# Google Earth: reconstructing 3D satellite asset formats and access

> earth-reverse-engineering investigates Google Earth's 3D satellite mode and reconstructs its resource URL structure, octree metadata, Protobuf asset formats, and mesh and texture decoding steps. The repository includes a native and WebAssembly flycam client, a JavaScript model exporter, and a rocktree Protobuf schema.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Website
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-09
- Original resource: <https://github.com/retroplasma/earth-reverse-engineering>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/retroplasma/earth-reverse-engineering/blob/35af10d0e1a133dc217d63c59545a917f4e5fc3f/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/earth-reverse-engineering-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/earth-reverse-engineering-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/earth-reverse-engineering-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** The native client build requires repository submodules, g++, SDL2, Protobuf, and GLEW.
- **Prerequisites:** The model exporter requires Node.js v8 and npm.
- **Limits:** The README describes a bounding-box-based method for converting latitude and longitude to an octant as unstable.
- **License:** No licence file is shown in the repository file list.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/retroplasma/earth-reverse-engineering/blob/35af10d0e1a133dc217d63c59545a917f4e5fc3f/README.md>
2. <https://github.com/retroplasma/earth-reverse-engineering/blob/35af10d0e1a133dc217d63c59545a917f4e5fc3f/exporter/README.md>

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## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.