threejs-helpers

When to use this skill

ALWAYS use this skill when the user mentions:

• Visualizing axes, grids, camera frusta, shadow cameras, light directions
• Showing skeleton bones, bounding boxes, normals/tangents for mesh inspection
• Light probe or rect area visualization via helper classes

IMPORTANT: helpers vs production meshes

• Helpers are debug objects; do not use as final scene geometry.

Trigger phrases include:

• "AxesHelper", "GridHelper", "CameraHelper", "SkeletonHelper", "VertexNormalsHelper"
• "辅助线", "法线显示", "包围盒调试"

How to use this skill

1. Attach helper to the object it describes (e.g., CameraHelper(light.shadow.camera)).
2. Update when targets move—some helpers need per-frame refresh.
3. Remove in production builds or behind debug flags.
4. Performance: helpers add draw calls—disable when profiling performance issues.
5. Addons: import from three/addons/helpers/... paths per threejs-dev-setup.

See [examples/workflow-light-camera-helpers.md](examples/workflow-light-camera-helpers.md).

Doc map (official)

Scope

• In scope: Core + Addons helpers for visualization.
• Out of scope: Production meshes or shipping art (threejs-geometries, threejs-lights); orbit/transform gizmo behavior (threejs-controls); editor UX parity with DCC tools; physics debug beyond helper stubs.

Common pitfalls and best practices

• Too many helpers obscures view—toggle per subsystem.
• Wrong attachment parent misaligns helper transforms.
• Helpers inherit scene graph transforms—parent under a debug group to batch hide/show.
• Some helpers duplicate geometry cost; strip in production or use #ifdef DEBUG style flags.
• CameraHelper for shadow cameras must reference light.shadow.camera, not the main view camera.

Documentation and version

Helpers are listed under Helpers (core) and Addons → Helpers in three.js docs. They are for debug only; production meshes and lighting should use real geometry/lights (threejs-geometries, threejs-lights).

Agent response checklist

When answering under this skill, prefer responses that:

1. Link the helper class (AxesHelper, CameraHelper, …) being used.
2. State that helpers are not shipping art—strip or gate behind debug flags.
3. Pair shadow/light helpers with threejs-lights tuning workflows.
4. Mention performance cost when many helpers are enabled.
5. Import paths follow threejs-dev-setup addon conventions.

References

• Manual (debug workflow context): https://threejs.org/manual/
• Docs index (Helpers group): https://threejs.org/docs/#Helpers
• Examples: https://threejs.org/docs/DirectionalLightHelper.html

Keywords

English: helper, debug, axes, grid, skeleton, normals, light helper, three.js

中文： 辅助、调试、坐标轴、网格、骨架、法线、Helper、three.js

能力边界

✅ 适用场景

• 当你需要使用此技能对应的技术栈时
• 当项目需要遵循最佳实践时
• 当需要快速上手或深入理解核心概念时

⚠️ 需要注意

• 复杂业务逻辑需要结合具体场景调整
• 性能优化需要根据实际数据量评估

❌ 不适用场景

• 不相关的技术栈或框架
• 需要完全自定义的特殊场景

常见陷阱 (Gotchas)

1. 版本兼容性：注意框架版本与依赖库的兼容性，不同版本 API 可能有差异
2. 配置文件格式：配置文件格式错误是最常见的问题，建议使用编辑器的语法检查
3. 环境变量：确保所有必要的环境变量已正确设置，敏感信息不要硬编码
4. 依赖冲突：多版本共存时注意依赖冲突，使用 lock 文件锁定版本
5. 性能陷阱：大数据量场景下注意性能优化，避免 N+1 查询等常见问题

使用流程

Step 1: 环境准备

确保开发环境已安装必要的依赖和工具。

Step 2: 配置初始化

根据项目需求进行基础配置。

Step 3: 核心功能使用

按照示例代码实现核心功能。

Step 4: 测试验证

运行测试确保功能正常。

Step 5: 部署上线

完成开发后进行部署和监控。