BakeTool

Professional texture baking suite for Blender.

Caution

Project Disclaimer

This is a fork maintained by ikonnow. While 150+ automated tests pass, it's in early verification stage (Experimental Prototype). Backup your .blend scenes before production use.

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Installation

Download release ZIP and drag into Blender, or install via Edit > Preferences > Add-ons. Find the Baking panel in the 3D Viewport sidebar.

Quick Start

1. Open 3D View, find Baking panel in Sidebar
2. Create new Job
3. SETUP & TARGETS: Specify object, mode, resolution
4. BAKE CHANNELS: Select channels
5. OUTPUT & EXPORT: Output path, image format
6. CUSTOM MAPS: (Optional) Add custom maps
7. START BAKE PIPELINE
8. Check results in Image Editor

Typical Workflows

Single Object

For low-poly with target material:

• Create Job → Select SINGLE_OBJECT → Set resolution → Select channels → Run

Selected-to-Active

For high-poly to low-poly baking:

• Prepare high+low → Select SELECT_ACTIVE → Set cage → Run

Split Material & UDIM

• Multi-material: SPLIT_MATERIAL
• UDIM assets: UDIM mode

Custom Maps & Packing

Generate new maps from existing, pack to RGBA.

Node Baking

Activate node in Editor → Bake via node panel.

Automation & Verification

CLI Test Entry

# Unit tests
blender -b --factory-startup --python automation/cli_runner.py -- --suite unit

# Verification tests
blender -b --factory-startup --python automation/cli_runner.py -- --suite verification

# Integration tests
blender -b --factory-startup --python automation/cli_runner.py -- --category integration

Headless Baking

blender -b scene.blend -P automation/headless_bake.py -- --job "JobName"
blender -b scene.blend -P automation/headless_bake.py -- --output "C:/baked"

Note: headless_bake.py auto-registers plugin. Requires saved Job config in .blend.

Features

• Non-destructive workflow with auto-cleanup
• Batch jobs in one scene
• Target Modes: Single Object, Combined, Selected-to-Active, Split Material, UDIM
• Channel Control: PBR, Lighting, Auxiliary, Custom Maps
• Channel Packing: Multiple bakes to one RGBA texture
• Export Integration: FBX, GLB, USD export
• Crash Recovery

Compatibility

• Version: 1.0.0
• Blender: 4.2.0+ (Extensions) / 3.3.0 (Legacy)
• Tested: 3.3-5.1

Documentation

• User Manual - Complete usage instructions
• Developer Guide - Architecture and extension points
• Automation Reference - Test entry points
• Ecosystem Guide - Repository structure
• Standardization Guide - Coding standards
• Roadmap - Future directions
• Task Board - Task status
• Changelog - Version changes

License

GPL-3.0-or-later - See LICENSE file.