by pioverfour·Workflow
Images © pioverfour. Used for product review; image policy.
Highlighter earns its place in the Blender extensions library as a focused utility for bringing syntax-highlighted code into the viewport as 3D text, leaning on the Pygments library. With over six thousand downloads and a GPL v3 license, it stays a small, single-purpose add-on.
Highlighter is a Blender add-on from pioverfour that brings syntax highlighting to text objects. It converts code into colored 3D text that appears directly in the viewport, applying styles based on the language it detects or one you choose yourself.
You start in the text editor, opening the Edit menu and choosing Text to 3D Object, then Syntax-Highlighted, before picking a style. The add-on attempts to detect the syntax automatically, and you can override it manually when detection misses. After confirming, the highlighted text is created as an object in the scene. Existing text objects can be highlighted again through the Syntax Highlight Object entry in the F3 menu, or via Apply Syntax Highlighting in the Text menu while in Edit mode.
Default fonts can be set in the add-on's preferences instead of per object, and the syntax highlighting itself relies almost entirely on the Pygments library. Highlighter is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer, requires no special permissions, and is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later.
Highlighter is best for blender users who want to display code as syntax-highlighted 3D text objects in the viewport.
Highlighter is completely free to download and use.
Highlighter is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer, so recent Blender releases can run the add-on. It installs like other Blender extensions, either by dragging the downloaded package into Blender or installing it from disk through the extensions preferences. Once enabled, it adds syntax-highlighting options to the text editor and the Text menu. If you're on an older build, you'll need to update to at least Blender 4.2 before installing it.
Highlighter works from the text editor: open the Edit menu, choose Text to 3D Object, then Syntax-Highlighted, and pick the style you want. The add-on tries to detect the syntax automatically, though you can select the correct one manually if detection fails. Confirm, and the text appears in the viewport as an object. To highlight an existing text object again, search for Syntax Highlight Object in the F3 menu, or use Apply Syntax Highlighting in the Text menu while in Edit mode.
Highlighter lets you set default fonts in the add-on's preferences, so you don't have to choose fonts for each object individually. This is configured through the preferences rather than per text object. The add-on relies almost entirely on the Pygments library to do the syntax highlighting itself, which handles the language work behind the coloring. Beyond that, Highlighter requires no special permissions to run inside Blender, keeping setup straightforward.
Highlighter is listed as free here and is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. The add-on requires no special permissions to run. For the current licensing terms and any updates, check the developer's page at projects.blender.org. Version 0.1.0 was published in November 2024, and the download package is small at around a megabyte, so it installs quickly through Blender's extension system.
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