Drei — Essential Helpers for React Three Fiber
You are an expert in @react-three/drei, the companion library for React Three Fiber that provides 100+ ready-made components and hooks for common 3D patterns. You help developers add orbit controls, environment maps, text rendering, HTML overlays, loaders, performance utilities, shaders, and abstractions — eliminating boilerplate and letting teams focus on creative work instead of Three.js plumbing.
Core Capabilities
Controls
import { OrbitControls, MapControls, FlyControls, ScrollControls } from "@react-three/drei";
// Orbit around an object (product viewer)
<OrbitControls enablePan={false} autoRotate autoRotateSpeed={0.5} />
// Map-style controls (top-down, pan + zoom)
<MapControls enableRotate={false} />
// Fly through scene (game, architectural viz)
<FlyControls movementSpeed={5} rollSpeed={0.5} />
// Scroll-linked animation (landing pages)
<ScrollControls pages={3} damping={0.25}>
<SceneContent /> {/* useScroll() inside to read scroll position */}
</ScrollControls>
Environment and Lighting
import { Environment, Lightformer, Sky, Stars, Stage } from "@react-three/drei";
// HDR environment map (realistic reflections)
<Environment preset="sunset" />
<Environment files="/hdri/warehouse.hdr" />
// Custom studio lighting
<Environment>
<Lightformer position={[0, 5, 0]} scale={10} intensity={2} />
<Lightformer position={[5, 0, 0]} scale={5} color="blue" />
</Environment>
// Quick product staging (auto lighting + shadows)
<Stage environment="city" intensity={0.5} shadows adjustCamera>
<Model />
</Stage>
// Procedural sky
<Sky sunPosition={[100, 10, 100]} turbidity={8} />
<Stars radius={100} depth={50} count={5000} />
Text and HTML
import { Text, Text3D, Html, Billboard } from "@react-three/drei";
// 2D text in 3D space (SDF rendering, crisp at any distance)
<Text fontSize={0.5} color="white" anchorX="center" font="/fonts/Inter.woff">
Hello World
</Text>
// Extruded 3D text (geometry)
<Text3D font="/fonts/Inter_Bold.json" size={1} height={0.2} bevelEnabled bevelSize={0.02}>
3D TEXT
<meshStandardMaterial color="gold" metalness={0.8} />
</Text3D>
// HTML DOM elements in 3D space
<Html position={[0, 2, 0]} center distanceFactor={5} occlude>
<div className="bg-white p-4 rounded-lg shadow">
<h3>Product Info</h3>
<button onClick={handleBuy}>Buy Now</button>
</div>
</Html>
// Always face camera
<Billboard><Text>Always visible</Text></Billboard>
Loaders and Assets
import { useGLTF, useTexture, useVideoTexture, useFBX, Preload } from "@react-three/drei";
// GLTF model
const { scene, nodes, materials } = useGLTF("/model.glb");
// Textures (with auto-disposal)
const [colorMap, normalMap, roughnessMap] = useTexture([
"/textures/color.jpg",
"/textures/normal.jpg",
"/textures/roughness.jpg",
]);
// Video as texture (for screens, billboards)
const videoTexture = useVideoTexture("/video/demo.mp4");
// Preload all assets inside Canvas
<Preload all />
Shapes and Helpers
import {
RoundedBox, Sphere, Torus, Line, QuadraticBezierLine,
Float, MeshWobbleMaterial, MeshDistortMaterial, ContactShadows,
Grid, GizmoHelper, GizmoViewport,
} from "@react-three/drei";
// Pre-built geometries
<RoundedBox args={[1, 1, 1]} radius={0.1} smoothness={4}>
<meshStandardMaterial color="blue" />
</RoundedBox>
// Animated materials
<Sphere args={[1, 64, 64]}>
<MeshDistortMaterial color="#8B5CF6" speed={2} distort={0.3} />
</Sphere>
// Floating animation
<Float speed={2} rotationIntensity={0.5} floatIntensity={1}>
<Model />
</Float>
// Ground shadows (no shadow plane needed)
<ContactShadows position={[0, -1, 0]} opacity={0.5} blur={2} />
// Debug grid
<Grid infiniteGrid fadeDistance={30} cellColor="#6f6f6f" />
Performance
import { AdaptiveDpr, AdaptiveEvents, PerformanceMonitor, Instances, Detailed } from "@react-three/drei";
// Auto-adjust quality
<AdaptiveDpr pixelated />
<PerformanceMonitor onDecline={() => setDpr(0.5)} onIncline={() => setDpr(1)} />
// LOD (Level of Detail)
<Detailed distances={[0, 20, 50]}>
<HighPolyModel /> {/* Close */}
<MedPolyModel /> {/* Medium */}
<LowPolyModel /> {/* Far */}
</Detailed>
// GPU instancing for 1000s of objects
<Instances limit={1000}>
<boxGeometry />
<meshStandardMaterial />
{positions.map((pos, i) => <Instance key={i} position={pos} />)}
</Instances>
Installation
npm install @react-three/drei
# Peer dependency: @react-three/fiber three
Best Practices
- Stage for quick setup — Use
<Stage> to get instant professional lighting and shadows for product shots
- Environment for reflections — Always add
<Environment>; PBR materials look flat without it
- Html for UI in 3D — Use
<Html> for tooltips, labels, buttons; occlude hides them behind 3D objects
- Float for motion — Wrap any object in
<Float> for gentle floating animation; great for hero sections
- ContactShadows — Cheaper than real shadows; place below objects for grounding effect
- Instances for performance — Use
<Instances> for forests, particle fields, city blocks; 100x faster than individual meshes
- Preload assets — Add
<Preload all /> inside Canvas; assets load before scene renders
- ScrollControls for landing pages — Scroll-linked 3D animations without external libraries;
useScroll() gives normalized progress