Pascal Editor

A 3D building editor built with React Three Fiber and WebGPU.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8b50e7cf-cebe-4579-9cf3-8786b35f7b6b

Repository Architecture

This is a Turborepo monorepo with three main packages:

editor-v2/
├── apps/
│   └── editor/          # Next.js application
├── packages/
│   ├── core/            # Schema definitions, state management, systems
│   └── viewer/          # 3D rendering components

Separation of Concerns

Package	Responsibility
@pascal-app/core	Node schemas, scene state (Zustand), systems (geometry generation), spatial queries, event bus
@pascal-app/viewer	3D rendering via React Three Fiber, default camera/controls, post-processing
apps/editor	UI components, tools, custom behaviors, editor-specific systems

The viewer renders the scene with sensible defaults. The editor extends it with interactive tools, selection management, and editing capabilities.

Stores

Each package has its own Zustand store for managing state:

Store	Package	Responsibility
`useScene`	`@pascal-app/core`	Scene data: nodes, root IDs, dirty nodes, CRUD operations. Persisted to IndexedDB with undo/redo via Zundo.
`useViewer`	`@pascal-app/viewer`	Viewer state: current selection (building/level/zone IDs), level display mode (stacked/exploded/solo), camera mode.
`useEditor`	`apps/editor`	Editor state: active tool, structure layer visibility, panel states, editor-specific preferences.

Access patterns:

// Subscribe to state changes (React component)
const nodes = useScene((state) => state.nodes)
const levelId = useViewer((state) => state.selection.levelId)
const activeTool = useEditor((state) => state.tool)

// Access state outside React (callbacks, systems)
const node = useScene.getState().nodes[id]
useViewer.getState().setSelection({ levelId: 'level_123' })

Core Concepts

Nodes

Nodes are the data primitives that describe the 3D scene. All nodes extend BaseNode:

BaseNode {
  id: string              // Auto-generated with type prefix (e.g., "wall_abc123")
  type: string            // Discriminator for type-safe handling
  parentId: string | null // Parent node reference
  visible: boolean
  camera?: Camera         // Optional saved camera position
  metadata?: JSON         // Arbitrary metadata (e.g., { isTransient: true })
}

Node Hierarchy:

Site
└── Building
    └── Level
        ├── Wall → Item (doors, windows)
        ├── Slab
        ├── Ceiling → Item (lights)
        ├── Roof
        ├── Zone
        ├── Scan (3D reference)
        └── Guide (2D reference)

Nodes are stored in a flat dictionary (Record<id, Node>), not a nested tree. Parent-child relationships are defined via parentId and children arrays.

Scene State (Zustand Store)

The scene is managed by a Zustand store in @pascal-app/core:

useScene.getState() = {
  nodes: Record<id, AnyNode>,  // All nodes
  rootNodeIds: string[],       // Top-level nodes (sites)
  dirtyNodes: Set<string>,     // Nodes pending system updates

  createNode(node, parentId),
  updateNode(id, updates),
  deleteNode(id),
}

Middleware:

Persist - Saves to IndexedDB (excludes transient nodes)
Temporal (Zundo) - Undo/redo with 50-step history

Scene Registry

The registry maps node IDs to their Three.js objects for fast lookup:

sceneRegistry = {
  nodes: Map<id, Object3D>,    // ID → 3D object
  byType: {
    wall: Set<id>,
    item: Set<id>,
    zone: Set<id>,
    // ...
  }
}

Renderers register their refs using the useRegistry hook:

const ref = useRef<Mesh>(null!)
useRegistry(node.id, 'wall', ref)

This allows systems to access 3D objects directly without traversing the scene graph.

Node Renderers

Renderers are React components that create Three.js objects for each node type:

SceneRenderer
└── NodeRenderer (dispatches by type)
    ├── BuildingRenderer
    ├── LevelRenderer
    ├── WallRenderer
    ├── SlabRenderer
    ├── ZoneRenderer
    ├── ItemRenderer
    └── ...

Pattern:

Renderer creates a placeholder mesh/group
Registers it with useRegistry
Systems update geometry based on node data

Example (simplified):

const WallRenderer = ({ node }) => {
  const ref = useRef<Mesh>(null!)
  useRegistry(node.id, 'wall', ref)

  return (
    <mesh ref={ref}>
      <boxGeometry args={[0, 0, 0]} />  {/* Replaced by WallSystem */}
      <meshStandardMaterial />
      {node.children.map(id => <NodeRenderer key={id} nodeId={id} />)}
    </mesh>
  )
}

Systems

Systems are React components that run in the render loop (useFrame) to update geometry and transforms. They process dirty nodes marked by the store.

Core Systems (in @pascal-app/core):

System	Responsibility
`WallSystem`	Generates wall geometry with mitering and CSG cutouts for doors/windows
`SlabSystem`	Generates floor geometry from polygons
`CeilingSystem`	Generates ceiling geometry
`RoofSystem`	Generates roof geometry
`ItemSystem`	Positions items on walls, ceilings, or floors (slab elevation)

Viewer Systems (in @pascal-app/viewer):

System	Responsibility
`LevelSystem`	Handles level visibility and vertical positioning (stacked/exploded/solo modes)
`ScanSystem`	Controls 3D scan visibility
`GuideSystem`	Controls guide image visibility

Processing Pattern:

useFrame(() => {
  for (const id of dirtyNodes) {
    const obj = sceneRegistry.nodes.get(id)
    const node = useScene.getState().nodes[id]

    // Update geometry, transforms, etc.
    updateGeometry(obj, node)

    dirtyNodes.delete(id)
  }
})

Dirty Nodes

When a node changes, it's marked as dirty in useScene.getState().dirtyNodes. Systems check this set each frame and only recompute geometry for dirty nodes.

// Automatic: createNode, updateNode, deleteNode mark nodes dirty
useScene.getState().updateNode(wallId, { thickness: 0.2 })
// → wallId added to dirtyNodes
// → WallSystem regenerates geometry next frame
// → wallId removed from dirtyNodes

Manual marking:

useScene.getState().dirtyNodes.add(wallId)

Event Bus

Inter-component communication uses a typed event emitter (mitt):

// Node events
emitter.on('wall:click', (event) => { ... })
emitter.on('item:enter', (event) => { ... })
emitter.on('zone:context-menu', (event) => { ... })

// Grid events (background)
emitter.on('grid:click', (event) => { ... })

// Event payload
NodeEvent {
  node: AnyNode
  position: [x, y, z]
  localPosition: [x, y, z]
  normal?: [x, y, z]
  stopPropagation: () => void
}

Spatial Grid Manager

Handles collision detection and placement validation:

spatialGridManager.canPlaceOnFloor(levelId, position, dimensions, rotation)
spatialGridManager.canPlaceOnWall(wallId, t, height, dimensions)
spatialGridManager.getSlabElevationAt(levelId, x, z)

Used by item placement tools to validate positions and calculate slab elevations.

Editor Architecture

The editor extends the viewer with:

Tools

Tools are activated via the toolbar and handle user input for specific operations:

SelectTool - Selection and manipulation
WallTool - Draw walls
ZoneTool - Create zones
ItemTool - Place furniture/fixtures
SlabTool - Create floor slabs

Selection Manager

The editor uses a custom selection manager with hierarchical navigation:

Site → Building → Level → Zone → Items

Each depth level has its own selection strategy for hover/click behavior.

Editor-Specific Systems

ZoneSystem - Controls zone visibility based on level mode
Custom camera controls with node focusing

Data Flow

User Action (click, drag)
       ↓
Tool Handler
       ↓
useScene.createNode() / updateNode()
       ↓
Node added/updated in store
Node marked dirty
       ↓
React re-renders NodeRenderer
useRegistry() registers 3D object
       ↓
System detects dirty node (useFrame)
Updates geometry via sceneRegistry
Clears dirty flag

Technology Stack

React 19 + Next.js 16
Three.js (WebGPU renderer)
React Three Fiber + Drei
Zustand (state management)
Zod (schema validation)
Zundo (undo/redo)
three-bvh-csg (Boolean geometry operations)
Turborepo (monorepo management)
Bun (package manager)

Getting Started

Development

Run the development server from the root directory to enable hot reload for all packages:

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Run development server (builds packages + starts editor with watch mode)
bun dev

# This will:
# 1. Build @pascal-app/core and @pascal-app/viewer
# 2. Start watching both packages for changes
# 3. Start the Next.js editor dev server
# Open http://localhost:3000

Important: Always run bun dev from the root directory to ensure the package watchers are running. This enables hot reload when you edit files in packages/core/src/ or packages/viewer/src/.

Building for Production

# Build all packages
turbo build

# Build specific package
turbo build --filter=@pascal-app/core

Publishing Packages

# Build packages
turbo build --filter=@pascal-app/core --filter=@pascal-app/viewer

# Publish to npm
npm publish --workspace=@pascal-app/core --access public
npm publish --workspace=@pascal-app/viewer --access public

Key Files

Path	Description
`packages/core/src/schema/`	Node type definitions (Zod schemas)
`packages/core/src/store/use-scene.ts`	Scene state store
`packages/core/src/hooks/scene-registry/`	3D object registry
`packages/core/src/systems/`	Geometry generation systems
`packages/viewer/src/components/renderers/`	Node renderers
`packages/viewer/src/components/viewer/`	Main Viewer component
`apps/editor/components/tools/`	Editor tools
`apps/editor/store/`	Editor-specific state