// Add a pc.CameraComponent to an entity
const entity = new pc.Entity();
entity.addComponent('camera', {
    nearClip: 1,
    farClip: 100,
    fov: 55
});

// Get the pc.CameraComponent on an entity
const cameraComponent = entity.camera;

// Update a property on a camera component
entity.camera.nearClip = 2;

CameraComponent(system, entity) 

Create a new CameraComponent instance.

Parameters

system	CameraComponentSystem	The ComponentSystem that created this Component.
entity	Entity	The Entity that this Component is attached to.

numberaperture 

Set camera aperture in f-stops, the default value is 16.0. Higher value means less exposure.

numberaspectRatio 

The aspect ratio (width divided by height) of the camera. If aspectRatioMode is ASPECT_AUTO, then this value will be automatically calculated every frame, and you can only read it. If it's ASPECT_MANUAL, you can set the value.

numberaspectRatioMode 

The aspect ratio mode of the camera. Can be:

• ASPECT_AUTO: aspect ratio will be calculated from the current render target's width divided by height.
• ASPECT_MANUAL: use the aspectRatio value.

Defaults to ASPECT_AUTO.

CalculateMatrixCallbackcalculateProjection 

Custom function you can provide to calculate the camera projection matrix manually. Can be used for complex effects like doing oblique projection. Function is called using component's scope. Arguments:

• Mat4 transformMatrix: output of the function
• view: Type of view. Can be VIEW_CENTER, VIEW_LEFT or VIEW_RIGHT.

Left and right are only used in stereo rendering.

CalculateMatrixCallbackcalculateTransform 

Custom function you can provide to calculate the camera transformation matrix manually. Can be used for complex effects like reflections. Function is called using component's scope. Arguments:

• Mat4 transformMatrix: output of the function.
• view: Type of view. Can be VIEW_CENTER, VIEW_LEFT or VIEW_RIGHT.

Left and right are only used in stereo rendering.

ColorclearColor 

The color used to clear the canvas to before the camera starts to render. Defaults to [0.75, 0.75, 0.75, 1].

booleanclearColorBuffer 

If true the camera will clear the color buffer to the color set in clearColor. Defaults to true.

booleanclearDepthBuffer 

If true the camera will clear the depth buffer. Defaults to true.

booleanclearStencilBuffer 

If true the camera will clear the stencil buffer. Defaults to true.

booleancullFaces 

If true the camera will take material.cull into account. Otherwise both front and back faces will be rendered. Defaults to true.

numberdisablePostEffectsLayer 

Layer ID of a layer on which the postprocessing of the camera stops being applied to. Defaults to LAYERID_UI, which causes post processing to not be applied to UI layer and any following layers for the camera. Set to undefined for post-processing to be applied to all layers of the camera.

numberfarClip 

The distance from the camera after which no rendering will take place. Defaults to 1000.

booleanflipFaces 

If true the camera will invert front and back faces. Can be useful for reflection rendering. Defaults to false.

numberfov 

The field of view of the camera in degrees. Usually this is the Y-axis field of view, see CameraComponent#horizontalFov. Used for PROJECTION_PERSPECTIVE cameras only. Defaults to 45.

Frustumfrustum 

Queries the camera's frustum shape.

booleanfrustumCulling 

Controls the culling of mesh instances against the camera frustum, i.e. if objects outside of camera should be omitted from rendering. If false, all mesh instances in the scene are rendered by the camera, regardless of visibility. Defaults to false.

booleanhorizontalFov 

Set which axis to use for the Field of View calculation. Defaults to false.

number[]layers 

An array of layer IDs (Layer#id) to which this camera should belong. Don't push, pop, splice or modify this array, if you want to change it, set a new one instead. Defaults to [LAYERID_WORLD, LAYERID_DEPTH, LAYERID_SKYBOX, LAYERID_UI, LAYERID_IMMEDIATE].

numbernearClip 

The distance from the camera before which no rendering will take place. Defaults to 0.1.

functiononPostRender 

Custom function that is called after the camera renders the scene.

functiononPreRender 

Custom function that is called before the camera renders the scene.

numberorthoHeight 

The half-height of the orthographic view window (in the Y-axis). Used for PROJECTION_ORTHOGRAPHIC cameras only. Defaults to 10.

PostEffectQueuepostEffectsEnabled 

The post effects queue for this camera. Use this to add or remove post effects from the camera.

numberpriority 

Controls the order in which cameras are rendered. Cameras with smaller values for priority are rendered first. Defaults to 0.

numberprojection 

The type of projection used to render the camera. Can be:

• PROJECTION_PERSPECTIVE: A perspective projection. The camera frustum resembles a truncated pyramid.
• PROJECTION_ORTHOGRAPHIC: An orthographic projection. The camera frustum is a cuboid.

Defaults to PROJECTION_PERSPECTIVE.

Mat4projectionMatrix 

Queries the camera's projection matrix.

Vec4rect 

Controls where on the screen the camera will be rendered in normalized screen coordinates. Defaults to [0, 0, 1, 1].

RenderTargetrenderTarget 

Render target to which rendering of the cameras is performed. If not set, it will render simply to the screen.

Vec4scissorRect 

Clips all pixels which are not in the rectangle. The order of the values is [x, y, width, height]. Defaults to [0, 0, 1, 1].

numbersensitivity 

Set camera sensitivity in ISO, the default value is 1000. Higher value means more exposure.

numbershutter 

Set camera shutter speed in seconds, the default value is 1/1000s. Longer shutter means more exposure.

Mat4viewMatrix 

Queries the camera's view matrix.

calculateAspectRatio([rt]) 

Calculates aspect ratio value for a given render target.

Parameters

rt

RenderTarget

Optional render target. If unspecified, the backbuffer is used.

Returns

number

The aspect ratio of the render target (or backbuffer).

endXr([callback]) 

Attempt to end XR session of this camera.

// On an entity with a camera component
this.entity.camera.endXr(function (err) {
    // not anymore in XR
});

Parameters

callback

XrErrorCallback

Optional callback function called once session is ended. The callback has one argument Error - it is null if successfully ended XR session.

getShaderPass() 

Shader pass name.

Returns

string

The name of the shader pass, or undefined if no shader pass is set.

requestSceneColorMap(enabled) 

Request the scene to generate a texture containing the scene color map. Note that this call is accumulative, and for each enable request, a disable request need to be called.

Parameters

enabled

boolean

True to request the generation, false to disable it.

requestSceneDepthMap(enabled) 

Request the scene to generate a texture containing the scene depth map. Note that this call is accumulative, and for each enable request, a disable request need to be called.

Parameters

enabled

boolean

True to request the generation, false to disable it.

screenToWorld(screenx, screeny, cameraz, [worldCoord]) 

Convert a point from 2D screen space to 3D world space.

// Get the start and end points of a 3D ray fired from a screen click position
const start = entity.camera.screenToWorld(clickX, clickY, entity.camera.nearClip);
const end = entity.camera.screenToWorld(clickX, clickY, entity.camera.farClip);

// Use the ray coordinates to perform a raycast
app.systems.rigidbody.raycastFirst(start, end, function (result) {
    console.log("Entity " + result.entity.name + " was selected");
});

Parameters

screenx	number	X coordinate on PlayCanvas' canvas element. Should be in the range 0 to canvas.offsetWidth of the application's canvas element.
screeny	number	Y coordinate on PlayCanvas' canvas element. Should be in the range 0 to canvas.offsetHeight of the application's canvas element.
cameraz	number	The distance from the camera in world space to create the new point.
worldCoord	Vec3	3D vector to receive world coordinate result.

Returns

Vec3

The world space coordinate.

setShaderPass(name) 

Sets the name of the shader pass the camera will use when rendering.

In addition to existing names (see the parameter description), a new name can be specified, which creates a new shader pass with the given name. The name provided can only use alphanumeric characters and underscores. When a shader is compiled for the new pass, a define is added to the shader. For example, if the name is 'custom_rendering', the define 'CUSTOM_RENDERING_PASS' is added to the shader, allowing the shader code to conditionally execute code only when that shader pass is active.

Another instance where this approach may prove useful is when a camera needs to render a more cost-effective version of shaders, such as when creating a reflection texture. To accomplish this, a callback on the material that triggers during shader compilation can be used. This callback can modify the shader generation options specifically for this shader pass.

const shaderPassId = camera.setShaderPass('custom_rendering');

material.onUpdateShader = function (options) {
    if (options.pass === shaderPassId) {
        options.litOptions.normalMapEnabled = false;
        options.litOptions.useSpecular = false;
    }
    return options;
};

Parameters

name

string

The name of the shader pass. Defaults to undefined, which is equivalent to SHADERPASS_FORWARD. Can be: SHADERPASS_FORWARD SHADERPASS_ALBEDO SHADERPASS_OPACITY SHADERPASS_WORLDNORMAL SHADERPASS_SPECULARITY SHADERPASS_GLOSS SHADERPASS_METALNESS SHADERPASS_AO SHADERPASS_EMISSION SHADERPASS_LIGHTING SHADERPASS_UV0

Returns

number

The id of the shader pass.

startXr(type, spaceType, [options]) 

Attempt to start XR session with this camera.

// On an entity with a camera component
this.entity.camera.startXr(pc.XRTYPE_VR, pc.XRSPACE_LOCAL, {
    callback: function (err) {
        if (err) {
            // failed to start XR session
        } else {
            // in XR
        }
    }
});

Parameters

type	string	The type of session. Can be one of the following: XRTYPE_INLINE: Inline - always available type of session. It has limited feature availability and is rendered into HTML element. XRTYPE_VR: Immersive VR - session that provides exclusive access to the VR device with the best available tracking features. XRTYPE_AR: Immersive AR - session that provides exclusive access to the VR/AR device that is intended to be blended with the real-world environment.
spaceType	string	Reference space type. Can be one of the following: XRSPACE_VIEWER: Viewer - always supported space with some basic tracking capabilities. XRSPACE_LOCAL: Local - represents a tracking space with a native origin near the viewer at the time of creation. It is meant for seated or basic local XR sessions. XRSPACE_LOCALFLOOR: Local Floor - represents a tracking space with a native origin at the floor in a safe position for the user to stand. The y-axis equals 0 at floor level. Floor level value might be estimated by the underlying platform. It is meant for seated or basic local XR sessions. XRSPACE_BOUNDEDFLOOR: Bounded Floor - represents a tracking space with its native origin at the floor, where the user is expected to move within a pre-established boundary. XRSPACE_UNBOUNDED: Unbounded - represents a tracking space where the user is expected to move freely around their environment, potentially long distances from their starting point.
options	object	Object with options for XR session initialization.
options.optionalFeatures	string[]	Optional features for XRSession start. It is used for getting access to additional WebXR spec extensions.
options.imageTracking	boolean	Set to true to attempt to enable XrImageTracking.
options.planeDetection	boolean	Set to true to attempt to enable XrPlaneDetection.
options.callback	XrErrorCallback	Optional callback function called once the session is started. The callback has one argument Error - it is null if the XR session started successfully.
options.depthSensing	object	Optional object with depth sensing parameters to attempt to enable XrDepthSensing.
options.depthSensing.usagePreference	string	Optional usage preference for depth sensing, can be 'cpu-optimized' or 'gpu-optimized' (XRDEPTHSENSINGUSAGE_*), defaults to 'cpu-optimized'. Most preferred and supported will be chosen by the underlying depth sensing system.
options.depthSensing.dataFormatPreference	string	Optional data format preference for depth sensing. Can be 'luminance-alpha' or 'float32' (XRDEPTHSENSINGFORMAT_*), defaults to 'luminance-alpha'. Most preferred and supported will be chosen by the underlying depth sensing system.

worldToScreen(worldCoord, [screenCoord]) 

Convert a point from 3D world space to 2D screen space.

Parameters

worldCoord	Vec3	The world space coordinate.
screenCoord	Vec3	3D vector to receive screen coordinate result.

Returns

Vec3

The screen space coordinate.

booleanenabled 

Enables or disables the component.

Entityentity 

The Entity that this Component is attached to.

ComponentSystemsystem 

The ComponentSystem used to create this Component.

fire(name, [arg1], [arg2], [arg3], [arg4], [arg5], [arg6], [arg7], [arg8]) 

Fire an event, all additional arguments are passed on to the event listener.

obj.fire('test', 'This is the message');

Parameters

name	string	Name of event to fire.
arg1	*	First argument that is passed to the event handler.
arg2	*	Second argument that is passed to the event handler.
arg3	*	Third argument that is passed to the event handler.
arg4	*	Fourth argument that is passed to the event handler.
arg5	*	Fifth argument that is passed to the event handler.
arg6	*	Sixth argument that is passed to the event handler.
arg7	*	Seventh argument that is passed to the event handler.
arg8	*	Eighth argument that is passed to the event handler.

Returns

EventHandler

Self for chaining.

hasEvent(name) 

Test if there are any handlers bound to an event name.

obj.on('test', function () { }); // bind an event to 'test'
obj.hasEvent('test'); // returns true
obj.hasEvent('hello'); // returns false

Parameters

name

string

The name of the event to test.

Returns

boolean

True if the object has handlers bound to the specified event name.

off([name], [callback], [scope]) 

Detach an event handler from an event. If callback is not provided then all callbacks are unbound from the event, if scope is not provided then all events with the callback will be unbound.

const handler = function () {
};
obj.on('test', handler);

obj.off(); // Removes all events
obj.off('test'); // Removes all events called 'test'
obj.off('test', handler); // Removes all handler functions, called 'test'
obj.off('test', handler, this); // Removes all handler functions, called 'test' with scope this

Parameters

name	string	Name of the event to unbind.
callback	HandleEventCallback	Function to be unbound.
scope	object	Scope that was used as the this when the event is fired.

Returns

EventHandler

Self for chaining.

on(name, callback, [scope]) 

Attach an event handler to an event.

obj.on('test', function (a, b) {
    console.log(a + b);
});
obj.fire('test', 1, 2); // prints 3 to the console

Parameters

name	string	Name of the event to bind the callback to.
callback	HandleEventCallback	Function that is called when event is fired. Note the callback is limited to 8 arguments.
scope	object	Object to use as 'this' when the event is fired, defaults to current this.

Returns

EventHandler

Self for chaining.

once(name, callback, [scope]) 

Attach an event handler to an event. This handler will be removed after being fired once.

obj.once('test', function (a, b) {
    console.log(a + b);
});
obj.fire('test', 1, 2); // prints 3 to the console
obj.fire('test', 1, 2); // not going to get handled

Parameters

name	string	Name of the event to bind the callback to.
callback	HandleEventCallback	Function that is called when event is fired. Note the callback is limited to 8 arguments.
scope	object	Object to use as 'this' when the event is fired, defaults to current this.

Returns

EventHandler

Self for chaining.