Changelog

[0.5.0] - 2026-03-29

Added

  • Virtual Environment Guardrail: Introduced a project-wide guardrail that automatically ensures all Python-related operations (linter setup, etc.) run within a dedicated virtual environment (.venv) at the project root. It creates one using the latest available system Python if it doesn’t exist.

  • Linter Setup Improvements:

    • Enhanced the “Setup Linter” process to explicitly use the virtual environment’s pip. It now runs ensurepip to guarantee pip availability before installation.

    • Simplified the linter setup by ensuring only the Blender Major.Minor version is passed to the Linter from the UI, adding logic to automatically use the “Latest” option if the latest version of Blender is specified.

Changed

  • Refactored UI: Moved the Tables for managing and seeing Blender Versions to the User Preferences, and focused the Tool Window to only contain Sandbox Settings, Version Selection, and Linter Setup.

  • Refocused UI: Simplified the Tool Window and Settings UI by removing the dedicated Python installations table and consolidating interpreter setup into a direct linter installation flow.

  • Internationalization (i18n): Migrated all hardcoded strings in logger.log and notifications to the Language Bundle. Synchronized all supported languages (de, es, fr, it, ja, ko, nl, pl, pt, ru, zh) with the updated English keys.

  • SDK Metadata Management: Improved SDK creation to reliably identify virtual environments and correctly set the home path and version metadata.

Fixed

  • EDT Conflict: Fixed an issue where the plugin would attempt to run both the Telemetry and Debug Instance of Blender at the same time, causing a thread conflict.

Removed

  • Automated Python Installation: Removed the plugin’s capability to download, install, and manage system-level Python interpreters.

[0.4.0] - 2026-03-15

Added

  • Integrated Linter Setup: The “Setup Python Interpreter” action now automatically triggers the installation and configuration of the fake-bpy-module linter for the selected Blender version.

  • Junie Agent Guidelines: Introduced a dedicated set of instructions and specialized skills for AI agents (.agent/junie_instructions.md) to ensure consistent behavior, standardized commit messages, and correct environment management.

  • Linter Progress Indicators: Real-time progress for linter file installations is now visible in the Tool Window’s progress panels, providing clear feedback during the pip installation process.

  • Managed/System Blender Actions: Refactored the tool window to use dedicated button panels below both the Managed and System tables for easier management.

  • Setup Linter: Connected the “Setup Linter” buttons in the Tool Window to the automatic linter installation and configuration logic, allowing users to manually trigger fake-bpy-module installation for any Blender version.

  • Python Interpreter Setup: Added functionality to automatically configure the project’s Python interpreter to use the one bundled with a selected Blender installation.

  • Linting Support: Automatically installs fake-bpy-module via pip when a Blender version is downloaded.

  • Interpreter Path Configuration: Programmatically configures the Python SDK’s classpath to include the standard library, Blender modules, and the installed fake-bpy-module linting files.

Changed

  • Blender Downloader: Simplified the Blender extraction process and flattened the directory structure to reduce nesting, now using a dedicated app subfolder (e.g., system/blender_downloads/app/<version>). Improved version management by ensuring version directories are created only during extraction and added macOS-specific app renaming (e.g., Blender 4.2.app) for better identification.

  • Table Layout: Separated Managed and System Blender installation tables into individual classes and adjusted column widths for better readability.

  • Run Configuration: Removed the “Custom” Blender path selection from Run Configurations to focus on using managed and detected system installations.

Fixed

  • SDK Management: Resolved a SymbolicIdAlreadyExistsException and potential infinite loops when programmatically configuring Python interpreters and linting paths.

  • UI Improvements: Moved the Blender installation path to a dedicated read-only field in the System table for easier access and added an “Interpreter” column to the tables.

  • Python Interpreter Setup: Fixed a Write access is allowed inside write-action only error and an Unknown Sdk type error when configuring the Blender Python interpreter.

  • Code Quality: Removed unused attributes and refined internal API for version management.

  • Fixed Softlock in NPW: Addressed a softlock issue in the New Project Wizard.

[0.3.0] - 2026-03-08

Added

  • Blender Status Bar Widget: New indicator in the IDE status bar showing connection status to Blender.

  • Support for Multiple Source Folders: Projects can now designate and manage multiple folders as Blender source directories.

  • Automatic Python Interpreter Setup: Streamlined environment configuration for new projects.

  • Offline Telemetry: Added local-only telemetry for debugging and error reporting.

  • Internationalization: Full i18n support for 11 languages (Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Chinese).

  • Unit & Integration Testing: Added a comprehensive test suite, including headless integration tests for TCP heartbeat and reload logic.

  • Sandbox Management: New tool window for clearing and managing Blender sandboxed environments.

  • Bidirectional Heartbeat: Implemented a more robust TCP client with bidirectional heartbeat and automatic retry logic for connection stability.

Changed

  • Localization Refactor: Standardized all resource bundle keys and migrated from BlenderBundle to LangManager (extending DynamicBundle).

  • Improved Blender Downloader: Refined extraction logic and updated the selectable version list to focus on LTS releases.

  • Path Resolution: Centralized and improved cross-platform path handling using Kotlin NIO.2 (java.nio.file.Path) utilities.

  • Documentation Migration: Moved comprehensive guides to a new Sphinx-based documentation site.

  • License Change: Updated project license to officially use GNU GPL v3.

  • Configuration Discovery: Switched to dynamic detection and copying of Blender configuration subdirectories (system vs. user) to handle different OS layouts.

Fixed

  • macOS Compatibility: Prevented installation of Blender 5.0+ on Intel-based Macs and integrated tryWhich for better executable detection.

  • Manifest Validation: Switched extension Manifest IDs to snake_case to comply with Blender requirements.

  • Run Configuration Stability: Fixed absolute path handling for sandboxed installations and corrected CLI argument syntax for preset configurations.

  • UI Stability: Resolved crashes in the version management tool window and improved New Project Wizard validation.

  • Logging: Added log rotation for better disk usage management and expanded debug output for connection handshakes.

[0.2.0] - 2026-03-01

Added

  • Blender Status Indicator: Added a real-time status bar widget to monitor Blender connection states (Connected, Disconnected, Not Running).

  • Internationalization: Comprehensive i18n support for all user-facing UI, logs, and console outputs across 11 languages (Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Chinese).

  • Blender Development Project: New specialized project type for Blender extension development.

  • Improved Scanner: Enhanced macOS and Linux Blender detection using the which command, and improved custom path labeling.

  • Custom Versions: Support for manual specification of Blender executable paths and versioning.

  • Source Management: Option to mark project folders as Blender source directories for better organization.

  • Cross-Platform Compatibility: Refined path handling for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

  • Documentation: Simplified internal documentation to English-only to ensure maintainability. Moved comprehensive and localized guides to the external documentation site. Localized wiki links are available in WIKI_LOCALIZED.md.

  • Unit Testing: Initial suite of unit tests for core plugin functionality.

  • Sandbox Control: New setting to toggle sandboxing for Blender instances within the New Project Wizard.

Changed

  • Branding: Renamed the plugin to Blender Development and updated all icons to comply with JetBrains Icon guidelines. Added standardized scaling and positioning for Blender logo icons.

  • Improved: Added folder icons for directories marked as Blender source folders in the project view.

  • Environment Setup: Automated the detection and replication of system Blender configuration subdirectories to ensure a consistent sandboxed environment.

  • Diagnostics: Improved logging with per-day rotation, more detailed configuration, and specific error reporting for extraction/mounting failures.

  • Run Configurations: Updated templates for testing, building, and validation with a dynamic UI.

    • Removed redundant --app-template pycharm arguments when executing build and validate commands.

    • Enhanced logic for detecting extension-specific commands.

    • Standardized internal src path handling using Kotlin NIO.2 utilities for better OS reliability.

  • Licensing: Transitioned to GNU GPL v3 and moved license text to a standalone template.

Fixed

  • Management UI: Reworked the Blender version and sandbox management tool window for better stability.

  • Manifest Formatting: Switched Manifest IDs from kebab-case to snake_case to comply with Blender’s validation requirements.

  • CLI Arguments: Corrected the extension command syntax in run configurations, fixing a pluralization error.

  • Stability: Fixed crashes in the version management tool window and resolved validation issues in the New Project Wizard.

  • Path Resolution: Fixed the FATAL_ERROR: Missing local "src" by utilizing absolute paths for the --source-dir argument.

  • Process Management: Configured the GeneralCommandLine working directory to ensure correct resolution of relative paths.

  • Extension Logic: Fixed a bug where --app-template was incorrectly applied to CLI-based extension operations.

[0.1.0] - 2026-02-20

  • Initial release of Blender Development for PyCharm in alpha