# Blender MCP: official vs community server and setup Choose the official Blender MCP server or the community addon. Compare supported versions, scene inspection, asset generation, setup and Python access. Author: Anvisha Pai Canonical: https://voyageragent.ai/blog/blender-mcp Published: 2026-09-17 Updated: 2026-09-17 ![A 3D artist’s desk at night: a large monitor showing a glowing orange wireframe spaceship over a grid, a smaller monitor with a green terminal, clay maquettes and a sculpted bust on the desk under a lamp.](https://cdn.moda.app/voyager/blog/blender-mcp/hero-ba2bcf3794.webp) Choose Blender Lab's official server for inspecting and understanding an existing scene on a supported Blender version. Compare the community mcp-for-blender addon when you want its asset-library and generation integrations. For a repeatable batch task, a saved bpy script may be simpler than either server. Both servers can run agent-written Python inside Blender, so the practical choice includes permissions, preview and recovery as well as features. The official server and community addon are separate projects with different version requirements. The comparison below is based on their documentation and repository state on 17 September 2026, not a head-to-head scene-building test. **Jump to:** [setup](#setup-for-claude-code-and-codex) · [official vs community](#official-versus-community-side-by-side) · [other routes](#other-servers-and-their-tradeoffs) · [security](#security-notes) ## Setup for Claude Code and Codex ### Official server with Claude Code 1. Install Blender 5.1 or newer. On the [Lab page](https://www.blender.org/lab/mcp-server/), drag the add-on link into Blender twice: once to add the Blender Lab extension repository, once to install the add-on. Or download it and use Install from Disk. 2. In Edit > Preferences > Add-ons, open the add-on's preferences, note the host and port, and start the bridge server (or enable auto-start). 3. Get the MCP server process. Short path: add the Blender connector in Claude Desktop (Customize > Connectors > Blender > Add), then run `claude mcp add-from-claude-desktop`, which imports Claude Desktop's servers on macOS and WSL ([Claude Code MCP docs](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp)). Long path: clone the repository, `pip install -e mcp` in a virtual environment per the [local LLM guide](https://projects.blender.org/lab/blender_mcp/src/branch/main/readme_local_llm.rst), then `claude mcp add blender -- /path/to/venv/bin/blender-mcp`. The `--` keeps Claude Code from parsing the path as its own option; `--scope project` writes `.mcp.json` instead of user config. 4. `claude mcp list`, or `/mcp` inside a session, should show 26 tools. Ask for a data-block summary of the open file before asking for any write. ### Official server with Codex Codex CLI, the ChatGPT desktop app and the IDE extension share `~/.codex/config.toml` ([Codex MCP docs](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/extend/mcp?surface=cli)). Either `codex mcp add blender -- /path/to/venv/bin/blender-mcp`, or add the block by hand; paths must be absolute, and `codex mcp list` should show it enabled. ```toml [mcp_servers.blender] command = "/path/to/venv/bin/blender-mcp" args = [] ``` ### Community addon with either Three commands from the README, after installing `uv`: ```bash claude mcp add blender uvx mcp-for-blender # Claude Code codex mcp add blender -- uvx mcp-for-blender # Codex uvx mcp-for-blender install-addon # copies the addon into Blender's addons folder ``` Then in Blender: Edit > Preferences > Add-ons, enable "Interface: MCP for Blender", press N in the 3D viewport and click Start MCP Server in the MCP for Blender tab. If a GUI client reports `spawn uvx ENOENT`, use the full path from `which uvx`; GUI apps do not inherit your shell's PATH. Cursor takes the same `command` and `args` JSON in `.cursor/mcp.json`. Add `"env": {"BLENDER_MCP_SAFE_MODE": "1", "DISABLE_TELEMETRY": "true"}` unless you have decided otherwise. ## The routes at a glance | Route | What it is | Blender version | Best for | | ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Blender Lab server (official) | Add-on plus `blender-mcp` process from projects.blender.org; the Claude Desktop connector | 5.1 or newer | Scene analysis, renaming, docs lookup, debugging, scripts against a live file | | `mcp-for-blender` (community) | Ahuja's addon and `uvx` server; code execution plus asset and model download | 3.0 or newer | Building scenes from assets, quick blockouts, any client with a config file | | Other community servers | Typed tool sets, headless runners, Ollama, HTTP transports | Varies | A specific shape: no GUI, local models, curated tools | | `bpy` script with no server | Agent writes Python; you run `blender -b file.blend --python script.py` | Any | Batch jobs, render farms, CI, anything you will rerun | | Agent skills | Instructions and API references for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor | Documents only | Making any route produce correct `bpy` | | Screen control | Computer-use tools driving the GUI by screenshot | Any | One dialog with no API; not modelling | ## The official server: Blender Lab MCP Blender's page calls it "a lightweight MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for Blender" that offers "a natural language interface with Blender's Python API, improving access to documentation, and allowing users to explore and understand complex setups" ([blender.org/lab/mcp-server](https://www.blender.org/lab/mcp-server/)). It is blunt about what Blender itself contains: "Blender does not have any built-in functionality for connecting to LLMs", so "three external tools must be manually downloaded, installed, and run": an add-on, an LLM client and the MCP server. Requirements: "Blender 5.1 or newer". The code lives at [projects.blender.org/lab/blender\_mcp](https://projects.blender.org/lab/blender_mcp), not GitHub, so it never appears in a GitHub star count (25 stars and 23 forks on Blender's Gitea). The first tagged release is dated 10 April 2026, v1.0.0 landed on 27 April, the day before Anthropic's announcement, and v1.0.3 shipped on 11 September as a `blender-1.0.3.mcpb` bundle. The latest commits are Campbell Barton's, including "Update 5.2: manual & API" on 11 September, with Dalai Felinto bumping versions on 8 September. Core developers maintain it, the README says it "is deliberately small, maintainable, and does no more than necessary", and the add-on manifest licenses it GPL-3.0-or-later. ![The Blender Lab MCP Server page on blender.org: a one-paragraph description, a yellow security warning that the server executes LLM generated code without guards, and an installation section listing Blender 5.1 or newer, an add-on, an LLM client and the MCP server.](https://cdn.moda.app/voyager/blog/blender-mcp/fig-lab-177308b1f2.webp) The official page. The security warning sits above the install steps, which is the right order. ### What it exposes Twenty-six tools, listed in [readme\_tools.rst](https://projects.blender.org/lab/blender_mcp/src/branch/main/readme_tools.rst), and the shape tells you what it is for. `execute_blender_code` runs Python in the connected Blender, and `execute_blender_code_for_cli` runs it in a background process instead. Five `get_blendfile_summary_*` tools report data-block counts, missing files, linked libraries, paths and a "usage guess", each with a `_for_cli` twin that opens a `.blend` with no GUI session. Object summaries, three screenshot tools and a thumbnail render give the model something to look at, `search_api_docs` and `search_manual_docs` run full-text search over a bundled API reference and manual, and a few `jump_to_*` tools move the UI. That is a documentation-and-inspection server with one code-execution tool, not a tool-per-operation wrapper; the process sits between the client's stdio and the add-on's TCP socket ([readme](https://projects.blender.org/lab/blender_mcp/src/branch/main/readme.md)). ### What Blender says it can do The worked examples on the Lab page are the best evidence of intended use. The first asks the model to "list the outliers: objects with highest polygon count but smaller size from the camera point of view" in the Classroom benchmark file, and it flags a 20k-polygon alphabet and a 37k-polygon coat; Blender then notes the analysis "only considered the modifiers which influenced the viewport" and missed a Solidify modifier that doubles the coat's count. The second is a table of tested prompts against the Scattering Pebbles demo: fix typos in data-block names, suggest better names, list which objects use a material, find the highest-poly object, and document a Geometry Nodes tree with frames. Under it: "The sucess of the operation will depend on the model used." ![The Example 2 table on blender.org's MCP Server page: five tested prompts against the Scattering Pebbles demo file, covering data-block renaming, querying which objects use a material, scene debugging and Geometry Nodes documentation, with the results each produced. Above it a blue callout titled How reliable are those results.](https://cdn.moda.app/voyager/blog/blender-mcp/fig-lab-prompts-116364fafd.webp) Blender's own tested prompts: renaming, querying and documenting, not modelling. The callout above the table is the vendor noting its own example missed a modifier. ### The Claude connector is this server Anthropic's Claude for Creative Work launch on 28 April 2026 listed Blender among eight connectors: "3D artists can use the Blender connector to analyze and debug entire Blender scenes, or build custom scripts to batch-apply changes to objects in a scene", and it "is accessible to other LLMs in addition to Claude" ([Anthropic](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-for-creative-work)). Claude's tutorial goes through Customize > Connectors in Claude Desktop, then dragging the add-on link into Blender twice, once for the Lab extension repository and once for the add-on. It works on "any Claude plan, including Free", needs Claude Desktop rather than the browser, and changes "write to disk only upon manual save in Blender" ([Claude Academy](https://academy.claude.com/tutorials/using-the-blender-connector-in-claude)). The tutorial says Blender 4.2 or later; blender.org and the add-on manifest say 5.1. Go with Blender's number. Blender announced Anthropic as a Development Fund Corporate Patron the same day ([blender.org](https://www.blender.org/archive/anthropic-joins-the-blender-development-fund-as-corporate-patron/)); on 1 May, after community pushback, it converted that to "a singular donation" and stated that "No generative AI functionality is currently available or planned to be integrated in Blender" ([blender.org](https://www.blender.org/news/upcoming-blender-development-fund-and-ai-policies/)). The MCP server is an external Lab project, and that sentence is why it will stay one. ## The community addon: mcp-for-blender Siddharth Ahuja's project has the star count, the Discord and the YouTube tutorials. On 16 September 2026 the repository moved from `ahujasid/blender-mcp` to `ahujasid/mcp-for-blender` and the PyPI package from `blender-mcp` to `mcp-for-blender`; the old name is "a compatibility wrapper" and "no config change is required" ([issue #366](https://github.com/ahujasid/mcp-for-blender/issues/366)). GitHub API on 17 September: 28,890 stars, 2,661 forks, 42 contributors, 212 commits, MIT, created 7 March 2025, pushed 16 September. Its own disclaimer: "This is a third-party integration and not made by Blender." ![The ahujasid/mcp-for-blender repository on GitHub: 28.9k stars, 2.7k forks, 42 contributors, MIT licence, 212 commits, with recent commits reading rename: blender-mcp to mcp-for-blender and a Dockerfile added two weeks earlier.](https://cdn.moda.app/voyager/blog/blender-mcp/fig-github-9c8c077986.webp) The community server two days after its rename. No releases are published; the version lives on PyPI. Requirements are looser: Blender 3.0 or newer, Python 3.10 or newer, and `uv` from its official installer, "not `pip install uv`" ([README](https://github.com/ahujasid/mcp-for-blender)). The addon opens a socket on port 9876 and the client launches `uvx mcp-for-blender`. Capabilities per the README: scene and object information; create, modify and delete shapes; materials; "execute any Python code in Blender"; GLB and FBX export; node schema and `bpy` lookups; models, textures and HDRIs from Poly Haven; Sketchfab and Poly Pizza search; and generated meshes from Hyper3D Rodin and Hunyuan3D, with API keys in the add-on preferences or `BLENDERMCP_*` environment variables. Three README lines matter more than the feature list. "Only run one instance of the MCP server (either Cursor or Claude Desktop), not both." "By default, the AI can run any Python code in Blender. Set `BLENDER_MCP_SAFE_MODE=1` to check every script before it runs and block risky code." And "Telemetry consent is on by default", the data "may be used to improve MCP for Blender, for research, and to train AI models", and `DISABLE_TELEMETRY=true` turns it off. Two fan microsites orbit it: [blendermcp.org](https://blendermcp.org/) titles itself "Official Blender MCP" and then says in the body it is "a community project. Not made by, affiliated with, or endorsed by the Blender Foundation", and [blender-mcp.com](https://blender-mcp.com/) is "made by the fans of Blender MCP". Both promote 3D-Agent, a paid app with "no free tier" ([3d-agent.com](https://3d-agent.com/blender-mcp)). Griptape Nodes, Foundry's orchestration product, documents the Lab server instead ([Griptape docs](https://docs.griptapenodes.com/en/stable/guides/mcp/servers/blender/)). ### Official versus community, side by side | | Blender Lab server | mcp-for-blender | | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Maintainer | Blender developers (Campbell Barton, Dalai Felinto) | Siddharth Ahuja and 42 contributors | | Hosted | projects.blender.org, .mcpb bundle on releases | GitHub and PyPI | | Blender | 5.1 or newer | 3.0 or newer | | Tools | 26: code execution, file summaries, screenshots, docs search, UI navigation | Scene, objects, materials, code execution, GLB and FBX export, Poly Haven, Sketchfab, Poly Pizza, Hyper3D, Hunyuan3D | | Background mode | `_for_cli` tools open a `.blend` in a headless Blender | Live session only | | Bundled reference | Python API and manual as RST, full-text search | Node schema and `bpy` lookups | | Guardrails | None; blender.org says use a VM | Optional `BLENDER_MCP_SAFE_MODE=1` | | Telemetry | None stated | On by default, opt out | | Client setup | Claude Desktop connector, .mcpb, llama.cpp, any stdio client from source | `claude mcp add`, `codex mcp add`, Cursor, VS Code, OpenCode, Antigravity, Docker | | Licence | GPL-3.0-or-later | MIT | Official for understanding or fixing a file you already have; community for building a scene from outside assets, or when you need Blender 3.x or 4.x, a client the Lab does not document, or Docker. Neither is safer in the way that counts; both execute what the model writes. ## Other servers and their tradeoffs A GitHub search for "blender mcp" returns 849 repositories, mostly forks, skill packs and weekend experiments. The table holds the ones with a distinct approach or more than a couple of dozen stars; approach is from each README. | Repository | Stars | Last push | Approach | Licence | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------ | ----------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | | [ahujasid/mcp-for-blender](https://github.com/ahujasid/mcp-for-blender) | 28,890 | 16 Sep 2026 | Live socket, code exec, asset and model download | MIT | | [VxASI/blender-mcp-vxai](https://github.com/VxASI/blender-mcp-vxai) | 299 | 21 Mar 2025 | Early fork, unmaintained | MIT | | [HoldMyBeer-gg/blend-ai](https://github.com/HoldMyBeer-gg/blend-ai) | 142 | 22 Jul 2026 | 108 typed tools across modelling, sculpt, UV, rigging, physics | AGPL-3.0 | | [AIGODLIKE/GenesisCore](https://github.com/AIGODLIKE/GenesisCore) | 135 | 18 Apr 2025 | Chat client inside Blender, DeepSeek and Claude, unmaintained | none | | [dhakalnirajan/blender-open-mcp](https://github.com/dhakalnirajan/blender-open-mcp) | 117 | 4 Sep 2026 | Local models through Ollama | MIT | | [pranav-deshmukh/blender-mcp](https://github.com/pranav-deshmukh/blender-mcp) | 96 | 6 Aug 2025 | Fork, stale | MIT | | [bpy-dev/blender-mcp](https://github.com/bpy-dev/blender-mcp) | 91 | 12 Sep 2026 | Fork of the Lab server: standalone `bpy` backend, runtime API introspection, BlenderBench | GPL-3.0 | | [PatrykIti/blender-ai-mcp](https://github.com/PatrykIti/blender-ai-mcp) | 57 | 27 Jun 2026 | "Goal-first routing", curated tools, verification step | Apache-2.0 | | [seehiong/blender-mcp-bridge](https://github.com/seehiong/blender-mcp-bridge) | 54 | 13 Sep 2026 | 93 tools including architecture and MEP helpers | MIT | | [sandraschi/blender-mcp](https://github.com/sandraschi/blender-mcp) | 45 | 15 Sep 2026 | Headless: spawns `blender --background` per call, 41 tools, VSE and Grease Pencil, .mcpb | MIT | | [dcc-mcp/dcc-mcp-blender](https://github.com/dcc-mcp/dcc-mcp-blender) | 35 | 10 Sep 2026 | Streamable HTTP server embedded in the add-on; part of a multi-DCC framework | MIT | | [youichi-uda/blender-mcp-pro](https://github.com/youichi-uda/blender-mcp-pro) | 30 | 15 Apr 2026 | 100+ tools, shader and geometry nodes | none | | [djeada/blender-mcp-server](https://github.com/djeada/blender-mcp-server) | 27 | 21 Jun 2026 | 22 tools, Claude Desktop | MIT | | [CallMeJones/blender-agent-bridge](https://github.com/CallMeJones/blender-agent-bridge) | 21 | 11 Aug 2026 | "Reversible editing and visual evidence" | GPL-3.0 | | [harveyxiacn/blender-mcp](https://github.com/harveyxiacn/blender-mcp) | 12 | 3 Jun 2026 | 359 tools in 51 modules | MIT | | [griptape-ai/griptape-nodes-blender](https://github.com/griptape-ai/griptape-nodes-blender) | 1 | 8 Sep 2026 | Camera-capture nodes for Griptape; MCP via the Lab server | Apache-2.0 | Tool count is a design choice, not a score: the Lab server has 26 tools and one of them is "run Python", harveyxiacn has 359. For a model that can write `bpy`, one execution tool plus searchable documentation beats hundreds of thin wrappers competing for context, and the two best-maintained projects both chose the small end. The newcomers worth a look are shaped around what the big two lack: sandraschi and the bpy-dev fork run without a GUI session, dcc-mcp speaks HTTP, blender-open-mcp targets Ollama, CallMeJones and PatrykIti add verification and undo. Otherwise the choice is between the first row and the official server. ## The route with no server: bpy and the command line Every server above ends at Blender's Python API ([docs.blender.org/api/current](https://docs.blender.org/api/current/)). If your agent has a shell, it can skip MCP: ask Claude Code or Codex for a `bpy` script, then run it in a background Blender. From the manual, `-b` or `--background` runs "in background (often used for UI-less rendering)", `-P` or `--python ` runs a script file, `--python-expr` runs an inline expression, and `--python-exit-code ` sets a non-zero exit "if a Python exception is raised", which is what makes a script usable from CI ([Blender manual](https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/advanced/command_line/arguments.html)). ```bash blender -b scene.blend --python-exit-code 1 --python fix_names.py blender -b scene.blend -E CYCLES -o //render_ -F PNG -x 1 -f 1 ``` ```python import bpy for obj in bpy.data.objects: if obj.type == 'MESH' and obj.name.startswith('Cube.'): obj.name = obj.name.replace('Cube.', 'GEO-crate-') # Choose an unused output path to preserve the source file. bpy.ops.wm.save_as_mainfile(filepath=bpy.path.abspath("//scene-renamed.blend")) ``` We checked the rename operation locally on Blender 5.2.1 LTS on 17 September 2026. A separate background process created three meshes named Cube.001 through Cube.003 and one Camera object, applied the rename loop, saved a new .blend and reopened it. The reopened file contained GEO-crate-001, GEO-crate-002 and GEO-crate-003; Camera retained its name and the mesh count remained three. This tests the direct Python route, not either MCP server or the visual quality of a generated scene. The manual's own warning is the one agents trip on: "Arguments are executed in the order they are given", so `--render-frame 1 --render-output /tmp` renders before the output path is set, and an output path given before the file is overwritten when the file loads. File first, then settings, then the render flag. There is also `pip install bpy`, Blender as a Python module, at 5.2.2 on PyPI and pinned to Python 3.13 ([PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/bpy/)): no Blender executable, no viewport, which is how the bpy-dev fork's standalone backend works. The trade against MCP is simple. A server gives the agent a live scene, screenshots and a repair loop in one conversation. A script gives you an artefact you can read before it runs, diff, keep and rerun on the next hundred files. For anything you will do twice, the script wins; the Lab server's `_for_cli` tools acknowledge as much, and the [DaVinci Resolve inventory](/blog/davinci-resolve-mcp) found the vendor's own server there built on the same "write a script, run it" idea. ## Skills and screen control Skill packs do not connect to Blender; they teach the agent what to write. [arjun988/blender-skills](https://github.com/arjun988/blender-skills) (199 stars, July) ships "94 specialist Blender skills for Cursor, Claude Code, Kiro & Codex" that execute through Ahuja's addon; [RobLe3/cc-blender-skill](https://github.com/RobLe3/cc-blender-skill) (60 stars, May) is a Claude Code plugin for Blender 5.x; [jangtrinh/design-os-3d-blender](https://github.com/jangtrinh/design-os-3d-blender) (70 stars, 17 September) adds a "verified bpy knowledge base"; [ifBars/blender-agent-studio](https://github.com/ifBars/blender-agent-studio) (36 stars, 14 September) is the Codex equivalent. Read a skill file before installing it; it is instructions the agent will follow. For jobs no API reaches, the last option is an agent driving the GUI. Anthropic's computer use tool gives Claude "screenshot capabilities and mouse/keyboard control" and recommends "a dedicated virtual machine or container with minimal privileges" ([Anthropic docs](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/computer-use-tool)). At screenshot cadence it is slow, and sculpt and paint modes are the parts that need a hand on a tablet, so treat it as a way through one dialog, not a way to model. ## Which route for which job | Job | Route | Why | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Audit a heavy scene, find polygon outliers, list missing files | Official server | Exactly the prompts Blender tested; read-only tools plus docs search | | Rename data-blocks, fix naming conventions, query which objects use a material | Official server, then keep the script | Vendor-tested examples; inspect the generated script before reusing it | | Explain or document a Geometry Nodes tree | Official server | Bundled manual and API reference; the tested example adds frames and a text block | | Blockout a scene from HDRIs, textures and downloaded models | mcp-for-blender | Poly Haven, Sketchfab and Poly Pizza tools exist nowhere else | | Generate a placeholder mesh from a prompt or image | mcp-for-blender with a Hyper3D or Hunyuan3D key | The only servers with generation built in; expect a proxy, not final topology | | Batch-process a hundred files: convert, rename, re-export, render | `blender -b --python`, or the Lab `_for_cli` tools | No session state, exit codes, reruns for free | | Nightly renders, CI, render farm | Command line with `-E`, `-o`, `-F`, `-a` | Documented flags; a server adds nothing | | Blender 3.x or 4.x | mcp-for-blender | The official server needs 5.1 | | Local model, no cloud | Official server with llama.cpp, or blender-open-mcp with Ollama | Both documented for local inference | | Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Antigravity, OpenCode | mcp-for-blender | Per-client configs in the README | | Sculpting, weight painting, hand retopology, art direction | Do it yourself | No server claims this; sculpt mode is not a scripting surface | ## What works and what does not The strongest evidence for what Blender MCP does well is the vendor's own example table: analysis, renaming, querying relationships, documenting node trees, small batch scripts. The community README's example prompts, a low-poly dungeon, a Poly Haven beach, a scene rebuilt from a reference image, are assembly jobs: fetch assets, place, light, frame. Those are also the jobs where a mistake is cheap to see and undo. What nobody in this inventory claims is artistic modelling. No server exposes sculpt mode as anything but a Python call, no README promises deformation-friendly topology, and the community project's own troubleshooting table says "Claude is sometimes erratic with its behaviour". One Blender Artists regular's verdict on the connector news was that renaming every object or running diagnostics is "a different way to interact with blender that in some cases can make sense", against the claim that "you basically don't need to learn 3D anymore" ([Blender Artists](https://blenderartists.org/t/from-blender-mcp-to-3d-agent-anthropic-partners-with-blender-claude-ai-connector-now-official/1639106)). Blender's own page caps it: "The sucess of the operation will depend on the model used." So: procedural setup, scene assembly, batch operations, audits and explanations are real. Organic modelling, sculpting, rigging with intent and anything judged by eye rather than by count are not, and a generated Hyper3D mesh is a proxy to retopologise, not a deliverable. The same line runs through [After Effects MCP](/blog/after-effects-mcp): agents are good at the scriptable layer and bad at the part that was never scriptable. ## Security notes Every server here runs Python inside Blender with your user's permissions. Blender's page says so in a yellow box: "The MCP server will execute LLM generated code in Blender without any guards in place to protect your data from removal or being sent to a remote location. To keep your data safe it is recommended to use a virtual machine, or a system without access to sensitive information" ([blender.org](https://www.blender.org/lab/mcp-server/)). The developer forum thread that followed is the primary source for the argument. Guilherme opened it on 30 April 2026 asking "what should the safe scripting model look like" and proposed read-only inspection by default, confirmation for scene edits and file writes, and blocked access for network, subprocess, preferences and add-on registration. Anthony Gibbs argued "the very first question shouldn't be how do we make it work, it should be, how do we make it safe", and that a VM "isn't really a workable solution" because Blender itself would have to live in it. Campbell Barton replied that a VM "is likely beyond what most users are likely to setup", pointed at lightweight Linux sandboxes, and said it is "not something Blender can/should realistically solve". Guilherme's line to remember: "Blender Scripting is not safe by default, even if you do not use AI." The thread closed on 8 September without a permission model ([devtalk.blender.org](https://devtalk.blender.org/t/blender-mcp-server-after-claude-mcp-security-for-blender-scripting-3d-agent-notes/45131)). ![The Blender developer forum thread Blender MCP Server after Claude: MCP security for Blender scripting, opened by Guilherme on 30 April 2026, asking what the safe scripting model should look like if the Blender Python API becomes a control layer for MCP clients.](https://cdn.moda.app/voyager/blog/blender-mcp/fig-devtalk-0da2ae6be0.webp) Where core developers and add-on authors argued about sandboxing. The answer today is still the yellow box. On the community side, a March 2026 issue documented that `execute_blender_code` passes the model's string to `exec()` with no restricted namespace and was closed as not planned ([issue #207](https://github.com/ahujasid/blender-mcp/issues/207)); the safe mode the README now documents is opt-in. The addon's socket "has no authentication or encryption, so anyone who can reach that port can run Python inside Blender": keep `BLENDER_HOST` on localhost. Practical rules: save first (the README's "ALWAYS save your work" is in bold), stop the addon server when idle, work on a copy of anything you cannot regenerate, read the code the agent proposes when your client shows it, and treat a `.blend` from someone else as text the model will read, which means it can carry instructions. ## Frequently asked questions **Does Blender have an MCP server?** Yes, two that matter. The Blender Foundation runs an experimental Lab project at [blender.org/lab/mcp-server](https://www.blender.org/lab/mcp-server/), version 1.0.3 on 11 September 2026, for Blender 5.1 or newer; it is what the Claude Desktop connector installs. The community project [mcp-for-blender](https://github.com/ahujasid/mcp-for-blender), formerly `blender-mcp`, is older, larger and independent of Blender. Blender itself has no built-in LLM connection and the Foundation has said none is planned. **Is Blender MCP free?** Both servers are free and open source, as is Blender. What may cost money is the client plan (Claude's connector works on the free plan) and the optional services the community addon calls: Hyper3D, Hunyuan3D, Sketchfab and Poly Pizza keys. 3D-Agent is a separate paid product. **What does Blender MCP do?** It lets a client such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex or Cursor read your open scene, search Blender's documentation, take screenshots, and run Python it writes inside Blender. The official server is built for analysing, renaming, debugging and documenting files; the community addon adds asset downloads and AI model generation for building scenes. **How do I turn on MCP in Blender?** There is no switch in Blender itself. Install the add-on (official: drag the Lab page link into Blender twice; community: `uvx mcp-for-blender install-addon`), enable it under Edit > Preferences > Add-ons, start its server there or in the N-panel, and register the MCP server with your client using the commands above. **Official or community, which should I use?** Official for understanding and fixing files you already have and for the Claude Desktop path; it needs Blender 5.1. Community for assembling scenes from Poly Haven, Sketchfab or generated models, for Blender 3.x and 4.x, and for one-line client setup. Both run whatever Python the model writes. For batch work on many files, use neither and have the agent write a script for `blender -b --python`. ## Make your next project in Voyager Create an account, download Voyager, and start making. [Sign up](/sign-up)