	Web-first runtime integrated with Unity and Blender plugins, complemented by Needle Cloud for optimization and hosting. Needle	Combines an open-source engine with a proprietary cloud-based visual editor focused on collaborative game and interactive web app development. PlayCanvas	A web-based platform focused on creating and hosting social 3D environments accessible via web and VR. Spatial.io
Core Platform & Workflow
Solution Type	3D Engine Cloud Platform Authoring Tool Optimization Tool Web Component Needle Solution Type: 3d-engine, cloud-platform, authoring-tool, optimization-tool, web-component A comprehensive suite including a runtime engine, cloud services for optimization/hosting, authoring via Unity/Blender plugins, and embeddable web component output. Needle Engine Needle Cloud	3D Engine Cloud Platform Authoring Tool PlayCanvas Solution Type: 3d-engine, cloud-platform, authoring-tool An open-source runtime engine coupled with a proprietary, web-based collaborative visual editor platform. PlayCanvas Website	Cloud Platform Authoring Tool Spatial.io Solution Type: cloud-platform, authoring-tool A platform for building, hosting, and experiencing shared social 3D spaces ('metaverse'). Spatial Website
Made for the web	Needle Made for the web: Yes Built from the ground up for the web, focusing on fast loading, efficient rendering, and cross-platform web deployment. Needle Engine Samples	PlayCanvas Made for the web: Yes Designed and optimized for web deployment, particularly for games and interactive ads. SWOOOP Example	Limited Spatial.io Made for the web: Limited Designed for accessibility across web browsers and VR, balancing fidelity with performance for social experiences. Load times are relatively high because it builds on Unity's WebGL platform.
Typical Workflows	Unity Editor Blender Editor Code HTML Asset Upload Needle Typical Workflows: Unity Editor, Blender Editor, Code, HTML, Asset Upload Primary workflow involves using Unity or Blender as the authoring environment, exporting scenes and logic. Custom scripts (TypeScript/JavaScript) extend functionality. Needle Engine Samples	Web Editor Code PlayCanvas Typical Workflows: Web Editor, Code Primarily authored using the web-based visual editor, with scripting in JavaScript for custom logic. PlayCanvas Editor	Web Editor Unity Integration Spatial.io Typical Workflows: Web Editor, Unity Integration Users build and customize spaces using intuitive, integrated visual tools and templates. Spatial Create Page
Use with Unity	Needle Use with Unity: Yes Deep integration with Unity Editor via dedicated plugin, allowing export of scenes, C# scripts (transpiled), materials (Shader Graph), animations, and components. Needle Engine Documentation - Getting Started	PlayCanvas Use with Unity: No No direct integration; assets are imported in standard formats (glTF, FBX).	Spatial.io Use with Unity: Yes Via Spatial Toolkit, offers SDKs for importing assets or integrating experiences built with Unity. Spatial Documentation
Use with Blender	Needle Use with Blender: Yes Integration with Blender via addon, supporting export of scenes, materials, animations, and custom logic nodes. Needle Engine Documentation - Blender	PlayCanvas Use with Blender: No No direct integration; assets are imported in standard formats (glTF, FBX).	Spatial.io Use with Blender: No Imports standard 3D asset formats like glTF.
Interactivity Building Blocks	Needle Interactivity Building Blocks: Yes Includes a rich set of components for common interactions, animations, and UI elements. Needle Engine Documentation	PlayCanvas Interactivity Building Blocks: Yes Provides a component-based architecture with pre-built components for common interactions and behaviors. PlayCanvas User Manual - Scripting	Spatial.io Interactivity Building Blocks: Yes Provides components for social interaction, media sharing, and space customization. Spatial Platform
Extensible with Coding	Needle Extensible with Coding: Yes Uses TypeScript with full IDE support in both Unity and standalone projects. Needle Engine Documentation - Scripting	PlayCanvas Extensible with Coding: Yes JavaScript scripting system with component-based architecture. PlayCanvas User Manual - Scripting	Limited Spatial.io Extensible with Coding: Limited Primary creation is through no-code tools; Unity SDK allows interpreting a C# subset for more advanced applications. Spatial Documentation
Engine Capabilities
Physically-Based Rendering	Needle Physically-Based Rendering: Yes Supports Physically Based Rendering (PBR), custom shaders (via Unity Shader Graph export), lighting, and post-processing effects. Needle Engine Feature Overview	PlayCanvas Physically-Based Rendering: Yes Supports PBR materials, shadows, post-processing effects. PlayCanvas Docs - Graphics	Moderate Spatial.io Physically-Based Rendering: Moderate Balances visual quality with the need to support many concurrent users and run smoothly on web/VR.
Component System	Needle Component System: Yes Leverages the component-based architecture of Unity/Blender, extended with custom web-specific components. Needle Engine Documentation - Scripting	PlayCanvas Component System: Yes Built around an Entity-Component system architecture. PlayCanvas Docs - Entities	Spatial.io Component System: No Uses an internal architecture managed by the platform.
Built-in Networking	Needle Built-in Networking: Yes Built-in real-time networking for multiplayer and collaborative applications. Needle Engine Documentation - Networking	PlayCanvas Built-in Networking: No Requires external libraries or custom implementation for real-time networking, though collaborative editor uses networking tech.	Limited Spatial.io Built-in Networking: Limited Built-in networking for avatar interactions, voice chat, and shared experiences. Not extensible.
Timelines and Sequencing	Needle Timelines and Sequencing: Yes Supports timeline-based sequencing, complex animations, animator state machines, blending, and more.	Limited PlayCanvas Timelines and Sequencing: Limited Basic animation system but no comprehensive timeline or sequencing tool. PlayCanvas User Manual - Animation	Limited Spatial.io Timelines and Sequencing: Limited Basic trigger-based interactions but no comprehensive timeline system in the platform itself.
Animation Controls	Needle Animation Controls: Yes Supports complex animations authored in Unity (Animator, Timeline) or Blender and exports them for the web. Needle Engine Feature Overview	PlayCanvas Animation Controls: Yes Supports skeletal animation and state graph animations. PlayCanvas Docs - Animation	Limited Spatial.io Animation Controls: Limited Supports avatar animations and basic object animations.
Animated Materials	Needle Animated Materials: Yes Supports material animations, shader graph, and procedural material effects.	PlayCanvas Animated Materials: Yes Supports material animation and shader-based effects. PlayCanvas User Manual - Materials	Limited Spatial.io Animated Materials: Limited Supports animated textures but limited material animation capabilities.
Audio Playback	Needle Audio Playback: Yes Supports spatial audio configured via Unity/Blender components. Needle Engine AudioSource API	PlayCanvas Audio Playback: Yes Includes features for playing audio sources, including positional audio. PlayCanvas Docs - Audio	Spatial.io Audio Playback: Yes Includes spatial audio for real-time voice communication between avatars.
Video Playback	Needle Video Playback: Yes Supports video textures and playback controlled via components. Needle Engine VideoPlayer API	PlayCanvas Video Playback: Yes Supports video textures. PlayCanvas Tutorial - Video Textures	Spatial.io Video Playback: Yes Supports screen sharing and embedding media within spaces.
Physics Integration	Needle Physics Integration: Yes Integrates with physics engines, configured via Unity/Blender components.	PlayCanvas Physics Integration: Yes Integrates the ammo.js physics engine (Wasm port of Bullet). PlayCanvas Docs - Physics	Limited Spatial.io Physics Integration: Limited Handles basic avatar movement and interactions within the platform constraints.
glTF 3D Support	Excellent Needle glTF 3D Support: Excellent Uses glTF as its core runtime format and supports import of various formats (FBX, USD, VRM etc.) which are converted. Needle Cloud	PlayCanvas glTF 3D Support: Yes Supports import and use of the glTF 2.0 standard.	Spatial.io glTF 3D Support: Yes Supports uploading glTF models for use in spaces. Spatial Help - Supported Files
Custom User Interfaces	Needle Custom User Interfaces: Yes Facilitates creation of UI using standard HTML/CSS and frontend frameworks, integrated with the 3D scene. Needle Engine Documentation - HTML	PlayCanvas Custom User Interfaces: Yes Includes a built-in UI system for creating screen space or world space interfaces. PlayCanvas Docs - User Interface	Spatial.io Custom User Interfaces: No Provides the user interface for navigation, communication, and interaction within the platform.
Web Integration & Deployment
Web Component	Needle Web Component: Yes Exports projects as standard web components (<needle-engine> tag) for easy embedding into any HTML page or web application. Needle Engine Documentation - Web Component	PlayCanvas Web Component: No Embedding typically done via iframe, not as a custom web component.	Spatial.io Web Component: No Experiences are accessed through the Spatial platform/website.
PWA Support	Needle PWA Support: Yes Being web-native, Needle Engine projects can be easily included in Progressive Web Apps for offline capabilities and installation.	PlayCanvas PWA Support: No Web builds can be packaged as PWAs, though no specific PWA features are provided by the engine itself.	Spatial.io PWA Support: No The platform is web-based.
HTML/CSS Integration	Excellent Needle HTML/CSS Integration: Excellent Designed to seamlessly integrate with HTML, CSS, and frontend frameworks (React, Vue, Svelte etc.), allowing blending of 2D UI and 3D content. Needle Engine Documentation - HTML	PlayCanvas HTML/CSS Integration: Yes Allows interaction with HTML/CSS, often used for UI overlays. PlayCanvas Docs - HTML/CSS UI	Limited Spatial.io HTML/CSS Integration: Limited Focus is on the immersive 3D environment within the platform.
Host Anywhere	Needle Host Anywhere: Yes The core runtime can be self-hosted on any static server. Needle Cloud features (optimization, hosting, analytics) require the cloud service. Needle Cloud	Limited PlayCanvas Host Anywhere: Limited Builds run on static hosting. The visual editor is a cloud service.	Spatial.io Host Anywhere: No Requires Spatial's backend infrastructure for hosting, networking, and persistence.
Asset Hosting	Needle Asset Hosting: Yes Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized assets. Needle Cloud	PlayCanvas Asset Hosting: Yes Assets are hosted as part of the PlayCanvas cloud platform.	Spatial.io Asset Hosting: Yes Hosts user-uploaded assets and created spaces.
App Hosting	Needle App Hosting: Yes Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized applications. Needle Cloud	PlayCanvas App Hosting: Yes When using the PlayCanvas cloud services, apps can be hosted on PlayCanvas servers. PlayCanvas Hosting	Required Spatial.io App Hosting: Required Experiences are hosted on the Spatial platform.
Performance & Optimization
Engine Size	Medium Needle Engine Size: Medium Optimized runtime aims for minimal footprint, size depends on included features.	Small/Medium PlayCanvas Engine Size: Small/Medium Engine core is relatively lightweight, focusing on web performance.	Large Spatial.io Engine Size: Large Includes rendering, networking, avatar systems, and platform features.
Loading Performance	Excellent Needle Loading Performance: Excellent Rapid development cycles and fast loading times through optimized runtime and asset handling. Needle Engine Samples	Fast/Moderate PlayCanvas Loading Performance: Fast/Moderate Generally offers good loading performance, optimized for web delivery.	Moderate Spatial.io Loading Performance: Moderate Loading times depend on the complexity of the space and number of assets.
Runtime Performance	Excellent Needle Runtime Performance: Excellent Designed for efficient rendering performance across desktop, mobile, and XR devices.	High PlayCanvas Runtime Performance: High Optimized for efficient runtime performance on web platforms.	Moderate Spatial.io Runtime Performance: Moderate Performance can vary depending on scene complexity, number of concurrent users, and device capabilities.
Smart Asset Optimization	Excellent Needle Smart Asset Optimization: Excellent Needle Cloud provides significant automated optimization: LOD generation, mesh optimization, extensive texture compression (Basis Universal, WebP, JPG, PNG) and resizing options. Needle Cloud	PlayCanvas Smart Asset Optimization: Yes Editor provides options for texture compression (Basis, DXT, PVRTC, ETC) and model optimization settings. PlayCanvas Docs - Assets	Limited Spatial.io Smart Asset Optimization: Limited Platform performs basic compression on uploaded assets, but no simplification.
Mesh and Texture LODs	Excellent Needle Mesh and Texture LODs: Excellent Supports automatic mesh simplification, level-of-detail generation and automatic texture compression with multiple quality levels.	PlayCanvas Mesh and Texture LODs: Yes Supports mesh LODs and offers texture compression options during asset imports. PlayCanvas User Manual - Assets	Spatial.io Mesh and Texture LODs: No Platform automatically handles compresses textures, but does not generate mesh or texture LODs for uploaded assets. Texture Compression Toggle
XR Support (AR/VR/Spatial)
VR Support (WebXR)	Needle VR Support (WebXR): Yes Supports VR headsets via the WebXR standard. Needle Engine Documentation - XR	PlayCanvas VR Support (WebXR): Yes Supports VR experiences via WebXR. PlayCanvas Docs - WebXR	Spatial.io VR Support (WebXR): Yes Strong support for accessing spaces via VR headsets for a more immersive experience.
AR Support (WebXR)	Needle AR Support (WebXR): Yes Supports markerless WebAR on compatible Android devices via the WebXR standard. Needle Engine Documentation - XR	PlayCanvas AR Support (WebXR): Yes Supports AR experiences via WebXR. PlayCanvas Docs - WebXR	Spatial.io AR Support (WebXR): No Primary focus is on virtual spaces (Web/VR), not mobile AR.
AR Support (iOS)	Needle AR Support (iOS): Yes Supports interactive markerless WebAR on iOS devices via WebXR. Needle Engine Documentation - XR	PlayCanvas AR Support (iOS): No Claims USDZ export but no documentation exists. PlayCanvas Docs - WebXR	Spatial.io AR Support (iOS): No Not supported.
AR Support (visionOS)	Needle AR Support (visionOS): Yes Explicit support for creating spatial computing experiences deployable on visionOS. Needle Engine Samples	PlayCanvas AR Support (visionOS): No Claims USDZ export but no documentation exists.	Spatial.io AR Support (visionOS): No Not supported.
AR Tracking Types	Surface Image Needle AR Tracking Types: Surface, Image Supports World Tracking via the WebXR standard on compatible devices. Image tracking is supported on iOS AR but requires a device-specific flag for Android AR. Needle Engine Documentation - XR	Surface PlayCanvas AR Tracking Types: Surface Supports World Tracking via WebXR.	N/A Spatial.io AR Tracking Types: N/A Not an AR-focused platform.
Ecosystem & Support
Official Support Availability	Needle Official Support Availability: Yes Dedicated support available for licensed users. Needle Pricing	PlayCanvas Official Support Availability: Yes Support is included with paid subscription plans. PlayCanvas Pricing	Spatial.io Official Support Availability: Yes Support available, particularly for paid/enterprise users.
Learning Resources	Needle Learning Resources: Yes Extensive documentation, tutorials, live samples, and active community support. Needle Documentation Needle Samples Needle Community Discord	Good PlayCanvas Learning Resources: Good Offers tutorials, example projects, and documentation. PlayCanvas Tutorials	Good Spatial.io Learning Resources: Good Help center, tutorials, and community resources available for creators. Spatial YouTube
License	Commercial Needle License: Commercial Commercial license required for full features and deployment. Free evaluation available. Needle Pricing	Open Source, Commercial PlayCanvas License: Open Source, Commercial The runtime engine is MIT licensed, but the collaborative editor platform requires a subscription for private projects and advanced features. PlayCanvas Pricing PlayCanvas Engine GitHub	Commercial Spatial.io License: Commercial Offers free access with paid tiers for enhanced features, capacity, or customization. Spatial Pricing

FAQ – frequently asked questions

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What is Needle Cloud?

Needle Cloud is an online service provided by Needle designed to host, manage, optimize, and share 3D assets and spatial web applications. Instead of setting up and managing your own web server infrastructure, you can use Needle Cloud to get your Needle Engine projects online.

Key features and functions:

Spatial Web Hosting: Directly deploy and host web applications built with Needle Engine (from Unity or Blender integrations, or via CLI) onto Needle's infrastructure. This makes your projects accessible via a public URL without manual server setup.
Asset Management & Optimization: Upload 3D assets in various formats (glTF, GLB, FBX, USD, VRM, etc.). Needle Cloud automatically processes and optimizes these assets (e.g., creating multiple levels of detail for meshes and textures) to ensure fast loading and good performance on the web.
Content Delivery Network (CDN): Hosted assets and applications benefit from Needle's CDN, ensuring fast access for users globally.
Sharing & Version Control: Easily share links to your hosted assets or applications. The platform supports uploading new versions while keeping URLs consistent, and allows tagging specific versions (e.g., 'main', 'experimental') for review workflows.
Automation (CLI): Offers a command-line interface (CLI) to automate uploading and optimization, allowing integration into existing CI/CD pipelines.
Privacy & Security: Designed for private management of assets, not as a public marketplace or social network. Options for password protection on hosted apps are available.

Learn More: Needle Cloud Documentation

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Why should I use Needle Cloud?

Needle Cloud makes hosting, sharing, and optimizing your 3D projects easy. It removes the need for you to set up and manage your own web servers and CDNs, handles complex 3D asset optimization for fast web delivery, and provides easy ways to share projects with the world.

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Do I have to use Needle Cloud to deploy Needle Engine projects?

No. Needle Engine exports standard web projects (HTML, JS, CSS, glTF assets). You can host these projects on any web server or hosting platform you choose (like Netlify, Vercel, GitHub Pages, itch.io or your own server).

Needle Cloud is an optional, convenient service provided by Needle to streamline this process, especially for asset optimization and quick sharing.

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How do I upload 3D assets to Needle Cloud?

You can upload assets and projects using the Needle Cloud website. After you sign up, you can simply drop your assets on the page to upload and optimize them.

If you're managing a lot of assets, you can use the Needle Cloud Command Line Interface (CLI) for automation. The CLI is particularly useful for integrating Needle Cloud into your existing deployment workflows.

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How do I upload websites to Needle Cloud?

You can upload projects to Needle Cloud via our Unity and Blender integrations. Both of them have Needle Cloud built-in and uploading a new version of an app is just a click away.

You can also upload projects using the Needle Cloud website. After you sign up, drop your built project folder (containing a static website with a index.html and its dependencies) on the page to upload it.

Or you can deploy directly from CI environments like Github using the Needle Cloud CLI: Automated Deployments

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What kind of files can I upload?

Needle Cloud is primarily designed for 3D assets used in realtime projects. It accepts common formats like glTF, GLB, FBX, USD, VRM, OBJ. We optimize these files for efficient web usage – glTF/GLB with various optimization levels.

Cloud Optimization uses the same powerful pipeline that ships with our Needle Engine integrations.

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How does Needle Cloud optimize my files?

Optimization in Needle Cloud refers to automatically processing your uploaded 3D assets to make them load faster and perform better on the web. This includes tasks like:

Mesh simplification (creating multiple level-of-detail meshes) for progressive loading
Texture resizing (creating different resolutions) for progressive loading
Mesh compression with GPU optimized formats (Draco, Meshopt)
Texture compression with GPU optimized formats (KTX/Basis Universal, WebP)
Converting different 3D model formats to the web-standard glTF/GLB
Ensuring assets are delivered efficiently via our Content Delivery Network (CDN).

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Is Needle Cloud like Sketchfab, Fab, or other 3D marketplaces?

No. Needle Cloud is primarily a private and secure hosting and asset management platform for your own projects and team workflows. Your assets are not publicly discoverable, it's not a marketplace, and it doesn't try to be a social platform.

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Is Needle Cloud secure? Can I keep my projects private?

Yes. Needle Cloud is designed for private 3D asset management and hosting. You manage access to your account and assets. Hosted applications and assets have options for password-protected sharing.

Needle Cloud is compliant with GDPR regulations, ensuring your data is handled securely and privately.

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How much does Needle Cloud cost?

Creating an account on Needle Cloud is free. For commercial use of Needle Engine and Needle Cloud you need a Pro license, which gives you full access to our suite of tools and services.

For pricing details, please refer to the pricing page.

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How does Needle Cloud relate to Needle Engine?

Needle Cloud and Needle Engine can be used independently, but they are designed to work together seamlessly.

Needle Cloud is a web service used to host, optimize, and share 3D assets and apps made with Needle.
Needle Engine is the runtime and tooling, with integrations into Unity and Blender, used to create rich, interactive 3D web apps.

3D assets uploaded to Needle Cloud can be linked into apps made with Needle, and into other realtime applications. Apps made with Needle can be hosted in Needle cloud.

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How do we make your 3D models load faster?

Needle optimizes your 3D models using a combination of best practices and technology developed by us. We created a technique we call Progressive Loading to get your content on screen much faster. It functions similar to lazy loading for images on a webpage.

Instead of having to wait for the entire high-quality model to download, we create a number of progressively simplified versions upfront, that load almost immediately. Then, we continue downloading the higher-quality details in the background and seamlessly swap them in once they arrive.

This has a number of benefits:

Your users see something sooner
No more staring at blank spaces waiting for big files to finish downloading.
Your application loads faster
The overall experience is much more responsive, even on slower connections.
High-quality details are preserved
We're not reducing the quality of your models – they stay as high-quality as you made them. Simplified versions are used during loading, or when users look at them from a distance, but as soon as they get close, we swap in the full detail version.

Think of it like loading an image on a webpage: you might see a somewhat blurry version first that quickly gets sharper. We bring that same instant preview experience to 3D models.

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What is Needle Engine?

Needle Engine is a flexible, web-based runtime designed for creating interactive 3D apps and spatial websites. It emphasizes fast iteration speeds and aims to bridge the gap between artist-friendly tools like Unity and Blender and modern web development practices.

Needle Engine builds upon the three.js library.

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Can I really make apps where users don't need to install anything?

Yes! Needle Engine is designed for the web. This means users can access your apps directly in their browser without needing to install anything. This is a key advantage of using Needle Engine, as it allows for easy sharing and distribution.

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What devices and browsers does Needle Engine support?

Any device that has a modern browser. Needle Engine is designed for cross-platform compatibility and works in any browser with WebGL2 support. Apps made with it run on mobile phones, desktops, VR headsets and AR devices, and even future devices as long as they have a browser.

For immersive experiences in VR and AR, we leverage WebXR where available. Scenes are also compatible with AR on iOS via our interactive on-the-fly USDZ conversion for QuickLook, supported on iOS, iPadOS and visionOS.

Browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Quest Browser, Samsung Browser, QQ Browser, ...
Desktop platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, ...
Mobile platforms: iOS, iPadOS, Android, Steam Deck, ...
VR and AR devices: Meta Quest, Pico, Valve Index, Hololens, Magic Leap, Apple Vision Pro, ...

Learn More about supported XR devices

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How does Needle Engine work with Unity?

Needle provides a powerful Unity Package to integrate with Needle Engine. You can use Unity's visual tools to set up scenes, and export them to the browser through Needle Engine. You can use PBR materials, animations and sequencing, lighting and lightmaps, physics, custom components, and more.

Needle Engine is a modern alternative to Unity's WebGL builds, but with a focus on fast iteration and web-native features like WebXR. On average, apps made with Needle load at least 10x faster than Unity WebGL equivalents.

Learn More: Getting Started Documentation

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How does Needle Engine work with Blender?

Needle Engine provides a powerful Blender Add-On to integrate with Needle Engine. This integration allows users to set up and export complex 3D scenes directly from Blender to the web. It supports exporting models, materials, animations. The Add-On adds features like timelines, sequencing and animator state machines to Blender, and includes easy tools to create beautiful lightmapped scenes with a few clicks.

Learn More: Getting Started Documentation

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Can I use Needle Engine without Unity or Blender?

Yes. Needle Engine can be used directly via its npm package within standard web development workflows (e.g., with Vite, React, Vue, Svelte). It also offers a convenient Web Component (<needle-engine>) that allows embedding 3D scenes directly into HTML with minimal code.

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I'm using another 3D software. Can I use Needle Engine?

Probably yes. You can create your 3D scene in any software that supports exporting to glTF, and either upload exported files directly to Needle Cloud or integrate the scene with a Needle Engine web project. You'll add components and interactivity via programming, if needed.

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What are the core technologies behind Needle Engine?

Needle Engine brings together several key technologies that are required to build today's modern 3D web apps.

Development Environment: Needle Engine is built with TypeScript, and uses vite and node.js as development environment. This allows you to use hot reloading and fast iteration speeds, similar to other modern web development frameworks.
Rendering: Needle uses the popular three.js library for rendering.
Component System: Needle provides a component-based architecture for building interactive experiences. This allows you to create reusable components and attach them to objects in your scene, similar to other game engines.
- Built-In Functionality: Needle Engine provides many built-in components that can be used to create interactive experiences. These components are designed to be easy to use and can be added to objects in your scene without writing any code.
- Physics: We use Rapier.js for physics simulation, which is an efficient physics engine that works well in the browser.
- Networking: Needle Engine has built-in networking capabilities, powered by WebRTC and Peer.js, running on our own networking stack.
- Custom Components: New components can be created in TypeScript or JavaScript. We automatically generate UI for Unity and Blender so that you can easily assign and configure them in the editor.
Data: The core asset format we use is glTF 2.0. Beyond the standard glTF features and Khronos extensions, we're using custom extensions (called vendor extensions) to store rich scene and component data like lighting settings, physics data, audio, video and much more.
Integrations: Needle Engine has integrations for Unity and Blender, which allow you to create and export 3D scenes directly from these applications. The integrations provide a seamless workflow for artists and developers, allowing them to use the tools they are already familiar with while taking advantage of the powerful features of Needle Engine.

Learn more about our contributions to glTF

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I need high-quality visuals. Is that possible on the web?

Yes. Needle Engine fully supports Physically-Based Rendering workflows (PBR). We support many sophisticated glTF material extensions like clearcoat, transmission, IOR, specular, iridescence, anisotropy, volume and dispersion for rich visual effects and realistic results.

Needle also provides fine-grained control over lighting and shadows of your scene and assets. You can use modern tonemapping algorithms like AgX and ACES, and add a wide range of post-processing effects like bloom, depth of field, color grading, and more to your scene.

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Can I use visual shader tools like Unity's Shader Graph?

Yes, when using the Unity integration, custom unlit shaders created with Shader Graph can be exported to the web, allowing artists to create custom visual effects without writing code.

Please vote for MaterialX support in Needle Engine for even more seamless workflows.

Learn More: Custom Shader Documentation

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How does Needle Engine handle light, shadows, and lightmaps?

Needle Engine supports image-based lighting, real-time light sources and baked lighting. Image-based lighting (IBL) uses high-dynamic-range (HDR) images to create realistic lighting and reflections with near-zero performance impact. It can be used with or without real-time lights. Real-time lights can be point, spot, or directional light sources.

Needle also allows fine-grained control over shadows, including enabling shadow casting and receiving on a per-object basis. Lightmaps can be baked and exported from our Unity and Blender integrations.

Additionally, reflection probes are also supported, and you can add post-processing effects like bloom, depth of field, and color grading to enhance the visual quality of your scenes.

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Can I create collaborative apps or multiplayer games with Needle?

Yes. Networking is a built-in feature in Needle Engine, and many of our components support networking out of the box. Our networking stack can be used at no additional cost across all supported platforms.

We provide both no-code components and scripting APIs for creating multi-user experiences with synchronized world states, networked objects, persistent storage, and integrated voice chat and screensharing capabilities.

These features allow creating real-time collaborative applications, virtual worlds, multiplayer games, and other interactive experiences where multiple users can interact with the same 3D environment, or where a user can come back to the same state of the world later.

Learn More: Networking Documentation

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Does Needle Engine support Augmented Reality on Android and iOS?

Yes. Needle Engine supports AR on Android and iOS right from the browser. Where available, we use WebXR, which brings VR and AR to browsers on devices like Android phones and Quest headsets. For iOS devices, which currently lack WebXR support, we convert your scene on-device to interactive USDZ, the format required for Apple QuickLook.

Our Everywhere Actions allow creating interactive apps for all platforms without writing any code.

Learn More: AR Documentation Learn More: Everywhere Actions

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What are Everywhere Actions?

Everywhere Actions are components that ship with Needle Engine and are available in the Unity integration. They allow creating common interactions, like playing audio or animations on click, changing materials, toggling visibility or having objects look at the camera, without writing code.

They are called Everywhere Actions because they work on all platforms, including the limited interactivity environment of iOS AR (QuickLook/USDZ).

Learn More: Everywhere Actions

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Does Needle Engine support physics simulation?

Yes, Needle Engine includes support for real-time physics simulation. You can add Rigidbody components and various collider types (box, sphere, mesh) to objects within the Unity or Blender integrations, and these physics properties will be exported and simulated in the web runtime.

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Can I use animations and sequencing in Needle Engine?

Yes. Needle Engine allows for animation workflows ranging from simple object animations, over character state machines, to choreographing and sequencing many different clips and assets.

You can animate characters, lights, cameras, component properties, and materials. When using the Unity integration, both Animator controllers (for state machines) and Timelines (for sequencing) are exported into web-ready formats, including Animation, Audio, Activation, Control, and Signal tracks. Some features are limited, like blend tree and sub-statemachine support.

Technically, animation in Needle Engine is made possible by the KHR_animation_pointer glTF extension and our own extensions for timelines, sequencing, audio, video and more.

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Can I write custom code or make my own components?

Yes! Needle Engine uses a component-based workflow. You can create custom components using TypeScript or JavaScript, and attach them to objects in your scene.
When using the Unity/Blender integration, there's a system where you write TypeScript code, and a compiler automatically generates corresponding C# components / panels in Unity/Blender for easy assignment and property inspection in the editor. This allows you to leverage the editor's visual tools while still writing custom logic in TypeScript.

Learn More: Scripting Documentation

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Do I have to write code to work with Needle Engine?

No. Needle Engine is designed to be accessible to artists and developers alike. You can create interactive experiences using Visual Tools like our Unity and Blender integrations, and use Everywhere Actions for common interactions without writing code. A lot of projects can be made without any coding at all.

If you want to create more complex interactions, you can write custom scripts in TypeScript or JavaScript. Our scripting API is designed to be intuitive and easy to use, even for those new to programming. We also provide AI assistance for coding help, and a lot of examples to get you started.

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How does Needle Engine make projects load so fast on the web?

Needle Engine incorporates an automatic optimization pipeline. This optimization pipeline can improve load times tremendously, even for very complex scenes, without you having to do anything.

Here's how it works:

We automatically create multiple levels of detail (LODs) for all meshes and textures in your scene. These LODs are in separate files, so they can be loaded progressively. This means that when a user first loads your scene, they see a low-resolution version of the model, and as they get closer, the higher-resolution versions are loaded in the background.
We compress all 3D assets using state-of-the-art, industry-proven compression algorithms like Draco for meshes and KTX2 or WebP for textures. Together with progressive loading, this ensures faster load times, vastly lower memory usage, and better runtime performance.
At runtime, we use GPU instancing and automated batched rendering for additional performance.

Learn More about Optimization

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What is the performance like on mobile devices? Any specific recommendations?

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What do I need to install to use Needle Engine on my computer?

You'll need Node.js (LTS versions recommended) for managing your web project, previewing, and building. A code editor like Visual Studio Code is needed for writing code and adjusting the HTML UI of your app. For texture optimization, installing KTX Utility is recommended.

Download Node.js Download Visual Studio Code Learn More: Getting Started with Needle

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Is Needle Engine free? Can it be used for commercial projects?

Needle Engine has different plans. You can get started for free, and keep using Needle for free for non-commercial use, with our logo visible. For commercial use, you'll need a Pro license. All licenses include Needle Cloud usage.

See Pricing

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Where can I find documentation, tutorials, and examples?

Exensive documentation and examples are available:

Documentation: docs.needle.tools
Tutorials: Video guides on our YouTube channel.
Samples: 100+ open-source example projects.
Showcase: Projects made with Needle by our customers.
AI Assistant: Available in the Needle Cloud team page, and in our forum. Our AI assistant is trained on our documentation and can help you with questions about Needle Engine, Unity, Blender, and more.
For offline AI usage we offer llms.txt / llms-full.txt files for download.

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Can I use AI tools with Needle Engine?

Yes! We provide a free AI assistant that knows all about our docs on Needle Cloud, and in our forum. They are pretty good at helping you with you with coding and questions.

Additionally, we provide llms.txt and llms-full.txt files that you can pass as context to your own AI models.

Ask questions in the forum Sign in and then go to your team page to chat with our AI

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How can I get support or connect with the community?

We have an active and supportive community. Connect via:

Discord Server: discord.needle.tools
Community Forum: forum.needle.tools including the Needle AI assistant
Social Media: Twitter/X or YouTube
AI Assistant: Available in the Needle Cloud team page, and in our forum. The AI assistant is trained on our documentation and can help you with questions about Needle Engine, Unity, Blender, and more.

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Where can I host apps made with Needle?

Apps made with Needle can be hosted anywhere. Needle Engine projects are often static web sites – that means they don't require any server code, only file hosting. So projects can be deployed wherever you can host files, for example on a web server, cloud storage, or hosting platform. Of course, you can also bring your own server-side code.

Needle Cloud is our recommended hosting solution, designed to work seamlessly with Needle Engine. It includes a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for fast global access. It also provides easy deployment options from Unity and Blender, and allows managing 3D assets and web apps with your team.

Other options include:

Hosting Services: Services like Needle Cloud, Netlify, Vercel, GitHub Pages, Cloudflare Pages, itch.io, or Glitch are excellent choices and often have free tiers. Needle's editor integrations include direct deployment options to some of these services.
Cloud Storage: Cloudflare R2, AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob Storage and others can serve pages globally via CDN, similar to Needle Cloud.
Web Servers: Deploy to Apache, IIS, or other servers capable of serving static content.
On-Premises: You can host apps made with Needle on your own servers and infrastructure.
As part of other websites: You can seamlessly integrate Needle within existing web applications made with any framework – React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, Next.js, etc.

Learn More: Deployment Documentation

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Can I integrate OAuth or other authentication methods?

Yes. Needle Engine runs as part of a standard web page or web application. It does not handle authentication directly, but you can implement authentication using standard web practices and connect it to your app.

How it works:

Your surrounding web application – the page where Needle is used – handles the authentication flow (e.g., redirecting to an OAuth provider like Google, Azure AD, Auth0, Okta; or handling JWT tokens).
Once the user is authenticated, your application's frontend code has access to user information or tokens.
You can use this authentication status to:
- Control access to the Needle Engine experience itself.
- Pass user information or tokens to Needle Engine components and scripts if needed, for example to personalize the experience or make authenticated API calls from within the 3D scene
- Secure backend API calls made from your Needle application using bearer tokens or session cookies.

Essentially, Needle Engine operates within the security context established by your broader web application.

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Can Needle Engine connect to backend databases or APIs?

Yes. Needle Engine applications are web applications running JavaScript in the browser. You can use standard browser APIs like fetch() or libraries like axios within your custom Needle Engine components to:

Fetch data from any RESTful API, GraphQL endpoint, or similar
Send data back to your servers, for example to save user progress, submit high scores, update state.
Connect to backend services for real-time updates using WebSockets or other protocols if needed.

Your backend can be built with any technology (Node.js, Python, Java, .NET, etc.) and connect to any database (SQL, NoSQL). Needle Engine interacts with it via standard web API calls.

For some of your backend needs, Needle's built-in networking might already be enough – for example, for storing a persistant world state across sessions. Consult the documentation for more details on how to choose the right approach for your use case.

Learn More: Networking Documentation

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Can Needle Engine scale to many users? What about multiplayer?

Yes. Scalability involves multiple aspects:

Website Load Times: Needle uses best practices for the modern web and modern formats, like compressed glTF and progresssive loading, to optimize load times and rendering performance. This means that many users can simultaneously access websites made with Needle, same as other static websites. Using a CDN like Needle Cloud improves load times for globally distributed users as well.
Rendering Performance: Performance depends on scene complexity, target hardware, and optimizations. Needle builds on Three.js, benefiting from its performance characteristics. Needle does many optimizations out of the box, and you can additionally optimize your assets within Unity or Blender (reducing triangle count, draw calls, texture sizes) if needed.
Networking and Multiplayer: Needle's built-in networking uses WebRTC (PeerJS), which is suitable for shared sessions with ~16-32 concurrent users, depending on scene complexity and server performance. For larger-scale concurrency (hundreds/thousands of users), you would typically need a dedicated server architecture or integrate with third-party scalable networking solutions. Needle's networking components might serve as a starting point and you can later switch to solutions for massive-scale scenarios if needed.
Backend Scalability: If your application relies heavily on server-side code, the scalability of that backend infrastructure is a separate but critical factor for handling many users. This depends on your backend technology and architecture. For example, using serverless functions or microservices can help scale your backend to handle many concurrent users.

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Can I create configurators with Needle Engine?

Yes! Needle Engine is exceptionally well-suited for building interactive product configurators for the web.

Our workflow, leveraging powerful editors like Unity and Blender, allows you to set up complex product variations, material swaps, animations, and conditional logic visually. You can then easily connect these 3D configurations to your web UI, built with standard HTML/CSS/JS or frameworks like React, Vue, Svelte, or others.

Key strengths for configurators include:

Handling complex 3D scenes and asset variations efficiently.
Optimized performance for smooth interaction on the web.
Ability to integrate seamlessly into existing e-commerce platforms or websites.
Robust scripting capabilities (TypeScript/JavaScript) for custom logic.
Built-in supoort for AR on Android and iOS, allowing users to visualize products in their environment.

So yes, building sophisticated, performant product configurators is a core use case we designed Needle Engine to handle effectively.

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Can I make web games with Needle Engine?

Yes, you can definitely create games with Needle, specifically targeting the web platform. If you're familiar with building games in Unity or Blender, you'll find our workflow very natural.

You can leverage many familiar game development concepts:

Building interactive scenes and levels visually.
Animation systems (including state machines exported from Unity).
Scripting complex game logic using TypeScript or JavaScript.
Multi-user support for networked games.
Physics integration.

Needle Engine provide the core capabilities needed to build engaging games, educational content, promotional games, or other interactive experiences directly for browsers and spatial web platforms.

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Can I showcase my product with Needle Engine?

Yes, showcasing one or many products is a great use case for Needle Engine, especially if you need more than just basic model rotation.

While simple viewers can be achieved with tools like <model-viewer>, Needle Engine allows you to build much richer and more interactive experiences for users:

High-fidelity visuals: Leverage advanced materials, lighting, and shadows.
Complex animations: Showcase product features with intricate animations or exploded views.
Interactivity: Allow users to trigger animations, swap parts (like in a configurator), or interact with specific components.
Performance: Our optimization pipeline and progressive loading ensure even detailed models load quickly.
AR Integration: Easily add WebXR capabilities to view products in Augmented Reality.
Interactive USDZ export: Create engaging AR views for iOS Quick Look.

So, if you need to go beyond static display and create truly engaging, performant, and interactive product showcases on the web, Needle Engine is an excellent choice.

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Can I integrate Needle Engine with my existing CMS like WordPress, Shopify, and others?

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Can I integrate analytics tools with apps made with Needle?

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How does content created with Needle impact SEO?

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Does Needle Engine support multiple languages or localization?

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Can I use Needle Engine for tradeshows or other areas with limited internet access?

Yes! Through Progressive Web App (PWA) capabilities, your Needle app can run even without internet, and even be installed on devices if needed.

The typical workflow:

Create your app using Needle Engine.
Add the Needle PWA plugin.
On the presentation device (kiosk, tablet, PC), open the application's URL once while online. All assets will automatically be cached.
The device can now be taken offline. The PWA will run reliably from the local cache, providing a seamless experience. You can also install the PWA on the device – adding it to the home screen or desktop – for easier launching.

Learn More: Creating a PWA for Needle Engine In Depth: What is a PWA (MDN docs)

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Can apps made with Needle run without internet access?

Yes, apps made with Needle Engine can be configured to run offline by turning them into Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), or by embedding them in native frameworks like Flutter.

With a single line of code, you can turn your app into a PWA, which allows it to be run offline and even be installed on devices. This is done by leveraging the browser's capabilities to cache assets and serve them locally – battle-tested technologies that most browsers have adopted. Service workers and the Cache API allow fine-grained control over what gets cached and when, so you can ensure that your app is always available, even without an internet connection.

Here's the concept:

You enhance your Needle Engine web project with PWA capabilties. This adds a Service Worker and a Web App Manifest.
When a user visits online for the first time, the Service Worker installs and caches the app's assets.
On subsequent visits, even without internet, the Service Worker serves the cached files, enabling offline operation. The PWA can also be installed by users for easier access.
If needed, this PWA can be wrapped in a native app container (like Tauri, Electron, Capacitor or Trusted Web Apps) for distribution through app stores.

Learn More: Creating a PWA for Needle Engine Learn More: PWABuilder for App Store distribution

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Can I create Facebook Instant Games with Needle Engine?

Yes! Needle Engine is well-suited for building games for Facebook Instant Games. Our engine exports standard, performant web projects compatible with the platform's requirements, and we provide built-in support to streamline the process.

Our integration enables the following features:

Adds the SDK: Automatically adds script tags to add the Facebook Instant Games SDK.
Automatic initialization: Uses FBInstant.initializeAsync() and FBInstant.startGameAsync().
Loading progress: Report loading progress using FBInstant.setLoadingProgress(...).
Manage configurations: Creates or updates the required config files in your build output.

Learn more about Facebook Instant Games

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How do you handle data privacy and compliance (e.g. GDPR, CCPA)?

We take data privacy and compliance seriously. Our practices regarding data collection, usage, and user rights are detailed in our privacy policy. Key aspects for our compliance with GDPR and CCPA include:

Data Minimization: We strive to collect only the data necessary to provide and improve our services.
User Rights: We provide mechanisms for users to access, modify, or delete their data.
Transparency: Our privacy policy clearly outlines our data practices.

For specific details on data processing agreements (DPAs) or compliance related to your region, please review our Privacy Policy. Feel free to contact us if you have further questions.

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Who owns the intellectual property (IP) I create using Needle Engine?

You own the content and intellectual property that you create using Needle Engine. Our End User License Agreement (EULA) grants you a license to use our software, but the applications, assets, code, and experiences you build belong to you, subject to the terms outlined in the EULA. We recommend reviewing the EULA for the specific legal definitions regarding ownership and licensing.

End User License Agreement (EULA)

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Can I use Needle Engine for commercial projects?

Yes, you can use Needle Engine for commercial projects. However, please note that our free version is intended for non-commercial use only. For commercial projects, you will need to obtain a Pro license.

Pricing page

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Is Needle Cloud secure? How is my data handled?

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect the infrastructure hosting Needle Cloud and the data stored within it. This includes aspects like:

Secure connections (HTTPS).
Authentication and authorization controls.
Regular infrastructure monitoring, updates, and backups.
Best practices for data storage security.

While we provide a secure platform, you are also responsible for securing your own accounts (for example, using strong passwords) and managing permissions appropriately. For details on specific security practices or compliance certifications, please refer to our official documentation or contact our enterprise support.

Enterprise support: hi+enterprise@needle.tools

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What are the licensing options for commercial or enterprise use?

For large teams or companies with custom licensing requirements, we recommend our Enterprise plan. This plan includes additional support (SLA), and agreements and features tailored to your needs.

Pricing page Enterprise support: hi+enterprise@needle.tools

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Are there specific features for Enterprise teams?

Yes, our Enterprise offerings often include features tailored for larger organizations, such as:

Volume Licensing and dedicated support channels: Scalable licenses and support channels of your choice.
Custom Agreements: Possibility for tailored Service Level Agreements (SLAs) or Data Processing Agreements (DPAs). Our default SLA is one day of support per month.
Pipeline and Workflow Integration: Support for integrating Needle Engine into your existing development and deployment pipelines.
On-Premises Optimization: Possibility for on-premises or private cloud deployment of Needle Engine and Needle Cloud, depending on your needs.

Please reach out to our sales or enterprise team to discuss your specific needs.

Enterprise support: hi+enterprise@needle.tools

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Can Needle Engine or Needle Cloud be self-hosted or run on-premise?

Needle Engine itself exports standard web projects that can be self-hosted on any web server infrastructure.

Needle Cloud, our managed optimization and hosting service, is offered as a cloud-based SaaS (Software as a Service) platform. While standard plans run on our infrastructure, we understand some enterprises have specific requirements for on-premise or private cloud deployments.

Please contact us to discuss possibilities and requirements for dedicated or self-hosted arrangements.

Enterprise support: hi+enterprise@needle.tools

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Where can I find the official legal terms (EULA, Privacy Policy)?

You can always find the most current versions of our legal documents on our website. Please refer to these links for the definitive terms:

These documents govern your use of Needle Engine and related services.

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Do you offer special licenses for Education (students, teachers, schools)?

Yes, we strongly support the educational community! We offer free or significantly discounted licenses for eligible students, educators, and academic institutions for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Our goal is to make Needle Engine accessible for learning, teaching, and research in the exciting field of web-based 3D development. You can apply for an educational license through our website. Please include details about your institution and studies.

Apply for an Education license

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What about licenses for non-profit organizations or startups?

We offer discounted licenses for non-profit organizations and startups. If you are a non-profit organization and would like to use Needle Engine, please reach out to us to discuss your needs and eligibility.

Apply for Non-Profit license
Apply for Startup license

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What about licenses for Content Creators (YouTubers, Streamers, Bloggers)?

We love seeing creators showcase what's possible with Needle Engine! If you're using Needle Engine to create tutorials, reviews, technology demonstrations, or other content for platforms like YouTube, Twitch, or blogs, you might be eligible for our Content Creator license, even if your channel is monetized.

Apply for Content Creator license

Needle vs. PlayCanvas vs. Spatial.io

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