by yadu·Workflow
Images © yadu. Used for product review; image policy.
SimpleMIDI earns its place in the Blender Extensions library for turning a MIDI controller into a direct interface for Blender properties, with math expressions available for inverting, scaling, or time-driven motion.
SimpleMIDI is a MIDI controller addon for Blender that lets you map MIDI knobs, sliders, and keys to any property, from object transforms and modifier values to colours. After connecting a device, you work from the Midi tab in the 3D Viewport sidebar, create a new mapping, and paste a property's full data path into the addon panel.
For Geometry Nodes, whose inputs are dynamic, the addon includes a Move to Nodes step so you can copy the socket path from the Group Input node in the Geometry Node Editor. Two mapping modes are available: Set maps a knob directly to a value between its minimum and maximum, while Motor treats the input as a velocity, increasing the value the further the knob is turned.
Math expressions let you transform the input signal using the variables x, time, and frame, along with basic operators and functions such as sin, cos, min, max, and pow. The addon imports and exports JSON for target maps, and it sits at rank 684 in the Blender Extensions library.
SimpleMIDI is best for artists mapping physical MIDI controls to Blender properties, including object transforms, modifier values, colours, and Geometry Nodes inputs.
SimpleMIDI is completely free to download and use.
SimpleMIDI is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer. The 0.1.14 release added more wheels so it should now work on 5.1, along with a couple of bug fixes. If you are running a version from 4.2 upward, the addon is intended to cover that range. For the latest compatibility notes and any newer releases, check the developer's page on GitHub, where the full version history is available.
SimpleMIDI works from the Midi tab in the 3D Viewport sidebar, which you open by pressing N. Connect your MIDI device, click Connect, and move a knob to watch the Monitor value change. Click New Mapping, then right-click the property you want to control, such as a cube's Location X, and choose Copy Full Data Path. Click the Paste button in the addon panel to assign it, and from there the knob drives that property directly.
SimpleMIDI handles Geometry Nodes through a dedicated step, since their inputs are dynamic and cannot be copied from the Modifier tab directly. In the Modifier tab, click the Move to Nodes icon next to the value you want to control. Open the Geometry Node Editor, find the Group Input node, right-click the specific socket input, and select Copy Full Data Path. Paste that path into SimpleMIDI to map a knob or key to the Geometry Nodes input.
SimpleMIDI offers two mapping modes. Set is the standard mode, mapping a knob directly to a value so 0 percent equals the minimum and 100 percent equals the maximum, which suits opacity, scale, rotation, and colours. Motor treats the input as a velocity, like a gas pedal: at zero the value stops changing, and at maximum it increases at top speed. Motor is suited to endless rotation, driving an object forward, or scrolling the timeline.
SimpleMIDI is listed as free in this catalog and is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. That license covers how you can use, modify, and redistribute the addon. For current licensing terms and any changes, check the developer's page on GitHub. The extension also requests a Files permission, which it uses to import and export JSON for target maps, so mappings can be saved and reused.
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