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3DAI

EXR Viewer

Open an OpenEXR (.exr) or Radiance (.hdr) image right in your browser. Change the exposure, pick a tone mapping, look around an HDRI in 360°, read the real float value of any pixel, and save a PNG or JPG.

Free · no signup · your file stays in your browser

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What is an EXR file?

An EXR file (OpenEXR) is a high dynamic range image format made by Industrial Light & Magic and open source since 2003, that stores each pixel as 16-bit half or 32-bit float values instead of 8-bit numbers.

Because the values are linear light and can go far above 1.0, EXR is used for VFX renders, HDRI environment maps and textures, and it needs exposure and tone mapping before it looks right on a normal screen.

How to view an EXR or HDR file online

  1. 1

    Open your file

    Drop an .exr or .hdr file, or try the sample sky. It is read on your device and never uploaded.

  2. 2

    Set the look

    Move the exposure slider, pick ACES, Reinhard or Linear tone mapping, and switch to 360° view for a 2:1 HDRI.

  3. 3

    Inspect

    Show one channel (R, G, B, alpha or luminance) and hover any pixel to read its float values.

  4. 4

    Save a PNG or JPG

    Download what you see, with your exposure, tone mapping and channel applied.

EXR vs HDR

EXR (OpenEXR)HDR (Radiance RGBE)
Made byIndustrial Light & Magic, open source since 2003Greg Ward Larson, for the Radiance renderer
Values per pixel16-bit half or 32-bit float per channel (32-bit integer too)one byte each for R, G and B plus one shared exponent byte (4 bytes)
Channelsany number: RGB, alpha, depth, render passesRGB only, no alpha
Compressionseveral lossless and lossy codecs (ZIP, PIZ, DWAA...)simple run-length encoding
Typical useVFX renders, textures, HDRIsHDRI environment maps

Both hold brightness far above what a screen shows. For an HDRI to light a 3D scene, either works; EXR keeps more precision and can carry alpha, HDR files are smaller and open almost everywhere.

How to open an EXR in Blender

  1. To look at the image: open an Image Editor, choose Image > Open and pick the .exr or .hdr file.
  2. To light a scene with an HDRI: in Properties open the World tab, click the dot next to Color, choose Environment Texture, press Open and pick the file. Switch the viewport to Rendered shading to see it.
  3. To brighten or darken the view: Render Properties > Color Management > Exposure.

How to open an EXR in Photoshop

  1. File > Open loads a single-layer EXR or HDR as a 32 bits/channel document.
  2. To save a PNG or JPG, first choose Image > Mode > 8 Bits/Channel (or 16). The HDR Toning box opens; Exposure and Gamma keeps the look you see on screen.
  3. Multilayer EXRs with render passes need a plugin, such as the free Exr-IO for Windows, to open each pass as its own layer.

Not supported yet

This first version is built for HDRI environment maps and texture EXRs. It does not open:

  • Multilayer and multi-part EXRs (render passes such as diffuse, specular, Cryptomatte or AOVs)
  • Deep EXRs (deep scanline or deep tiled)
  • B44 and B44A compression, and 32-bit integer (uint) channels
  • Subsampled (chroma) channels and ripmap tiles

If you open one of these, the viewer says which case it is instead of showing a broken image.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. The EXR or HDR file is read and shown by your own browser. Nothing is sent to our server, so the viewer also works for private renders.
Single-part EXR files, scanline or tiled, with RGB, RGBA or Y (luminance) channels in half or float, compressed with none, RLE, ZIP, ZIPS, PIZ, PXR24, DWAA or DWAB. That covers HDRI environment maps and most texture EXRs. Radiance .hdr files open too.
Not yet. Multilayer and multi-part EXRs (render passes such as diffuse, specular or Cryptomatte), deep EXRs, B44 compression and 32-bit integer channels are not supported in this first version. The viewer tells you when a file is one of these. Blender, Nuke and Photoshop with a plugin can open them.
Open the file, set the exposure and tone mapping until it looks right, then press Save PNG or Save JPG. In flat view you get the full-size image; in 360° view you get the current camera view. PNG and JPG hold 8 bits per channel, so the bright range is squeezed by the tone mapping you picked.
EXR and HDR pixels can be far brighter than a screen can show. Exposure scales them: +1 EV doubles the brightness, -1 EV halves it. Tone mapping then fits them on screen: ACES rolls bright highlights off like film, Reinhard is softer and flatter, and Linear shows the raw values clipped at 1.0.
Open a 2:1 equirectangular panorama (for example 4096 x 2048) and press 360°. Drag to look around and scroll to zoom. The pixel readout still works, so you can find how bright the sun is.
The values are linear light. A render or a texture may sit far below or above 1.0. Press Auto exposure, or move the slider. If one channel looks wrong, use the channel buttons to check R, G, B and alpha on their own.
Files over 100 MB ask before they open, because a big EXR can use several times its size in memory. Files over 1 GB are refused. Very wide panoramas also need a graphics card that supports that texture size; the viewer tells you if yours does not.