Chapter 795: Global Constants Reference

Core Idea

Three.js exposes hundreds of named numeric/string constants on the THREE namespace (blending, texture formats, tone mapping, shadow types, animation modes, etc.). This chapter curates the ones you'll actually reach for; the full list (1000+ entries, many WebGPU/compressed-texture format edge cases) lives in the official docs' Global page.

Key Concepts

• Side: FrontSide (default), BackSide, DoubleSide — which faces of a mesh get rendered.
• Blending: NoBlending, NormalBlending (default), AdditiveBlending, SubtractiveBlending, MultiplyBlending, CustomBlending.
• ToneMapping: NoToneMapping, LinearToneMapping, ReinhardToneMapping, CineonToneMapping, ACESFilmicToneMapping, AgXToneMapping, NeutralToneMapping.
• ColorSpace: NoColorSpace, SRGBColorSpace, LinearSRGBColorSpace.
• ShadowMapType: BasicShadowMap, PCFShadowMap (default), PCFSoftShadowMap, VSMShadowMap.
• Wrapping: RepeatWrapping, ClampToEdgeWrapping (default), MirroredRepeatWrapping.
• TextureFilter: NearestFilter, LinearFilter (default for mag), plus the four *MipmapNearest/LinearFilter combinations for minification.

Reference Tables

Rendering & materials

Constant group	Values
Side	FrontSide, BackSide, DoubleSide
Blending	NoBlending, NormalBlending, AdditiveBlending, SubtractiveBlending, MultiplyBlending, CustomBlending
Blend equation	AddEquation, SubtractEquation, ReverseSubtractEquation, MinEquation, MaxEquation
Blend factor	ZeroFactor, OneFactor, SrcColorFactor, DstColorFactor, SrcAlphaFactor, DstAlphaFactor (+ OneMinus* variants)
Depth/Stencil func	NeverDepth…AlwaysDepth, NeverStencilFunc…AlwaysStencilFunc (standard comparison-function set)
Stencil op	KeepStencilOp, ZeroStencilOp, ReplaceStencilOp, IncrementStencilOp, DecrementStencilOp, InvertStencilOp (+ Wrap variants)
Combine (env map)	MultiplyOperation, MixOperation, AddOperation
Normal map space	TangentSpaceNormalMap, ObjectSpaceNormalMap
Draw mode	TrianglesDrawMode, TriangleStripDrawMode, TriangleFanDrawMode

Textures

Constant group	Values
Mapping	UVMapping, CubeReflectionMapping, CubeRefractionMapping, EquirectangularReflectionMapping, EquirectangularRefractionMapping, CubeUVReflectionMapping
Wrapping	RepeatWrapping, ClampToEdgeWrapping, MirroredRepeatWrapping
Filter	NearestFilter, LinearFilter, NearestMipmapNearestFilter, NearestMipmapLinearFilter, LinearMipmapNearestFilter, LinearMipmapLinearFilter
Data type	UnsignedByteType, ByteType, ShortType, UnsignedShortType, IntType, UnsignedIntType, FloatType, HalfFloatType (+ packed UnsignedShort4444/5551Type, UnsignedInt101111/248/5999Type)
Pixel format	RGBAFormat, RedFormat, RGFormat, DepthFormat, DepthStencilFormat (+ Integer variants)
Compressed formats	Large family: RGB_S3TC_DXT1_Format, RGBA_ASTC_*_Format, RGB_ETC1/ETC2_Format, RGBA_BPTC_Format, RED_RGTC1_Format, etc. — pick per platform support, check renderer.capabilities.
Usage hints	StaticDrawUsage (default), DynamicDrawUsage, StreamDrawUsage (+ *ReadUsage, *CopyUsage)

Rendering pipeline

Constant group	Values
Tone mapping	NoToneMapping, LinearToneMapping, ReinhardToneMapping, CineonToneMapping, ACESFilmicToneMapping, AgXToneMapping, NeutralToneMapping
Color space	NoColorSpace, SRGBColorSpace, LinearSRGBColorSpace
Shadow map	BasicShadowMap, PCFShadowMap, PCFSoftShadowMap, VSMShadowMap
Depth packing	BasicDepthPacking, RGBADepthPacking, RGBDepthPacking, RGDepthPacking
Coordinate system	WebGLCoordinateSystem, WebGPUCoordinateSystem

Animation

Constant group	Values
Loop mode	LoopOnce, LoopRepeat, LoopPingPong
Interpolation	InterpolateDiscrete, InterpolateLinear, InterpolateSmooth, InterpolateBezier
Blend mode	NormalAnimationBlendMode, AdditiveAnimationBlendMode
Ending	ZeroCurvatureEnding, ZeroSlopeEnding, WrapAroundEnding

Anti-patterns

• Hardcoding raw numbers instead of the named constant: constant values aren't part of the public API contract — always reference THREE.AdditiveBlending etc., never the underlying number.
• Assuming every compressed texture format is supported everywhere: check renderer.capabilities / extension support before relying on ASTC/ETC2/PVRTC/S3TC/BPTC formats.

Key Takeaways

1. Constants are namespaced flat on THREE (e.g. THREE.AdditiveBlending), not nested per-category.
2. Defaults worth remembering: FrontSide, NormalBlending, ClampToEdgeWrapping, LinearFilter, PCFShadowMap, StaticDrawUsage.
3. Compressed texture formats are platform-dependent — always feature-detect, don't assume.
4. ColorSpace/ToneMapping constants matter for correct HDR/color-managed rendering — mismatches are a common cause of washed-out or over-saturated scenes.

Connects To

• Material: consumes Side/Blending/DepthPacking constants.
• Texture: consumes Wrapping/Filter/DataType/PixelFormat constants.
• WebGLRenderer / WebGPURenderer: consumes ToneMapping/ColorSpace/ShadowMap constants.
• AnimationAction: consumes LoopMode/BlendMode constants.