by atticus_id·Modeling
Images © atticus_id. Used for product review; image policy.
Cgal Boolean earns its place in the Superhive library for taking a result-object approach to booleans: an editable layer stack, multi-object workflows, and Self Union cleanup aimed at dense meshes rather than simple live modifier setups.
Cgal Boolean is a CGAL-powered boolean plugin for Blender built for dense meshes, multi-cutter workflows, and cleaner production results. It provides CGAL-backed Union, Difference, and Intersection operations through an editable result-object workflow rather than a single boolean button.
The core of the plugin is an editable layer stack. After creating a CGAL result object, you keep editing its boolean stack instead of rebuilding from scratch, adding, removing, reordering, enabling, and disabling layers that reference objects or collections. Multiple selected cutters can be added at once through shortcut buttons, and compatible neighboring layers are optimized into larger CGAL stages. Live Update automatically rebuilds the result as you edit source transforms, cutter transforms, mesh geometry, and layer settings, running as a fast preview path.
Self Union unions disconnected mesh components inside a single object, handling kitbash, imported mesh, and scan or CAD cleanup. For final rebuilds, post-processing controls cover triangle-to-quad conversion, boolean edge attributes, and boolean edge selection. The plugin also offers result pinning and cutter collection organization, native Windows x64 and macOS Apple Silicon builds, and an English and Simplified Chinese UI.
Cgal Boolean is best for dense meshes, many cutters, iterative boolean editing, and cases where the final boolean result matters more than keeping every step as a native modifier.
Cgal Boolean is completely free to download and use.
Cgal Boolean ships with native Windows x64 and macOS Apple Silicon / arm64 support, so it runs natively on current Apple Silicon hardware as well as 64-bit Windows systems. Both platform builds expose the same CGAL-backed Union, Difference, and Intersection tools. The interface is available in English and Simplified Chinese. For the exact Blender versions it targets and other system details, check the developer's page.
Cgal Boolean takes a result-object approach rather than the modifier-based setup of Blender's native booleans. Instead of one-off execution, it organizes source and cutters as an editable layer stack you can add to, reorder, disable, or group through collections. Compared with Blender's Float solver it aims to be more reliable on complex intersections, and it's often faster than the Exact solver in dense-mesh benchmark cases while targeting robust results. It can sometimes work with non-manifold meshes, though closed, valid meshes are still recommended.
Cgal Boolean treats Live Update as a fast preview path, so it rebuilds the result stack automatically as you edit source transforms, cutter transforms, mesh geometry, and layer settings. Post-processing outputs such as triangle-to-quad conversion, boolean edge attributes, and boolean edge selection are not applied during Live Update. When you need those outputs, run a manual or final rebuild instead. This keeps Live Update as a fast preview, with those post-processing outputs applied only on a final rebuild.
Cgal Boolean includes Self Union, an operation that unions disconnected mesh components inside a single object. It's aimed at kitbash cleanup, merging overlapping chunks within one object, imported mesh cleanup, and scan or CAD cleanup workflows. Self Union is a dedicated operation and is not stored as a stack layer, which distinguishes it from a standard two-object boolean. That makes it a separate tool from the editable Union, Difference, and Intersection layers used in the main result-object stack.
Cgal Boolean is listed as free in this catalog. Licensing terms can change over time, so for the most current details on pricing and usage, check the developer's page on Superhive. Beyond cost, the plugin bundles CGAL-backed booleans, an editable layer stack, multi-object workflows, Live Update preview, and Self Union in one package for Blender, with native Windows x64 and macOS Apple Silicon builds.
by Community
LoopTools is a mesh modelling toolkit for Blender that gathers several tools to aid modelling. It was previously part of Blender 4.1's bundled add-ons and is now offered as an extension, provided as it is with limited support.
by Community
Extra Mesh Objects is a Blender add-on that expands the Add > Mesh menu with additional mesh object types. Previously bundled with Blender 4.1, it now ships as a standalone extension for Blender 4.2 LTS and newer.
by nickberckley
Bool Tool brings quick boolean operators to Blender for hard-surface modeling, covering brush booleans, destructive auto boolean cuts, and workspace tools that carve objects with custom shapes in both object and edit modes.
by Community
Extra Curve Objects is a community add-on for Blender that adds extra curve object types. It lives under View3D → Add → Curve → Extra Objects and was previously part of Blender 4.1's bundled add-ons.
by MACHIN3
MESHmachine is a mesh modeling addon for Blender focused on hard surface work without subdivision surfaces. It fuses and unfuses surfaces, creates variable fillets and washouts, edits bevels, and details meshes with plugs.
by Community
A.N.T.Landscape is a Blender add mesh add-on for generating landscapes and displacement. Originally a bundled add-on in Blender 4.1, it's now offered as-is with limited support, accessed from the View3D sidebar's Create tab.
