---
title: "siteBits – laser scans and drone captures in the browser"
description: "siteBits shows laser scans and drone captures in the browser: point clouds, panoramas, oriented photos, measurements and findings. Self-hosted, open source (EUPL-1.2)."
url: https://sitebits.de/
lang: en
software_version: "0.10.3"
---

siteBits 0.10.3 · EUPL-1.2

# Your site, sovereign, bit by bit.

siteBits shows point clouds, panoramas and photos in the browser, lets you **measure, mark and discuss** them, and runs on **your own server**. No extra software, no account without an invitation.

[See what it does ](#features)[Source on GitHub ](https://github.com/sitebits/sitebits)

How it works

## Prepare once. Open anywhere.

The heavy lifting happens once, when the data is imported. After that, everyone with access opens the project in an ordinary browser.

1. ### Raw data  
Open formats go in: laser scans as E57 or LAS/LAZ, meshes as OBJ, PLY or glTF, plus aligned drone photos. Out comes a project package: point cloud in COPC with levels of detail, panoramas of the scan positions, top view and photos.
2. ### Points  
The viewer streams the package straight into the browser. A current browser with WebGL 2 is enough, nothing to install.
3. ### Measure  
Measure straight in the 3D view.
4. ### Note  
Set pins in the scan.
5. ### Share  
Invite people, give each project its own roles, keep track of every change and export results as CSV or JSON.

## Real data. Real measurements.

A drone survey of an existing building and its grounds, opened in siteBits: 921 million points, classified, measured in the browser.

Captured to find out whether one person can do this alone: point cloud, panoramas and mesh in full quality on your own infrastructure, shared with others, without a subscription. Not a panorama tour, a mesh viewer and a point cloud viewer, but all of it in one place.

- **Points:** 920,938,310
- **Classes:** 8
- **Panoramas:** 277
- **Photos:** 2,746
- **Extent:** 106 × 105 m
- **File:** 7.0 GB · COPC

![siteBits viewer: dense coloured point cloud of flat roofs among trees, a distance line across a roof edge labelled 15.565 m](https://sitebits.de/assets/viewer/messen-1400.webp) 

Distance along a roof edge: 15.565 m. siteBits says what the number rests on: model surface, scale not verified.

![siteBits viewer: the same point cloud coloured by class, green vegetation, blue buildings, brown ground, cyan masts, with a panel listing point counts per class](https://sitebits.de/assets/viewer/klassen-1400.webp) 

Colour by class: ground, vegetation, buildings, masts and lines, with the point count for each class.

Own drone survey, location not named. Screenshots from siteBits 0.10.3.

## From point cloud to decision.

01 / 05

1. #### 01Point clouds and panoramas  
Point clouds in COPC with levels of detail, jumps between scan positions with their panoramas, top view and minimap. A section box cuts point cloud and meshes together.  
   - COPC  
   - Panoramas  
   - Mesh layers  
   - Top view
2. #### 02Distance, height, area  
Measure straight in the 3D view: distance, height, area and polylines. Layers show where a scale is not backed by evidence, so nobody trusts a number that does not deserve it.  
   - Distance  
   - Height  
   - Area  
   - Polyline
3. #### 03Pins and findings  
Set pins in the scan, add notes, discuss findings where they are. Every change goes into the edit history, so you can see who changed what.  
   - Pins  
   - Notes  
   - Edit history
4. #### 04Oriented photos  
Drone photos from the photogrammetric alignment stand where they were taken. One click jumps into the camera position, the photo lies exactly over the scene, a slider blends between photo and 3D.  
   - Photogrammetry  
   - Drone photos  
   - Photo ↔ 3D
5. #### 05Invitation instead of sign-up  
Accounts by invitation only, sign-in with a passkey (password as fallback), roles per project. Export as CSV and JSON, a REST API with OpenAPI description and personal API tokens.  
   - Passkeys  
   - Roles per project  
   - REST API  
   - CSV · JSON

## AI suggests. People decide.

siteBits comes with an MCP server. AI assistants can read projects, pins and measurements, and create or update them, but only with the rights of the account they run under.

you › Which findings on the east side are still open?

ai › pois\_lesen(projekt="example")

ai › 3 open pins on the east side: #14 crack at gutter, #17 tile missing, #21 moss on flat roof.

ai › Shall I add a note "needs inspection" to all three?

you › Only #14 and #17.

ai › poi\_aendern(#14) · poi\_aendern(#17)

✓ 2 pins updated, visible to the project and in the edit history.

Tool names as they appear in siteBits.

East side after the conversation

- **#14 Crack at gutter:** needs inspection
- **#17 Tile missing:** needs inspection
- **#21 Moss on flat roof:** open

- **Same rights as you:** The assistant uses your personal API token, so it can never do more than your account.
- **Traceable:** Every change is visible to the whole project at once and stays in the edit history, with the name of the token.
- **Data-saving by default:** Names become pseudonyms, free-text notes stay on your machine. Instructions someone hid in a note never reach the model.
- **Honest about data flow:** What a tool returns goes to the provider of the language model you use. The documentation says so plainly.

## Your data stays where you put it.

siteBits runs on a Linux server of your choice behind Caddy and HTTPS. No third-party cloud required.

EUPL-1.2

### Self-host

European open-source licence. Whoever passes it on or runs it as a service must share the source.

Code and releases on [GitHub](https://github.com/sitebits/sitebits), with a complete copy on our own infrastructure.

[Source on GitHub ](https://github.com/sitebits/sitebits)

Stiebitz Souverain Systems UG

### Managed hosting

Talk to us about a pilot, a demo with test data, or running siteBits on your own server.

[Write to us ](mailto:hallo@sitebits.de)

- **Passkeys:** Phishing-resistant sign-in, password only as fallback. Accounts by invitation.
- **SBOM per release:** CycloneDX 1.6 following BSI TR-03183-2, plus a vulnerability scan for every release.
- **Signed:** Every release is checked and signed; open and fixed findings are listed publicly.
- **Cyber Resilience Act:** Annex II information included, coordinated vulnerability disclosure.

### Built on site. Ready for the archive.

#### Construction projects

A shared platform for everyone on the job: planners, trades, client. Everybody sees the same scan, measures for themselves and leaves findings where they belong.

#### Heritage and universities

Document buildings, share them with students and conservators, and keep them readable for decades: open formats, open source, run in-house.

## Young, fast, and in the open.

1. ### Origin  
The aim from the first day: scans that usually need specialist software should open in an ordinary browser, for everyone on the project. The idea behind it: build yourself what elsewhere comes only by subscription and what you cannot or will not afford.  
   - **First line:** 25 Sep 2026  
   - **First version 0.1.0:** 28 Sep 2026
2. ### Now  
In development and already in use on real scan projects. Viewer, portal, platform server and MCP server carry the same version, and every release is checked and signed.  
   - **Current version:** 0.10.3  
   - **Interface:** German
3. ### Next  
Source on GitHub; heritage conservation and universities come next. Designed from the start with approval by schools and public bodies in mind.  
   - **Upload in the browser:** planned  
   - **Public on GitHub:** done · Oct 2026  
   - **English interface:** planned  
#### Open to ideas  
I built siteBits for my own needs first, the way I want to work with scans. The goal is still a tool that fits anywhere. If you have a different idea or something is missing, write to me. I'm open to it and will try to build it.  
André  
[hallo@sitebits.de](mailto:hallo@sitebits.de)[GitHub Issues ↗](https://github.com/sitebits/sitebits/issues)

## One person, a clear picture, a lot of help.

siteBits is made by **André Stiebitz** in Potsdam. Not a software house: someone who knew exactly what the tool should do for the people on site, and built it together with AI assistants.

The idea, the decisions and the final check are his. Every release is reviewed, tested and signed before it goes out.

- Potsdam
- Built with AI
- EUPL-1.2
- Signed releases

### The honest manifest

I am not a trained programmer. siteBits came out of imagination, stubbornness and AI.

#### Read the whole manifest

1. It stands on open software: Three.js, Giro3D, PDAL, FastAPI and many more. _Thank you._
2. So it goes back the same way. Take it, change it, build your own.
3. AI can make us race each other or work together. _I'd rather we work together._

**Provided as is.** No warranty; measurements do not replace an official survey. Details in the [imprint](https://sitebits.de/imprint/#software).

## Questions and short answers.

#### 01What is siteBits?

siteBits shows laser scans and drone captures in the browser: point clouds in COPC with levels of detail, panoramas of the scan positions, photogrammetrically aligned drone photos and a top view. Distance, height, area and polylines are measured directly in the scan. Pins can hold notes, and there is an edit history.

#### 02Which data does siteBits work with, and what is needed to open it?

Laser scans (E57, LAS/LAZ), meshes (OBJ, PLY, glTF) and aligned drone photos are prepared once into a project package in open formats. After that, opening a project takes nothing more than a current browser with WebGL 2, and there is nothing to install.

#### 03How do accounts, roles and exports work?

Accounts are created by invitation only, and sign-in uses a passkey with a password as fallback. Roles are set per project: Viewer, Reporter or Editor. Results export as CSV and JSON, and there is a REST API with an OpenAPI description and personal API tokens.

#### 04Where does siteBits run?

On a Linux server of choice behind Caddy and HTTPS, with no third-party cloud required; the operating guide is part of the documentation. Anyone who would rather not run a server can ask Stiebitz Souverain Systems UG (haftungsbeschränkt) for setup, hosting and support through the contact on this page.

#### 05What does the licence allow?

siteBits is licensed under the EUPL-1.2 and may be used, changed and passed on freely. Whoever passes it on or runs it as a service must share the source code. Source and releases are on GitHub, with a complete copy on our own infrastructure.

#### 06What role does AI play?

AI is optional. Through an MCP server, AI assistants can read and create projects, pins and measurements, using a personal API token and therefore only with the rights of the account the token belongs to. Names are pseudonymised and free-text notes stay local; whatever a tool returns goes to the provider of the language model in use, and the documentation says so openly.

#### 07How reliable are the measurements?

Measurements do not replace an official survey, and siteBits is provided without warranty. Layers show where a scale is not backed by evidence.

#### 08How are releases secured?

Every release is checked and signed and comes with an SBOM (CycloneDX 1.6 following BSI TR-03183-2) and a vulnerability scan. Vulnerabilities can be reported through a coordinated disclosure process.

#### 09How far along is siteBits?

siteBits 0.10.3 is the first public release on GitHub. It is in active development and already in use on real scan projects. The interface is currently in German; English is planned. Heritage conservation and universities come next.

#### 10Who makes siteBits?

siteBits is made by André Stiebitz in Potsdam and built together with AI assistants. The idea, the decisions and the checking are his.

## Have scans that nobody looks at?

[Write to us ](mailto:hallo@sitebits.de)