Mod3d - Portfolio

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modular composition

Project Overview

Mod3d is the philosophical conclusion of the Terminal/3D phase. After building monolithic 3D filesystem viewers, multi-terminal window managers, and orchestration layers, the question became: what if every piece was a composable module you could snap together?

"Composability over monoliths. Every 3D terminal, every file card, every prompt card should be an independent module that works alone and composes with others. Git worktrees give you isolation. Modules give you freedom."

This project uses git worktrees as an isolation primitive -- each module lives in its own worktree, can be developed independently, and slots into a shared 3D scene through a card-based UI paradigm.

Key Features

3D Terminal Modules

Self-contained terminal components that render in 3D space. Each module manages its own xterm instance, geometry, and interaction.

Card-Based UI Paradigm

Files, prompts, and data appear as floating cards in 3D space. Cards are the universal UI primitive -- inspect, stack, arrange, connect.

Worktree Isolation

Each module is developed in a separate git worktree. No shared state, no coupling, no merge conflicts. Compose at runtime, not build time.

Composable Architecture

Modules register with a scene coordinator. Drop in a terminal module, a file browser card, a prompt card -- they self-arrange and interconnect.

Tech Stack

JavaScript Three.js Git Worktrees CSS3DRenderer xterm.js Module Registry Scene Coordinator Card Layout Engine

Architecture

// Modular composition via registry SceneCoordinator -- root 3D scene, manages module lifecycle | ├── ModuleRegistry -- register(), get(), list() │ ├── TerminalModule -- 3D terminal (xterm + CSS3DObject) │ ├── FileCardModule -- file preview cards (syntax hl) │ ├── PromptCardModule -- AI prompt interface cards │ └── CustomModule -- user-defined modules | ├── CardLayoutEngine -- spatial arrangement algorithm │ ├── physics-based -- cards repel/attract │ ├── grid-snap -- align to 3D grid │ └── freeform -- manual placement | └── WorktreeManager -- git worktree ops ├── create(branch) -- isolated dev environment └── mount(module) -- hot-load from worktree

Stats

1.2

MB Total Size

JS

Primary Language

4+

Module Types

3

Layout Modes

Lessons Learned

01 Modular architecture for 3D UIs is the answer. After building monoliths (3dFileSystem) and mid-size apps (MultiTerminals), modularity turned out to be the only approach that scales. Each module is testable, replaceable, and comprehensible in isolation.
02 Git worktrees are an underused isolation tool. Most people think of worktrees as a convenience for parallel branches. Using them as module isolation boundaries -- each module in its own worktree -- was surprisingly effective for preventing coupling.
03 Composability beats completeness. Mod3d ships fewer features than MultiTerminals, but every feature can be combined in ways the author never anticipated. A small set of composable primitives outperforms a large set of bespoke features.
04 This was the capstone of the phase. 3dFileSystem asked "what if filesystems were 3D?" MultiTerminals asked "what if terminals were windows?" XtermOrchestrator asked "what if layout was a library?" Mod3d answered: "what if everything was a module?" The progression from monolith to module was the real lesson of the entire Terminal/3D phase.