SuperSplat: Free Open-Source 3D Gaussian Splat Editor — Edit 3D Scenes in Your Browser

3D Gaussian Splatting has rapidly become one of the hottest techniques in computer graphics and computer vision — offering photorealistic novel view synthesis at interactive frame rates, without the heavy training pipelines of traditional NeRF approaches. But until now, the ecosystem has been short on practical editing tools.

Enter SuperSplat — a free and open-source 3D Gaussian Splat editor from PlayCanvas. It's built entirely on web technologies, runs in your browser, and requires zero downloads. With over 6,900 GitHub stars and trending at 579 stars/day, it's quickly becoming the go-to tool for anyone working with 3D Gaussian Splats (3DGS).

What Is 3D Gaussian Splatting?

If you're new to the technology: 3D Gaussian Splatting represents a 3D scene not as a mesh or point cloud, but as a collection of millions of semi-transparent ellipsoids ("Gaussians"). Each Gaussian carries position, scale, rotation, opacity, and color (via spherical harmonics). The scene is rendered by alpha-compositing these Gaussians in a differentiable rasterization pass.

Key advantages over traditional 3D representations:

• Real-time rendering — 30+ FPS on consumer GPUs
• Photorealistic quality — captures specular reflections, translucency, fine detail
• Fast training — typically 10-30 minutes per scene vs. hours for NeRF
• No mesh generation — works directly from multi-view photos or video frames

What SuperSplat Does

SuperSplat is a comprehensive editor for 3D Gaussian Splats with four core capabilities:

1. Inspection

Load any .ply or .splat file and explore it in 3D. Navigate your scene with orbit/pan/zoom controls, visualize Gaussian attributes (opacity, scale, position), and inspect individual splats. This alone is valuable for debugging reconstruction quality.

2. Editing

Select and manipulate individual Gaussians or groups. Tools include:

• Lasso / Rectangle / Sphere selection — pick splats by area
• Deletion & density reduction — remove artifacts, floaters, background noise
• Color correction — adjust brightness, contrast, saturation for selected splats
• Transform tools — translate, rotate, scale selected groups

3. Optimization

Real-world captures often produce oversized splat files. SuperSplat provides built-in optimization:

• Quantization — reduce precision without visible quality loss
• SH degree pruning — reduce spherical harmonics order to save size
• Selective export — export only the splats you need
• Typical optimization: 100MB → 15-25MB with near-zero visual degradation

4. Publishing & Export

Export to multiple formats suitable for different platforms: .ply (standard), .splat (SuperSplat compressed), direct integration with PlayCanvas Engine for web deployment. The editor also supports drag-and-drop publishing to superspl.at for instant sharing.

Getting Started: Online Editor (No Install)

The fastest way to try SuperSplat is the live editor at superspl.at/editor. No account needed, no installation. Just drag in a .ply or .splat file and start editing:

1. Open https://superspl.at/editor in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox
2. Drag a 3DGS file onto the editor window — it can also autoload sample scenes
3. Use the panel on the right to select, edit, or optimize splats
4. Export via File → Export or use the built-in optimization pipeline

Self-Hosted Development Setup

For local development, customization, or CI integration:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/playcanvas/supersplat.git
cd supersplat

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start local dev server
npm run develop

# Open http://localhost:3000

Requirements: Node.js 18+ and a modern web browser (Chrome, Edge, or Firefox recommended). The dev server supports hot reload — changes to source files trigger automatic rebuilds.

To build for production:

npm run build

Output goes to the dist/ folder, ready for static hosting on any CDN or web server.

Source Code & GitHub

SuperSplat is fully open source under a permissive license (check the repo for the exact license type). The source code lives at:

• GitHub: https://github.com/playcanvas/supersplat
• Live Editor: https://superspl.at/editor
• User Guide: PlayCanvas Docs
• Community: PlayCanvas Discord

Built by PlayCanvas — the company behind the fastest WebGL game engine — SuperSplat benefits from a decade of web graphics expertise. The team includes contributors from the broader open-source graphics community.

Use Cases & Applications

SuperSplat fills an important gap in the 3DGS pipeline. Here's who's using it:

• Photogrammetry practitioners — clean up noisy reconstructions from drone or phone captures
• 3D artists & game devs — create real-time 3D assets from real-world objects, optimize for web deployment
• Architecture & real estate — capture and share building interiors as interactive 3D tours
• Museum & cultural heritage — digitize artifacts and exhibits for online viewing
• Researchers — visualize and evaluate 3DGS training quality, debug reconstruction artifacts

How It Compares

Tool	Type	Price	Platform	3DGS Editing
SuperSplat	Standalone editor	Free & open source	Web browser	Full (select, delete, color, optimize)
Nerfstudio	Training framework	Free & open source	Local Python	Minimal (CLI tools)
Postshot (Epic Games)	Capture + edit	Free (beta)	Windows desktop	Basic editing
Luma AI Studio	Capture + cloud edit	Subscription	Cloud / iOS	Limited
Custom Unity/Unreal	Game engine plugin	Varies	Desktop	Requires custom tooling

SuperSplat's differentiation is clear: it's the only free, open-source, cross-platform 3DGS editor that runs entirely in the browser with zero setup. For professional workflows requiring local development, the self-hosted option gives you full control.

What's Next

The SuperSplat community is actively developing new features. Based on the repository activity and GitHub Issues, expected additions include:

• Undo/redo support (highly requested)
• Inpainting — fill deleted splat areas with AI-generated content
• Multi-layer editing with layer visibility toggles
• Animation path recording
• Integration with more 3D formats (GLTF, OBJ)

The broader 3D Gaussian Splatting ecosystem is also evolving rapidly. With Google, Adobe, and NVIDIA all investing in research, and tools like SuperSplat lowering the barrier to entry, 2026 is shaping up as the year 3DGS goes mainstream in production pipelines.

Summary

SuperSplat is a well-crafted, genuinely useful open-source tool that arrives at exactly the right moment — when 3D Gaussian Splatting is gaining mainstream adoption but the tooling ecosystem is still immature. Its web-based nature, combined with powerful editing capabilities and active community support, makes it an essential addition to any 3D developer's toolkit.

Whether you're editing a photogrammetry scan, cleaning up a 3DGS capture for a web viewer, or just curious about the technology, SuperSplat is the easiest way to get hands-on with 3D Gaussian Splats. No install required, and it won't cost you a cent.