Extract text from material libraries (MTL)
To convert MTL material files to another format, you need Blender or other 3D software.
To convert other file formats to the "Material Template Library" file type, you need software like Blender or a similar tool.
The .MTL (Material Template Library) file is a companion text file used alongside the Wavefront .OBJ 3D model format. It defines how the surface of a 3D mesh should look by specifying material properties like ambient color, diffuse color, specular highlights, transparency, and references to external texture image files (such as JPG or PNG).
While OBJ and .MTL are widely supported across almost all 3D software, including Blender and Cinema 4D, the format has serious real-world disadvantages. The biggest problem is that the .MTL file does not actually contain the images. It only contains file paths pointing to where the images should be. If you move the files, rename a folder, or forget to send the image files along with the OBJ and .MTL, the 3D model will appear completely blank or gray. Managing a loose collection of geometry files, material scripts, and texture maps is annoying and frequently leads to broken 3D assets during file transfers.
To solve this, users should convert the fragile OBJ and .MTL combo into a modern container format that embeds textures directly into the file. For web use and AR/VR applications, convert to GLB or GLTF. For professional editing in modern game engines like Unity or Unreal, convert to FBX. If your goal is strictly 3D printing, you can convert to STL, but note that STL drops all color and material data entirely. Drag and drop your .MTL file (along with its associated OBJ and textures) here to analyze and convert it - free, online, and without installing heavy 3D software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MTL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted G3D, OBJ, ZIP, MTLX, PNG, RBXM, MHT, FBX, JPG, 3D, GLB, MLT and BBMODEL files.
If you want to convert MTL file to OBJ, PNG, FBX, SKP, JPG, GLB, MAT, STEP, IMAGE, DAE, 3DS or MAX, you can use Blender or similar software from the "3D Material Surface Definitions" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DWG, DAE, X3D, IGES, WRL, JT, SKP, 3DS, 3DM, OBJ, STEP or FBX files to MTL, try Blender or another comparable tool in the "3D Material Surface Definitions" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our MTL converter.