bot_dump [-b] [-n] [-m _directory_] [-o _file_] [-t dxf|glb|gltf|obj|sat|stl] [-u _units_] geom.g [bot1 bot2 ...]
BOT_DUMP(1)
NAME
bot_dump - export Bag of Triangles (BoT) primitives to mesh file formats
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SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
bot_dump exports the raw definition of polygonal Bag of Triangles (BoT) primitives from a BRL-CAD database to a variety of standard mesh formats. No Boolean evaluation is performed, so the exported geometry matches each primitive’s exact stored representation.
The database is given as the first positional argument. If one or more BoT object names follow, only those objects are exported; otherwise every BoT in the database is exported.
If neither -o nor -m is given, ASCII output is written to standard output; binary formats require an output file or directory.
OPTIONS
- -b
-
Write a binary version of the output format, for formats that support both ASCII and binary variants (such as STL). glTF output is always binary (GLB).
- -n
-
Include surface normals in the output where the format supports them (e.g. OBJ). Normals are intrinsic to STL and unsupported by DXF and SAT.
- -m directory
-
Write each dumped BoT into its own file within directory. Mutually exclusive with -o.
- -o file
-
Write all exported geometry to a single file. Mutually exclusive with -m.
- -t type
-
Select the output format: dxf, glb, gltf, obj, sat, or stl. If omitted, the format is inferred from the output file extension, defaulting to stl when it cannot be determined.
- -u units
-
Convert coordinates from the internal millimeters to units on output (e.g. "in", "cm", "m").
- -h, -?
-
Print a usage summary and exit.
EXAMPLES
bot_dump -b -t stl -o hull.stl ship.g hull_bot deck_bot
Writes the hull_bot and deck_bot BoT primitives from ship.g into a single binary STL file suitable for slicing or 3D printing.
bot_dump -u m -t glb -m gltf_out world.g
Converts all BoT primitives in world.g, scaling coordinates from millimeters to meters, and writes one GLB file per object into the gltf_out directory.
bot_dump -n -t obj -o part.obj assembly.g part_bot
Produces an OBJ (plus companion MTL) containing surface normals and the resolved region/object color for part_bot, ready for import into a renderer. Color and material information is written automatically for OBJ output.
SEE ALSO
brlcad(1), mged(1), g-stl(1), g-dxf(1), g-obj(1)
AUTHOR
BRL-CAD Team
COPYRIGHT
This software is Copyright (c) 1989-2026 by the United States Government as represented by U.S. Army Research Laboratory.
BUG REPORTS
Reports of bugs or problems should be submitted via electronic mail to devs@brlcad.org