Blender Version Support Policy

Overview

To ensure the best experience and provide effective support for our Blender plugins (Cats Blender Plugin, Avatar Toolkit, and related tools), we have established a clear policy regarding which Blender versions we officially support. This policy helps us maintain quality support and reduces time spent troubleshooting issues that stem from unofficial or modified Blender distributions.

Supported Blender Versions

We officially support and provide assistance for the following Blender releases:

• Blender Steam Release Available through the Steam platform
• Official Blender Website Releases Direct downloads from blender.org for Linux, macOS, and Windows

Unsupported Blender Versions

The following Blender distributions are not officially supported by Neoneko:

• Windows Store Version Known to cause compatibility issues with plugins
• Linux Snap Store Version Has sandboxing and compatibility limitations
• Linux Flatpak Version Has sandboxing and compatibility limitations
• Linux Package Manager Installations Including but not limited to:
  • apt (Debian/Ubuntu)
  • dnf/yum (Fedora/RHEL)
  • pacman (Arch Linux)
  • zypper (openSUSE)
  • Any other distribution-managed package

Why These Restrictions?

This policy exists to protect both users and developers from frustrating debugging sessions. Here's why certain versions aren't supported:

Package Manager & Distribution Issues

Linux distributions often build Blender themselves rather than using official binaries. During this process, they may:

• Bundle different versions of Python than what Blender officially uses
• Apply distribution-specific patches or modifications
• Use different library versions that can cause incompatibilities
• Implement custom build configurations not tested by plugin developers

These modifications, while often well-intentioned, can break plugin functionality in ways that are impossible to reproduce or debug using official Blender releases.

Windows Store, Snap Store & Flatpak Limitations

The Windows Store, Linux Snap Store, and Linux Flatpak versions of Blender run in sandboxed environments with restricted file system access and permission limitations. These restrictions frequently interfere with plugin installation, asset loading, and file operations that our tools rely on.

Why We Can't Support These Versions

Supporting unofficial Blender distributions and package manager versions would require us to:

• Build and Test Against Multiple Python Versions Each distribution may bundle different Python versions, requiring separate builds and extensive testing for each combination
• Debug Distribution Specific Issues Problems that only occur in specific builds are extremely difficult to reproduce and fix, especially when we don't have access to the exact build environment
• Maintain Multiple Code Branches Supporting different environments would require maintaining separate code paths and workarounds, significantly increasing development complexity
• Test Against Unknown Modifications We have no way to know what patches or changes each distribution has applied, making it impossible to guarantee compatibility
• Provide Sandboxed Environment Support Supporting sandboxed versions would require fundamentally restructuring how our plugins access files and system resources
• Continuously Monitor Distribution Changes Each time a distribution updates their Blender package, we'd need to retest and potentially fix new compatibility issues

This level of support would require exponentially more development time and resources than we have available as a volunteer-driven open source project. By focusing on official releases, we can dedicate our limited time to actual feature development and improvements rather than compatibility troubleshooting.

The Reality: We're a small team of volunteers creating free tools. Supporting official Blender releases already requires significant effort. Adding support for dozens of unofficial distributions, each with their own quirks and modifications, would make the project unsustainable and ultimately harm all users by slowing development to a crawl.

Support Burden

We have experienced a significant increase in bug reports from users running unofficial Blender builds. Many hours have been spent debugging issues only to discover that the problem doesn't exist in official Blender releases. By focusing our support on official versions, we can:

• Provide faster and more accurate support
• Dedicate more time to actual plugin development
• Ensure consistent behavior across all supported installations
• Reduce false bug reports that waste everyone's time

Why Doesn't Blender Package for All Distributions?

This is a common question from Linux users. The reality is complex:

• Distribution Philosophy Many Linux distributions have strict policies about third-party packaging and prefer to maintain packages themselves
• Security Concerns Some distros have security policies that restrict or prohibit third-party package management
• Distribution Diversity With hundreds of active Linux distributions, each with different package formats and policies, it would require enormous resources to officially support them all
• Maintenance Burden Each distro would require ongoing maintenance, testing, and updates from the Blender Foundation

Simply put, it isn't feasible for the Blender Foundation to officially package for every distribution. This isn't a Blender issue, it's just how Linux distribution ecosystems work.

What If I Report a Bug?

If you report a bug or issue while using an unsupported Blender version, you will be asked to:

• Reproduce the issue using an officially supported Blender version
• Confirm whether the issue persists with the official release

If you cannot or will not test with a supported version, we unfortunately cannot provide further assistance. This policy ensures our limited support time is used effectively.

How to Get Official Blender

To download an officially supported version of Blender:

• Windows/macOS/Linux: Download directly from blender.org/download
• Windows (Steam): Install from Steam Store

Questions?

If you have questions about this policy or need help determining if your Blender version is supported, please contact us via:

• Discord: discord.neoneko.xyz
• Email: [email protected]
• GitHub: github.com/teamneoneko