Industry-grade character linking, override management, and rig UI handling for Blender
| Format | Extensions | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Blender | .blend |
Full linking with library overrides |
| FBX | .fbx |
Animation, custom properties, bone orientation |
| USD | .usd, .usda, .usdc, .usdz |
Pixar Universal Scene Description |
| Alembic | .abc |
Baked geometry and animation caches |
| glTF | .gltf, .glb |
Web and real-time 3D |
| OBJ | .obj |
Legacy geometry exchange |
| Collada | .dae |
Cross-platform XML exchange |
| PLY/STL | .ply, .stl |
3D printing and scan data |
- One-click linking/import with automatic library override creation
- Multi-format support — blend, FBX, USD, Alembic, glTF, and more
- Auto-make properties editable — no more teal fields
- Unique naming to prevent conflicts with multiple characters
- Animation Only Mode — skip mesh overrides for better performance
- Automatic rig_ui.py detection and script isolation
- Context-aware execution — each character gets its own UI context
- Script safety validation — checks for unsafe Python patterns
- Auto-execute on link option for faster workflow
- One-click health diagnostics for all library overrides
- Detect common issues: missing references, broken paths, locked properties
- Automated repair tools with smart issue resolution
- Targeted resync — resync single objects without affecting the entire hierarchy
- Visual library overview with file size and modification dates
- Missing file detection with relocate functionality
- Batch operations — reload, relink, version bump
- Version detection — finds v01, v02, etc. and upgrades to latest
- Batch Relink — find and replace paths for drive migrations
- Version Detection — auto-detect asset versions and upgrade
- CLI/Headless Mode — render farm support with auto-fix on load
- Environment Variables — use
${PROJECT_DIR}in paths
- Download the latest release ZIP file
- In Blender, go to Edit → Preferences → Add-ons
- Click Install... and select the ZIP file
- Enable "Professional Referencing & Rig UI"
- Open the Pro Ref panel in the 3D Viewport sidebar (
Nkey) - Click "Smart Link Character"
- Browse to your character file (supports .blend, .fbx, .usd, .abc, .gltf, etc.)
- The character will be linked/imported with automatic setup
- Click "Run Health Check" in the Override Health panel
- Review any issues in the health checklist
- Click "Repair" to auto-fix common problems
- Select your linked character's armature
- Click "Execute Rig UI" in the Rig UI Management panel
- The rig controls will appear in the Properties → Bone panel
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+Shift+L |
Smart Link Character |
Ctrl+Shift+H |
Run Health Check |
Ctrl+Shift+R |
Execute Rig UI |
Ctrl+Shift+E |
Make All Editable |
Shortcuts can be disabled in addon preferences.
Access via Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → Professional Referencing & Rig UI
- Default Library Path — Set a default folder for browsing
- Linking Defaults — Configure auto-make-editable and animation mode
- Safety Settings — Enable/disable script validation
- Keyboard Shortcuts — Enable/disable shortcuts
The addon searches for scripts with "rig_ui" in the name from the same library as the armature. Ensure your character file has a properly named rig UI script.
Use the Reference Manager → Relocate File button to point to the new location of your library file.
Click "Make All Editable" in the Quick Actions panel, or enable "Auto Make Editable" in Link Settings before linking.
Run "Repair Override" to automatically fix common issues like missing editable properties and fully-locked bones.
- Blender 3.6+ (tested up to 4.x)
- Works with Rigify, Auto-Rig Pro, and custom rigs
- Compatible with rig UI scripts that follow standard patterns
For bug reports and feature requests, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.
This addon is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0).
Developed for professional animation studios and individual artists who need reliable character referencing in Blender.