by Strike_Digital·Workflow
Images © Strike_Digital. Used for product review; image policy.
Node Pie earns its place for reworking Blender's add-node menu into a pie menu, with optional frequency-based button sizing that makes the nodes you use most easier to reach. It carries a 5.0 rating across 57 reviews on the extensions platform.
Node Pie is a Blender add-on that converts the usual add-node menu into a pie menu inside the node editor. The goal is to add nodes faster: the developer notes it increases discoverability and helps build muscle memory for a quicker workflow.
Interaction runs through Ctrl-based shortcuts. Ctrl + click anywhere opens the pie menu; Ctrl + drag from a socket opens it and auto-connects the node you select; and Ctrl + Alt + drag over a link opens it and inserts your chosen node into that link. When link dragging, nodes with incompatible socket types are automatically dimmed. An optional feature grows a node's button the more often you use it, so the nodes you use most become larger over time.
It works with node groups and across all of Blender's node editors, including custom editors created by Python add-ons. Key binds are customisable, and the add-on offers extensive customization. Node Pie is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer, and installing from the Blender extensions platform enables automatic updates.
Node Pie is best for blender artists who add nodes frequently across shader, geometry, or compositing editors and want faster, muscle-memory-based node placement.
Node Pie is completely free to download and use.
Node Pie is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer. You can install it directly from the Blender extensions platform, which also enables automatic updates, or download the latest release from the developer's GitHub page. Because it works across all of Blender's node editors, and even custom node editors added by other Python add-ons, it fits into shader, geometry, and compositing work without being limited to one editor type.
Node Pie lets you hold Ctrl + Alt and drag over a link to open the pie menu, then insert the node you select directly into that link. When dragging from a socket, holding Ctrl opens the pie menu and auto-connects the node you choose, while nodes with incompatible socket types are automatically dimmed. A plain Ctrl + click anywhere in the node editor opens the pie menu for adding a node without connecting it.
Node Pie is listed here as free and is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. For current licensing terms, the source code, and the latest releases, check the developer's GitHub page. It is also available through the Blender extensions platform, where installing it enables automatic updates. As a GPL-licensed add-on, its source is open, so you can review or modify it within the terms of that license.
Node Pie includes customisable key binds, so you can reassign the shortcuts used to open the pie menu if the default Ctrl-based bindings conflict with your setup. Beyond key binds, the add-on offers extensive customization. It also has an optional behaviour that enlarges a node's button the more often you use it, so the nodes you reach for most become easier to spot over time. Node Pie requests permission to read and write config files.
Also in Workflow for Blender.
by IvanVostrikov
Texel Density Checker is a Blender toolset for working with texel density. It calculates texel density for meshes across different texture sizes, rescales UVs to a target density, and copies density between objects.
by Oxicid
UniV is a Blender add-on for the UV Editor, built by Oxicid to cover operators for working with UV. Many of its operators respond to Sync state, selection mode, and Ctrl, Shift and Alt key combinations.
by Amandeep
Auto-Highlight In Outliner is a Blender addon that automatically expands the Outliner to reveal the selected object each time you click it in the 3D Viewport, removing the manual button press Blender otherwise requires.
by Blender Studio
CloudRig is a rig generation add-on for Blender that builds helper bones, constraints, and drivers from a simple armature called a Metarig. It also adds optional workflow enhancements like pie menus and improved operators.
by ACGGIT_LJ
Simple Deform Helper is a Blender add-on that enhances the simple deform modifier with on-screen gizmos. Select an object, add the modifier, and adjust bending, twisting, and deform strength directly in the 3D view.
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.
