by z01ks000·Workflow
Illustrative cover generated by AnyPlugins — no product screenshot available.
Node Bar earns its place in the superhive library by putting shader nodes behind a fixed set of icons, so their positions stay consistent as you learn the layout. It covers Shader Nodes only for now, with the developer noting plans for Geometry Nodes and Compositor support, and it holds a five-star rating from three reviews.
Node Bar adds shader nodes in Blender through recognizable icons instead of typing in the Search field or opening drop-down menus. Each icon carries a tooltip, and you add a node by clicking and dragging it out. A hotkey brings up the bar, which you can resize with the Middle Mouse button and move with the Right Mouse button.
The bar is fully customizable from the Shader Editor N-Panel. This customizable version, the Mini Bar, lets you group your favourite nodes, arrange them into one or multiple rows and label each row. You can also toggle a Full Bar that contains all nodes, organized into one, two or three rows.
Node Bar currently works with Shader Nodes only, without support for Geometry Nodes or the Compositor, though the developer plans to add those in the coming months. The 1.1 release updated the addon for Blender 4.0 and fixed issues tied to changes in the Blender API.
Node Bar is best for blender artists who want to add shader nodes through icons instead of the Search field or drop-down menus.
Node Bar is completely free to download and use.
Node Bar lists compatibility with Blender 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 and 4.0. Its 1.1 release, published November 26th, 2023, updated the addon for Blender 4.0 and fixed issues tied to changes in the Blender API. If you run one of those listed versions, the addon is built to work with it. For newer Blender releases beyond 4.0, check the developer's page to confirm current compatibility before installing, since the listed range stops at 4.0.
Node Bar works with Shader Nodes only. It does not currently support Geometry Nodes or the Compositor, so you can use it for building materials in the Shader Editor but not for those other node systems. The developer has stated plans to add support for Geometry Nodes and the Compositor in the coming months, though the listed release covers shader work alone. If you need those node types, check the developer's page for any newer update.
Node Bar places shader nodes behind recognizable icons, and you add a node by clicking and dragging it out from its icon. A hotkey displays the bar when you need it. You can resize the bar with the Middle Mouse button and move it with the Right Mouse button. Customization happens in the Shader Editor N-Panel, where you group your favourite nodes, arrange them into rows and label each row. A separate Full Bar option shows all nodes across one, two or three rows.
Node Bar is listed as free in this catalog, and it ships under the GPL license. Licensing and pricing can change over time, so check the developer's page for the current terms before you download. The listing shows a five-star rating from three reviews and notes over ninety sales. A three-minute video tutorial and a demo video are both available.
Also in Workflow for Blender.
by Inlet
Shape Key Collections adds a folder structure for organizing shape keys in Blender, letting you rename them and sort each key into folders and subfolders. Its Split Keys feature groups up to three shape keys in one place.
by halitree
Hair Proxy is a Blender addon that combines features of hair curve and mesh objects, letting you add shape keys and hair dynamics to hair curves in a few clicks.
by EdenWeby 3D
Themify - Blender Theme Editor is a Blender add-on that brings theme customization into an organized sidebar interface, with tabs for global and individual UI elements, real-time preview, and export to presets or XML.
by Salman Naseem
Time & Click Tracker is a Blender add-on that logs your time and activity automatically in the background. It records active time to the second, counts mouse clicks and key presses, and detects idle periods.
by Ares Tech
Blender 2 Clicks 2 Import (Blender2C2I) is a Windows utility that opens compatible 3D files in Blender with two clicks, either by double-clicking a file or right-clicking and choosing Open with Blender2C2I.
by Salt Media
BlenderAe2 by Salt Media transfers 3D data and objects between Blender and After Effects in both directions, covering vertices, 3D layer transforms, camera data and layer synchronization.
by MACHIN3
Machin3Tools is a continuously evolving collection of tools and pie menus for Blender, gathered in a single customizable package. It ships in two base variants, Prime and DeusEx, with the DeusEx variant adding more advanced tools.
by MikhailRachinskiy
3D Print Toolbox is a Blender add-on with utilities for 3D printing. It analyzes mesh volume and surface area, checks and fixes geometry, hollows shapes, aligns models to the print bed, and exports to STL, PLY, and OBJ.
by glukoz
UVPackmaster 4 is a UV packing engine for Blender that packs UV maps on the CPU and GPU, using the Cuda and Vulkan APIs, and can run on the CPU and all system GPUs at once.
by MMD
MMD Tools is a Blender add-on for editing MikuMikuDance (MMD) models. It handles importing and exporting model, motion and pose data, along with chopping and joining parts, plus rigid body, material and motion editing.
by HaughtyGrayAlien
SimpleBake brings PBR and traditional texture baking to Blender from a single panel. Select objects, choose maps, and bake — no special node groups or new workflow, working with whatever materials you've already built.
