VRMthe avatar file format

What's a VRM?

A VRM is a portable, rights-aware avatar file for 3D characters — one file that carries who you show up as from app to app.

It packages the model, rig, facial expressions, physics, thumbnails, and license metadata into a single file, so your identity travels with you across VRM-compatible apps — MEs included.

The case

Why VRM matters

  • Bring your own identity. One file, many places — VRM is built on glTF, so it's broadly interoperable across engines and the web.
  • Expressive by design. Preset facial expressions (blendshapes / visemes), look-at gaze, and first-person settings give believable performance out of the box.
  • Rights & safety inside the file. Creator, copyright, and usage permissions live in the VRM's metadata — so a marketplace like MEs can read and show buyers exactly how an avatar may be used.
  • Evolving and standardizing. VRM 1.0 is officially released, and the VRM Consortium is working with Khronos toward international standardization — good news for long-term compatibility.

Anatomy

What's inside a VRM file

  • Geometry & materials — mesh, textures, shader / material settings
  • Humanoid rig — standardized bone names for easy motion retargeting
  • Expressions — blendshape presets (smile, blink, visemes for lip-sync)
  • Physics — spring bones for hair, accessories, and cloth-like motion
  • Gaze & first-person — look-at settings; head masking for FPV
  • Thumbnail & metadata — author, version, license & allowed uses

(Actual support for individual features varies by app.)

In MEs

Using VRMs in MEs

You can bring your own avatar to MEs by uploading a VRM 1.0 file directly from your Profile page.

  • Upload flow: Profile → (Custom) → Import VRM, then select your .vrm file.
  • For the latest requirements, step-by-step instructions, and troubleshooting, see Avatars & VRM in Features.

Rights

Licensing & responsible use

Every avatar in the catalogue lists a license summary, and the original license is embedded in the VRM file itself. Before buying or deploying, check:

  • Commercial use allowed?
  • Redistribution or modification terms?
  • Sensitive-use restrictions (e.g. political / violent / sexual contexts)?
  • Attribution required?

Respecting creator licenses is core to MEs. If a listing's summary and the file's embedded license seem to differ, the license embedded in the VRM governs — contact support at info@o-me.io.

FAQ

Common questions

Can I use a VRM on other platforms?

Many apps support VRM directly or via import tools. Some (like VRChat) require import through Unity / UniVRM; others (like certain VTuber tools) may need VRM 0.x. Check each app's docs.

How is VRM different from FBX / GLB?

FBX and GLB are generic 3D formats. VRM is purpose-built for humanoid avatars and includes avatar-specific features and license metadata.

What about performance on lower-end devices?

Good optimization matters more than the file extension — sensible polycounts, atlased textures, and clean rigs.

Colophon

The file is the material.

In MEs the mind is cognitive clay, and everything in it is material — files, shaders, spring physics, the way light meets a surface. A VRM is not a picture of an avatar. It is the avatar: a humanoid rig that bends, expressions that read, physics that fall, and a license sealed in the same file.

You carry it in one file. Import a VRM once from your Profile and it holds its fit, its physics, its expressions, and its rights across every inner world you load into — the same self, lit differently each time.