by tonton_·Workflow
Images © tonton_. Used for product review; image policy.
Auto Reload earns its place in the blender_extensions library by handling a common friction point—external files changing outside Blender—through a timer and a topbar toggle rather than repeated manual reloads.
Auto Reload is a Blender add-on that keeps external files in sync while you work. It watches for images, movie clips, libraries, sound files, and cache files that have been modified outside Blender, and reloads them inside the current blend file automatically. A timer runs the check every n seconds, so changes made in another application show up without a manual reload.
Control sits in a menu on the right side of the topbar. A stopwatch button activates or deactivates the timer, and a popover lets you select which file types get reloaded.
The add-on is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer and is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. Version 3.1.2 prevents images with the type GENERATED and a filepath from being reloaded, which fixes an issue with baked ucupaint maps. It is listed here as free.
Auto Reload is best for blender users working with external files that get modified during a session and need refreshing without manual reloads.
Auto Reload is completely free to download and use.
Auto Reload is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer, so it runs on 4.2 and later releases. The version listed here is 3.1.2, published in September 2024. If you are on an older Blender build below 4.2, this version is not listed as compatible, so an update to a supported release would be needed. For current compatibility and any newer builds, check the developer's page at github.com/ucupumar before installing.
Auto Reload refreshes external files that have been modified, covering images, movie clips, libraries, sound files, and cache files. A timer checks for modified files every n seconds and reloads them inside the current blend file. You can also choose which of these file types get reloaded through the popover in the topbar menu, so the reload applies to the types you select.
Auto Reload places a menu on the right side of the topbar. A stopwatch button in that menu activates or deactivates the timer, which looks for modified external files every n seconds and reloads them inside the current blend file. From the same menu, a popover lets you select which file types get reloaded when the timer runs its check, so you can limit reloading to images, movie clips, libraries, sound, or cache files as needed.
Auto Reload is listed here as free and is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. The catalog entry reflects version 3.1.2. Licensing terms and distribution can change over time, so for the current license, source code, and any updated terms, see the developer's page at github.com/ucupumar. That page is the best place to confirm how the add-on is licensed and distributed before you rely on it in a project.
Auto Reload 3.1.2 prevents images with the type GENERATED and a filepath from being reloaded, which fixes an issue with baked ucupaint maps. This change came from a contribution by @ucupumar. Beyond that fix, the add-on continues to reload modified external files—images, movie clips, libraries, sound, and cache files—through its timer, which checks every n seconds, and the topbar menu that lets you toggle the timer and choose which file types are reloaded.
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