AO Lightmapper Unity Extension Released – Automatic AO Generation for Prefabs and Meshes

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Hi everyone,

I know many developers use Unity as a content preparation tool while targeting Three.js and WebGL applications. I thought this workflow might be useful for that use case.

The new AO Lightmapper Unity Extension is essentially a bridge between Unity and the AO Lightmapper CLI Headless version. Unity acts as the frontend workflow, while AO Lightmapper performs the actual AO generation, optimization, UV processing, texture conversion, and export operations using the same core pipeline available in the desktop application.

The Unity Extension is compatible with AO Lightmapper v1.3.9 or newer, which is available on both Itch.io and Gumroad.

A ready-to-install UnityPackage is also included, making installation and integration into existing Unity projects quick and straightforward.

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This means assets processed through Unity benefit from the same AO Lightmapper features and optimizations that many ThreeJS users are already familiar with, while providing a streamlined workflow directly inside the Unity Editor.

Simple Workflow

  • Add a component to one or multiple GameObjects, Meshes, or Prefabs.

  • Launch the process directly from Unity.

  • AO Lightmapper CLI Headless processes the assets automatically.

  • The optimized assets are imported back into Unity.

Full AO Lightmapper Pipeline Inside Unity

The extension leverages the main AO Lightmapper features, including:

  • GPU-accelerated AO generation

  • Automatic UV2 generation

  • Mesh optimization

  • Draco compression

  • Meshopt compression

  • KTX2 texture conversion

  • Prune / Clean optimization

  • Texture optimization

  • Batch processing

  • Export optimization settings

Multiple Assets at Once

The extension supports processing multiple meshes or prefabs simultaneously.

Simply add the component to the desired objects and AO Lightmapper handles the rest automatically.

Flexible Asset Replacement

Once processing is complete, you can choose to:

  • Add the optimized model directly into the scene while keeping the original object disabled.

  • Replace and remove the original object automatically.

  • Keep both versions for comparison and testing.

Material Preservation

One of the main goals was preserving existing workflows.

The extension keeps the original materials and automatically assigns the generated Ambient Occlusion texture to the appropriate material slot.

This allows immediate visual improvements without rebuilding materials or manually reconnecting textures.

Why AO Instead of Traditional Lightmaps?

Traditional lightmapping often requires scene setup, lighting configuration, baking iterations, and additional maintenance.

For many assets such as props, modular kits, environment pieces, and reusable models, AO maps provide:

  • Faster generation times

  • No scene lighting setup

  • No lightmap management

  • Better asset portability

  • Easier iteration during development

About AO Lightmapper

AO Lightmapper is a standalone GPU-accelerated Ambient Occlusion baker supporting GLB and FBX assets with automatic UV generation, advanced material support, asset optimization tools, and export workflows for Babylon.js, Three.js, Unity, and other real-time 3D pipelines.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

Project:

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Is this an advertisement for a unity plugin which is in no way related to three.js or am i misunderstanding something? No offense meant.

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It’s a standalone app that will generate a second UV set + ambient occlusion textures. You can open a .glb, apply the AO generation, and then save a new .glb.
I gave it a try.. It seems to work.

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That’s a fair question.

Many developers use Unity simply as a content creation and asset preparation tool, just like Blender, 3ds Max, Maya, or other DCC applications.

It’s also common to leverage Asset Store tools to speed up workflows before exporting assets to glTF and using them in Three.js applications.

The Unity Extension is just another frontend for the AO Lightmapper pipeline. The actual output remains standard GLB/glTF assets that can be used in Three.js, React Three Fiber, Babylon.js, or other real-time rendering engines.

My intention was to share a workflow that may be useful for developers who use Unity during asset production, even if their final runtime is Three.js.

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@manthrax Exactly, thank you very much for the clarification.

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:rocket: AO Lightmapper Unity Extension v1.1.0

New update available!

Prefab Replacement Improvements

A new workflow option has been added for Unity projects:

:white_check_mark: Replace all instances of a prefab in the current scene with the AO Lightmapper baked version automatically.

This makes it much easier to optimize large scenes where the same prefab is used multiple times.

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Benefits

  • Process a prefab once using AO Lightmapper.

  • Automatically update every instance in the scene.

  • Preserve existing scene placement and transforms.

  • Faster iteration when working with large environments and modular assets.

  • Ideal for props, environment kits, vegetation, furniture, and reusable assets.

The goal is to make AO generation and asset optimization as seamless as possible directly from Unity while leveraging the full AO Lightmapper pipeline.

The Unity Extension is included with AO Lightmapper v1.3.9 or newer and can be downloaded from the project’s Itchio page.

Thanks to everyone testing the Unity Extension and sharing feedback! :rocket: