BINVOX File

What are BINVOX files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a BINVOX file or are you simply curious about its contents? We're here to explain the properties of these files and provide you with software that can open or handle your BINVOX files.

What is a BINVOX file?

A .BINVOX file is a BINVOX Voxel File Format file.

The BINVOX Voxel File Format stores three-dimensional voxel models produced by the "binvox" tool. It represents the shape of a solid object by sampling it into a uniform grid of cubic cells ("voxels") and saving which cells are filled versus empty. It is used when converting polygonal meshes into a compact volumetric form so that models can be compared, processed, or visualised in voxel space. The tool that writes these files is binvox (by Michael Kazhdan); they are generally read by programs that explore, display, or further process voxel volumes.

A BINVOX file begins with an ASCII header giving metadata: it starts with "#binvox" followed by a version number (most commonly version 1; version 2 allows non-binary voxel values above zero). The header then records the grid dimensions (same size along x, y, z) via a "dim" line, the translation and scale used to normalize the original mesh into a unit cube via "translate" and "scale" lines, and ends with a line "data" to mark the start of the voxel data section.

After the header, the voxel data are stored in a simple run-length encoding. The space of voxels is traversed in an order where y changes fastest, then z, then x. Each "run" is encoded as two bytes: the first is the voxel value (0 for empty, 1 for filled in version 1; version 2 allows other positive values), and the second byte is a repeat count (1 to 255) indicating how many consecutive voxels have that same value.

Internally, the file can be identified by the ASCII signature "#binvox " at the start, and by presence of the strings "TRANSLATE", "SCALE" and "DATA" in the header. These markers help distinguish this format from others using the same extension.

How to open BINVOX files

Important: Different programs may use files with the BINVOX file extension for different purposes, so unless you are sure which format your BINVOX file is, you may need to try a few different programs.

We have not yet verified any programs for Windows that work with this specific file format. If you know one, please use the 'Suggest a program' link below. Thanks!

Last updated: August 24, 2026

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