A-Frame is an
open-source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...
web framework
A web framework (WF) or web application framework (WAF) is a software framework that is designed to support the development of web applications including web services, web resources, and web APIs. Web frameworks provide a standard way to build a ...
, written in JavaScript, for building
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...
(VR) experiences. It is maintained by developers from Supermedium (Diego Marcos, Kevin Ngo) and
Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
(Don McCurdy). A-Frame is an
entity component system framework for
Three.js where developers can create 3D and
WebXR scenes using
HTML
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It defines the content and structure of web content. It is often assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets ( ...
. HTML provides a familiar authoring tool for web developers and designers while incorporating a popular game development pattern used by engines such as
Unity.
History
A-Frame was originally developed within the
Mozilla
Mozilla is a free software community founded in 1998 by members of Netscape. The Mozilla community uses, develops, publishes and supports Mozilla products, thereby promoting free software and open standards. The community is supported institution ...
VR team during mid-to-late 2015. A-Frame was created in order to allow web developers and designers to author 3D and VR experiences with HTML without having to know
WebGL
WebGL (short for Web Graphics Library) is a JavaScript Application programming interface, API for rendering interactive 2D and 3D graphics within any compatible web browser without the use of plug-in (computing), plug-ins. WebGL is fully integra ...
. A-Frame's first public release was on December 16, 2015. On December 16, 2019 A-Frame version 1.0.0 was released.
Community
All online
IDEs support A-Frame as a result of being based on HTML. Documentation is available for the API. Support for developers committing to the library is provided via GitHub issues, while support for developers building apps and web pages is provided via StackOverflow. Real-time on-line support is provided via
Slack. Most of the developers are also on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
.
Usage
Mozilla Hubs chat room software uses A-Frame.
Example
See also
*
Three.js
*
HTML
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It defines the content and structure of web content. It is often assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets ( ...
*
Entity component system
*
WebXR
References
External links
*
{{Extended reality, state=expanded
2015 software
3D scenegraph APIs
Augmented reality
Cross-platform software
Free 3D graphics software
JavaScript web frameworks
Mixed reality
Rich web application frameworks
Software using the MIT license
Spatial computing
Virtual reality
WebGL