas Model Viewer](https://playcanvas.com/viewer) is a web-based tool that allows you to instantly preview 3D content, including Gaussian splats, directly in your browser.

[Video](https://developer.playcanvas.com/video/playcanvas-splat-viewer.mp4)

### Supported Splat Formats

The Model Viewer supports the following commonly used Gaussian splat formats:

| Format | File Extension | Description |
|--------|----------------|-------------|
| **PLY** | `.ply` | Standard uncompressed splat format |
| **Compressed PLY** | `.compressed.ply` | Compressed (quantized) format |
| **SOG (bundled)** | `.sog` | Super-compressed format in single file |
| **SOG (unbundled)** | `meta.json` + `.webp` images | Super-compressed format in multiple files |

### How to View Your Splats

1. **Visit** [playcanvas.com/viewer](https://playcanvas.com/viewer)
2. **Drag and drop** your splat from your file system onto the viewer

   :::info[Viewing unbundled SOG scenes]
   For **SOG (unbundled)** format: drag the **parent folder** containing `meta.json` and `.webp` images
   :::
3. **Navigate** the 3D scene:

   | Control | Action |
   |---------|--------|
   | Left double click | Set orbit point |
   | Left click + drag | Orbit around the splat |
   | Right click + drag | Look around |
   | Shift + click + drag | Pan the view |
   | Mouse wheel | Zoom in/out |
   | WASD or Arrow keys | Move forwards/backwards/left/right |

## Open Source and Customization

The PlayCanvas Model Viewer is **open source** and available on [GitHub](https://github.com/playcanvas/model-viewer). This means you can:

- **Host your own version** - Use a local server or deploy to your own infrastructure for complete control
- **Add new functionality** - Add support for additional file formats or custom UI
- **Contribute back** - Submit issues and pull requests to help improve the viewer for everyone

## Viewing already-published splats

If your splat is already published on superspl.at, you have two viewer-side options that are specific to Gaussian Splats:

- The **public [scene page](https://developer.playcanvas.com/user-manual/supersplat/scene-page.md)** at `superspl.at/scene/<hash>` — the easiest way to share a splat that's also been [curated in Studio](https://developer.playcanvas.com/user-manual/supersplat/studio.md) (with cameras, animations, annotations, post effects, and collision).
- The **[SuperSplat Viewer](https://developer.playcanvas.com/user-manual/supersplat/viewer.md)** — the open-source web viewer that powers scene pages, available on npm as `@playcanvas/supersplat-viewer` for embedding in your own site or self-hosting as a single-file HTML export.

The PlayCanvas Model Viewer described above is still the right tool for quickly previewing arbitrary splat files (and other 3D content), before publishing or as part of a pre-flight check.

## Next Steps

After previewing your splats in the Model Viewer:

- If cleanup is needed → continue to [Editing and Publishing Splats](https://developer.playcanvas.com/user-manual/gaussian-splatting/editing.md) for optimization, publishing, and curation on the [SuperSplat platform](https://developer.playcanvas.com/user-manual/supersplat.md)
- If the quality meets your needs → proceed directly to [Building Splat-based Apps](https://developer.playcanvas.com/user-manual/gaussian-splatting/building.md)