Cats Blender Plugin
🚨 CATS BLENDER PLUGIN HAS MOVED TO NEONEKO FORGEJO
THIS GITHUB REPOSITORY IS NO LONGER MAINTAINED.
Cats Blender Plugin has NOT been discontinued. However, all development, maintenance, updates, releases, and support have permanently moved to our self-hosted NeoNeko Forgejo instance.
What does this mean?
- ❌ GitHub is no longer maintained. No further updates, fixes, or releases will be published here.
- ❌ GitHub issues and pull requests are no longer monitored. Please do not submit new issues or contributions here.
- ❌ The code and releases on GitHub are outdated. Do not use this repository for new installations.
- ✅ Cats Blender Plugin is still actively maintained. Development continues on NeoNeko Forgejo.
- ✅ All new releases and updates are published exclusively on Forgejo.
- ✅ Bug reports, feature requests, and contributions are handled through Forgejo.
- ✅ Documentation and project information are maintained on Forgejo.
Official Repository: https://git.neoneko.org/NeoNeko/Cats-Blender-Plugin
Official Project Links
⚠️ Important: Support and Community
DO NOT REQUEST SUPPORT IN THE ORIGINAL CATS DISCORD SERVER
This version of Cats Blender Plugin is an unofficial continuation and is not maintained by the original Cats development team.
Please do not request assistance with this version in the original Cats Discord server. The original developers and their community are not responsible for supporting the NeoNeko version.
NeoNeko does not operate an official Cats Discord server or a separate Cats website.
If you encounter a bug, require assistance, or wish to suggest an improvement, please use our official issue tracker:
Please provide as much information as possible when reporting an issue, including your Blender version, Cats version, and any relevant error messages.
Support requests submitted through the old GitHub repository will not be monitored or answered.
About Cats Blender Plugin
Cats Blender Plugin is a Blender add-on designed to simplify the process of importing, fixing, optimizing, and preparing 3D models for VRChat.
Originally developed by Absolute Quantum and later maintained by the community, Cats provides a collection of tools that automate many otherwise time-consuming processes involved in avatar creation.
This unofficial continuation is maintained by NeoNeko (Yusarina), with ongoing development focused on compatibility with modern Blender versions, performance improvements, bug fixes, and additional functionality.
Cats supports models and workflows from various applications and formats, including:
- MMD (MikuMikuDance)
- XNALara / XPS
- Mixamo
- Source Engine
- Unreal Engine
- DAZ / Poser
- Blender Rigify
- The Sims 2
- MotionBuilder
- Autodesk 3ds Max
- FBX
- VRM
- glTF / GLB
- And potentially more!
With Cats, tasks that would otherwise take hours can often be completed in just a few operations.
From fixing armatures and preparing eye tracking to generating visemes and optimizing materials, Cats aims to simplify the avatar creation workflow.
Blender Version Support
Current development focuses on Blender 5.x and newer compatible releases.
Not every Cats release supports every Blender version. Please ensure you download the appropriate release for your installed version of Blender.
For the latest compatibility information, visit:
Older Blender versions may require earlier Cats releases.
Compatibility with older Blender versions is not guaranteed, and support for legacy releases may no longer be provided.
Features
Cats provides comprehensive tools for VRChat avatar creation, optimization, and maintenance.
Import / Export
- Import models from MMD, VRM, FBX, Source Engine, and other supported formats.
- Simplify model preparation for VRChat.
- Support various model types and workflows.
Model Optimization
- Combine materials.
- Generate texture atlases using the built-in Texture Atlas Tool.
- Merge bones.
- Remove unnecessary geometry.
- Optimize meshes and materials.
- Reduce unnecessary complexity in avatar models.
Eye Tracking
- Automatically configure eye tracking.
- Support SDK3 and legacy eye tracking workflows.
- Assist with eye bone setup and configuration.
Visemes / Lip Sync
- Automatically generate and configure visemes.
- Prepare mouth shapes for VRChat lip synchronization.
- Simplify facial animation setup.
- Merge armatures.
- Attach meshes to existing rigs.
- Repair and optimize bones.
- Simplify skeletal structures.
- Prepare models for VRChat.
- Repair and manage shape keys.
- Assist with shape key optimization.
- Simplify common shape key operations.
- Translate Japanese bone, shape key, material, and object names into English.
- Support multiple translation providers, including Google, DeepL, LibreTranslate, and MyMemory.
- Provide tools for managing model translations.
Texture Atlas Tool
- Generate texture atlases directly within Cats.
- Combine materials and textures to improve optimization.
- Support configurable atlas dimensions and tiling.
- Reduce material complexity without requiring the legacy Material Combiner add-on for supported workflows.
Additional Features
- Model scaling tools.
- Custom model creation.
- Material cleanup.
- Mesh repair.
- Rig optimization.
- Various quality-of-life improvements.
And much more!
For complete feature documentation, visit the official Cats Wiki.
Requirements
- A supported version of Blender matching your chosen Cats release.
- Blender downloaded from the official Blender website.
- NumPy, if required when using a custom Python installation that Blender accesses.
Important Notes
- Windows Store Blender: No support is provided due to known permission issues.
- Linux: Blender installations from Linux package managers, Snap, or Flatpak are not officially supported.
- Older Blender Versions: Compatibility depends on the Cats release, and older versions may no longer receive support.
- Development Builds: Development versions may contain experimental functionality and are not recommended for production use.
Optional Dependencies
Some features can integrate with additional Blender add-ons.
Cats includes its own built-in Texture Atlas Tool.
Material Combiner remains available for legacy workflows but is no longer required for supported built-in atlas generation.
Optional dependencies are only required for the specific features that use them.
For more information, see the Installation Wiki.
Installation
DO NOT DOWNLOAD CATS FROM THIS GITHUB REPOSITORY
This repository is outdated and no longer maintained.
Download Cats exclusively from our official NeoNeko Forgejo instance:
➡️ Download Cats Blender Plugin
Installation Steps
- Visit the official Cats Releases page.
- Download the Cats release compatible with your Blender version.
- Open Blender.
- Navigate to Edit > Preferences.
- Open the Get Extensions or Add-ons section, depending on your Blender version.
- Select Install from Disk from the relevant menu.
- Choose the downloaded Cats ZIP file. Do not extract it.
- Enable Cats if it has not been enabled automatically.
- Restart Blender if necessary.
- Open the 3D Viewport and press N to access the Cats panel.
For detailed installation instructions, visit the Installation Wiki.
Updating Cats
All future Cats Blender Plugin updates are distributed through NeoNeko Forgejo.
To update Cats:
- Visit the official Releases page.
- Download the latest compatible version.
- Install the updated version in Blender.
- Restart Blender if required.
You may also use the built-in updater if supported by your installed Cats version.
GitHub is no longer an official update source.
Older versions of Cats may still reference GitHub for updates. These references are outdated.
Please migrate to a current release from NeoNeko Forgejo to ensure you receive future updates and fixes.
Help & Documentation
Documentation for the actively maintained version of Cats Blender Plugin is available through NeoNeko Forgejo.
Official Documentation
Documentation previously hosted on GitHub may be outdated.
Always refer to the official Forgejo Wiki for current documentation.
Bug Reports and Feedback
Found a bug or have a suggestion?
We welcome feedback and contributions that help improve Cats Blender Plugin.
Please submit all bug reports, feature requests, and suggestions through our official issue tracker:
When reporting a problem, please include:
- Your Blender version.
- Your Cats Blender Plugin version.
- Your operating system.
- Steps to reproduce the issue.
- Any relevant error messages or screenshots.
This information helps us investigate and resolve problems more efficiently.
Please do not report bugs through the archived GitHub repository.
Contributing
Cats Blender Plugin is an open-source community project, and contributions are welcome.
All development now takes place on NeoNeko Forgejo.
If you would like to contribute:
- Visit the official Cats repository.
- Create a Forgejo account if you do not already have one.
- Fork the repository.
- Make your changes.
- Submit a pull request for review.
You can also contribute by reporting bugs, improving documentation, or suggesting features.
Important
GitHub pull requests are no longer reviewed or accepted.
Any code contributions must be submitted through:
NeoNeko Forgejo Pull Requests
Acknowledgements
Cats Blender Plugin was originally developed by Absolute Quantum and subsequently maintained and expanded by community contributors.
This unofficial continuation is maintained by NeoNeko (Yusarina).
We would like to thank the original developers, past contributors, and wider Blender and VRChat communities for their continued contributions and support.
Code Contributors
- Hotox
- Shotariya
- Neitri
- Kiraver
- Jordo
- Ruubick
- 989onan
- rurre
Original Cats Blender Plugin
The original Cats Blender Plugin was developed by Absolute Quantum.
You can find the original project here:
absolute-quantum/cats-blender-plugin
Please note: The original Cats project and this NeoNeko continuation are separate projects.
Third-Party Projects
Cats incorporates or integrates functionality from several third-party projects, including:
We thank the developers and contributors of these projects for their work.
About NeoNeko
NeoNeko maintains and develops open-source software, tools, and services, including this unofficial continuation of Cats Blender Plugin.
Our projects and development infrastructure are hosted on our own services.
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