by Shuimeng·Rendering
Images © Shuimeng. Used for product review; image policy.
Chunk Render stands out in the Blender extensions library for pairing tiled rendering with automatic stitching, re-merge tools, and multi-layer EXR support that leans on the OIIO library Blender already ships. It also estimates memory usage before merging and aborts if the risk is too high.
Chunk Render splits a final Blender image into tiles, renders each one in order, and merges them back into a complete image once rendering finishes. It works with standard image formats and multi-layer EXR, making it suitable for large scenes, long render times, recovery from unstable rendering tasks, and workflows that need flexible control over local output regions.
Tiling can use preset levels or manually specified rows and columns, and can be limited to the current Render Border region. Options include snapping the render border to integer pixel boundaries, a real-time tile overlay in the camera view, and Bleed Pixels to reduce seams between tiles. You can render all tiles or only specific indices, auto-merge tiles into the final image, delete tile files after a successful merge, and re-merge tiles already on disk. Output supports both standard image output and the Compositor File Output node.
Multi-layer EXR merging and re-merging rely on OpenImageIO, which Blender ships by default, so the add-on is self-contained in theory. It earns a place in the Blender extensions library for giving artists granular control over how large renders are divided and reassembled.
Chunk Render is best for large scenes, long render times, recovering from unstable rendering tasks, and workflows that need flexible control over local output regions.
Chunk Render is completely free to download and use.
Chunk Render is compatible with Blender 5.0 and newer, so it targets recent releases of the software. It installs as an add-on, and its controls appear in the Output Properties under the Render Region panel. If you are running an older Blender version, check the developer's page before installing, since versions earlier than 5.0 fall outside the stated compatibility range for this release of the add-on.
Chunk Render relies on OpenImageIO (OIIO) for multi-layer EXR merging and re-merging. Blender ships the OIIO library by default, so in theory the add-on is fully self-contained and requires no third-party libraries or tools. If OIIO is missing from your Blender environment, multi-layer EXR merging will not work, though standard image formats remain supported. Re-merging EXR files aims to preserve channel structure and metadata, but fully lossless restoration is not always possible.
Chunk Render is controlled from the Render Region panel in Blender's Output Properties. Under Step 1, choose a tiling method using preset Levels or by manually setting Rows and Columns, and optionally enable Use Render Border to tile only within the current render border. Under Step 2, click Start Render to render tiles one by one, and enable Auto Merge Final Image to build the complete image once rendering finishes. Using Render Border first requires drawing a border with Ctrl+B.
Chunk Render is listed as free in this catalog and is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. That license governs how you can use, modify, and redistribute the add-on. For the most current licensing terms and any changes to how it is offered, check the developer's page. The add-on requires a valid output path to run, and can fall back to the Compositor File Output node if the main output path is unusable.
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