MMD to VRM converter: PMX in, VRM out
Zip the model with its texture folder and drop the zip. The Japanese bone names are mapped onto the VRM humanoid, the lip and blink morphs become VRM expressions, and the textures bind by the names the model asks for. Free, no account.
Zip the folder, not the file
A .pmx names its textures by path, usually in a tex folder beside it, and does not contain them. Dropped alone it converts to a model with no colour, and the page says so before it starts. Zip the folder as it was distributed, with the .pmx, the tex folder and whatever else the author shipped, and drop the zip. A .pmd goes in the same way. A zip that holds several models asks which one you meant.
Why 下半身 is not the hips
MMD rigs carry both センター and 下半身 under the hip region. The VRM humanoid has one hips bone, and the mesh's leg weights sit on 下半身, so that is what becomes the hips; センター is kept as a parent with no role. The leg, foot and finger chains read both the kanji and the hiragana spellings, and both side conventions, so a model that went through mmd_tools converts the same as one that did not.
MMD bone names the converter maps
Left side shown; the right side is the same word with 右 for 左, or the .R suffix. Where a joint has two common writings, both resolve to the same VRM bone.
| MMD bone | VRM humanoid bone |
|---|---|
センター(centre) | hips |
上半身(jōhanshin, upper body) | spine |
上半身2(jōhanshin 2) | chest |
首(kubi, neck) | neck |
頭(atama, head) | head |
左腕(hidari ude, left arm) | leftUpperArm |
左ひじ / 左肘(hiji, elbow) | leftLowerArm |
左手首(tekubi, wrist) | leftHand |
左足(ashi, leg) | leftUpperLeg |
左ひざ / 左膝(hiza, knee) | leftLowerLeg |
左足首(ashikubi, ankle) | leftFoot |
左つま先(tsumasaki, toe) | leftToes |
下半身(kahanshin, lower body) | left unmapped on purpose — see above |
左肩 and 右肩 become the shoulders, 目 the eyes, and the finger chains are read: 親指 thumb, 人差指 (also written 人指) index, 中指 middle, 薬指 ring, 小指 little, numbered outwards from the hand. The あ い う え お morphs become the VRM mouth shapes and まばたき the blink, under the author's own names in the file.
What can go wrong with a MMD file
A conversion that cannot finish tells you which of these it hit.
CHOOSE_MODEL
The zip holds more than one model.
Pick the one you meant from the list the page shows; nothing is uploaded twice.
NO_TEXTURES
Every image the model names is missing from the upload.
Zip the folder with its tex directory and drop the zip.
TEXTURES_UNREFERENCED
Images arrived, but the model names none of them: the paths inside the .pmx point elsewhere.
Keep the folder structure the author shipped; a flattened or renamed folder breaks the paths.
RAR_IN_ZIP
The zip contains a .rar, which cannot be opened on the server.
Unpack the .rar on your machine and zip the folder it contains.
Frequently asked questions
Can I convert a PMX file to VRM?
Yes. Zip the model with its texture folder, drop the zip, preview the result and download the .vrm. The .pmd format goes in the same way.
Does it understand Japanese bone names?
Yes, in both writings where there are two, and in both side conventions. There is nothing to rename.
Why did my model come out without textures?
Because the .pmx names images that were not in the upload. Zip the folder as distributed and drop the zip; the page names the missing files before anything runs.
Will the VRM work in VSeeFace?
Yes: the output is VRM 0.x, which VSeeFace reads. Physics from the MMD rig is not carried; hair and skirts hang still unless you add spring bones in a VRM editor.
May I convert a model I downloaded?
Only if its terms allow it. Many MMD authors forbid conversion to other formats or use outside MMD; read the readme in the download.
Does it cost anything?
No. Every tool on Shapeweld is free, and there is no account.
Need an FBX, not a VRM?
The same reader writes a binary FBX for Unity, Unreal and Blender.
Mixamo character instead?
mixamorig bones are mapped the same way.
A Character Creator, AccuRig or ActorCore file?
CC_Base_ bones are mapped and the twist bones folded in.
Every other input format
The same converter takes FBX, GLB, glTF, .blend and zipped glTF folders.