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EnglishWhat Is Goxel 3D Voxel Editor?
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Goxel is an open-source 3D voxel editor, and goxel.xyz is its official website. It is for anyone who wants to build 3D models by placing blocks on a grid rather than pushing vertices around in a traditional modeling package. The site's stated pitch is that voxels make 3D editing as intuitive as drawing in 2D, and it offers a free desktop download for Windows, Mac, and Linux, with the same editor also running on iOS and Android.
What "voxel editing" actually means
A voxel is the 3D equivalent of a pixel: a single value assigned to one cell of a 3D grid. Instead of defining surfaces and polygons, you fill cells, and the model is whatever set of cells you have filled.
That constraint is the whole appeal. Because every edit snaps to the grid, you never have to think about topology, edge flow, or whether two faces line up — you just add and remove blocks. The trade-off is resolution: curved, organic, or highly detailed surfaces are hard to express, while blocky, stylized forms are fast to produce. Voxel art shows up both inside video games and as a standalone art style.
What the site says Goxel provides
The official site lists four headline capabilities:
| Feature | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Unlimited scene size | Goxel uses sparse matrices internally, so the site states there is no restriction on how big a model can be. Empty space costs nothing. |
| Layers | You can split a scene into separate, independently editable 3D models. |
| Cross platform | Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. |
| Many export formats | Magica Voxel, Qubicle, glTF2, obj, ply, and Build engine. |
Two of these matter more than the others depending on your goal. Unlimited scene size is what separates a sparse-matrix voxel editor from a fixed-grid one — you are not choosing a canvas size up front and living with it. Export formats determine whether Goxel fits into an existing pipeline: glTF2 and obj are general 3D interchange formats, while Magica Voxel and Qubicle are voxel-specific formats used by other voxel tools.
Who it is for
- Beginners and 2D artists who want to make 3D assets without learning a conventional modeling workflow.
- Game developers producing blocky props, characters, or tilesets who need to export into an engine-friendly format.
- Tablet users — the site points to a video of French artist Thibault Simar using Goxel on an iPad Pro as an example of tablet use.
It is a weaker fit if you need smooth curved surfaces, sculpting, rigging, or animation inside the same tool. Goxel is an editor for voxel models, not a full 3D content creation suite.
How to get started
- Go to goxel.xyz and open the download page.
- Get the desktop version — the site describes it as free on the download page. If you are on iOS or Android, use the mobile build instead.
- Create a scene and start filling cells on the grid. Use layers when you want to work on one part of the model without touching the rest.
- When you are done, export to the format your next tool expects — glTF2 or obj for general 3D software, Magica Voxel or Qubicle if you are moving between voxel editors.
The main thing to verify before committing is the export path: check that the format you need is on the list above and that your downstream tool imports it cleanly.