APS Viewer v8 preview is here!

At Autodesk University 2026 we gave you a first look at the next major version of APS Viewer. Today, the first v8 preview build is available for everyone, side by side with v7, so you can start exploring it in your own applications.

Version 8 is the biggest step the Viewer has taken in years. It renders with WebGPU, loads every model through the Large Model Experience pipeline, and replaces three.js with the new Scene API, which lets you embed custom 3D content as well as read geometry and material data of models loaded from our platform. It's also the first release under a new, predictable rollout model: a three-month public preview, a fixed switch-over date, and a clear support window for the previous version.

In this post, we'll walk through what's new, what the timeline looks like, and how you can start testing today.

How to get the preview

The preview is published alongside v7 and you load it the same way, just with different file names:

<script src="https://developer.api.autodesk.com/modelderivative/v2/viewers/7.*/viewer3D-v8.min.js"></script>
<link href="https://developer.api.autodesk.com/modelderivative/v2/viewers/7.*/style-v8.min.css" rel="stylesheet">

The file names look a little odd: the preview lives under the 7.* path and carries a -v8 suffix. That's intentional. The v8 changes are part of the v7 codebase, so we kept the preview in the same place instead of creating a separate version path. When v8 reaches general availability, it will be available through the standard /viewers/8.* URL path.

Nothing about your existing v7 deployment changes when you try the preview. Your current script and stylesheet URLs keep working as before. The preview is API-stable; from here until the general availability release we'll only ship bug fixes and non-breaking additions, so anything you port now will keep working at GA.

What's new in v8

Here's a summary of the changes we announced at AU.

WebGPU rendering

v8 renders with WebGPU, and the WebGPU pipeline is what every feature in v8 is built and tested against. In practice this means a more consistent frame rate on large models and a modern foundation for the rendering features we have planned.

WebGL is still there, but only as a fallback for users whose hardware doesn't support WebGPU. As an application developer, you can still force the Viewer to use WebGL; your users can't. It's already considered a deprecated feature, though. Think of it as a safety net for when WebGPU doesn't work, or when capability gaps that we can't close during the preview phase prevent you from migrating.

Large Model Experience, always on

The Large Model Experience has been available in v7 as an opt-in setting since 2024. In v8 it's the only loading pipeline: faster loading, caching, and smooth navigation without mesh popping, with no toggle and no legacy fallback, including on mobile.

If you've been running with LME switched on in v7, you're already there. If you haven't, the main thing to check is that your code is comfortable with streamed loading: geometry arrives progressively, and objects can finish loading in a different order than before.

Secure context required

v8 requires a secure context, which means HTTPS (or localhost during development). This is less of a change than it sounds. WebGPU and OPFS, which v8 depends on, are only available in secure contexts anyway, and v7 has been logging deprecation warnings about plain HTTP for a while. If your app already runs on HTTPS, there's nothing to do here.

Scene API instead of three.js

In August we introduced the Scene API: one documented, typed API for creating and manipulating 3D content, replacing the THREE.* objects you had to reach for through overlays, the Scene Builder extension, or viewer.impl. In v7 it sits behind a feature flag. In v8 it is the public API.

Concretely:

• three.js objects are no longer exposed in the public API.
• Overlays and Autodesk.Viewing.SceneBuilder are replaced by render layers and InstanceCollection3D.
• Only functionality documented in the reference guide is supported. Anything outside of it, including internals you may have reached for through viewer.impl, can change without notice, so stick to the documented API.

The good news is that the Scene API is available in v7 today, so you can port your custom geometry code first, verify it against v7, and then switch versions.

Retired extensions

v8 removes a set of extensions. Some of them are documented and may be in use in your applications; the rest were never publicly documented. Check the list below against the extensions your app loads.

Documented extensions

• Autodesk.FullScreen
• Autodesk.BIM360.GestureDocumentNavigation
• Autodesk.NPR
• Autodesk.Viewing.SceneBuilder: replaced by the Scene API (see above)
• Autodesk.DataVisualization: we're planning to add general support for heatmaps to the SDK

Extensions that were not documented publicly

These saw very little use, and it's unlikely your app depends on them. They're listed here for completeness:

• Autodesk.Beeline
• Autodesk.CAM360
• Autodesk.DataPersistence
• Autodesk.DOF
• Autodesk.Fusion360.Simulation
• Autodesk.MemoryLimited
• Autodesk.Viewing.MemoryLimitedDebug
• Autodesk.MSDF
• Autodesk.OMV
• Autodesk.PropertyQuery
• Autodesk.PropertySearch
• Autodesk.Scalaris
• Autodesk.Viewing.ScalarisSimulation
• Autodesk.ReCap

The new rollout model

v8 is also the first release under a new rollout strategy for the Viewer: fewer surprises, and dates you can plan around.

Going forward, you can expect a new major version roughly once a year, each with a three-month preview before it becomes the default, and a six-month support phase for the previous major.

Will my v7 app keep working?

Yes. If you load the Viewer from a pinned 7.x URL, nothing changes on February 1st, and that URL stays hosted after end of support, too.

What does change on February 1st is support: from that date, v7 gets security fixes only. That's the main reason to plan your migration during the preview window. If you find an issue in v7 after that date, the fix will land in v8.

What should I do now?

1. Load the preview in a test environment and open the browser console to look for warnings and errors.
2. Grep your code for THREE., viewer.impl, viewer.overlays, and SceneBuilder. Those are the spots that move to the Scene API, and you can start porting them today. Make sure you only rely on functionality documented in the reference guide.
3. Check your extension list against the retired extensions above, especially Autodesk.DataVisualization if you use sprites or heatmaps.
4. Make sure you serve over HTTPS, if you don't already.
5. Tell us what you find. The preview exists so we can fix issues before GA.

Wrapping up

You can start testing APS Viewer v8 today, you know exactly when it becomes the default and how long v7 stays supported, and you can port the biggest piece (custom 3D content) against v7 before you even switch versions. Load the preview, open the console, and let us know what you run into at aps.autodesk.com/get-help. Happy building!

Resources

• APS Viewer v8 preview: viewer3D-v8.min.js and style-v8.min.css
• Introducing the Scene API in APS Viewer
• Viewer Performance Update series (SVF2 loading, OPFS caching, smooth navigation)
• AU 2026: APS Viewer Reborn (slides and recording)