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Running & Debugging Your Addon

You can launch Blender with your addon loaded, or use the debugger.

Setup

  1. Open Run/Debug Configurations (Top right dropdown > Edit Configurations).
  2. Click the + button and select Blender.
  3. Name: Give it a name (e.g., “BlenderRun”).
  4. Click OK.

Lead to Run or Debug Configuration Run or Debug Configuration

Run or Debug

Run

  1. Just Click the Run button. (The plugin auto-detects your addon root by the blender_manifest.toml.)
Run the addon

Debug

  1. Set a breakpoint in your Python code (click the gutter next to a line number).
  2. Click the Debug (Bug icon) button.
  3. Blender will launch, and PyCharm will automatically attach. When a breakpoint is reached, execution will pause.
  4. Force Viewport Redraw: While paused at a breakpoint, you can force Blender to redraw its UI/Viewport to see the current state. (⚠️ Note: This can be a heavy operation depending on your scene. Avoid rapid repeated presses.)
    • Windows / Linux: Ctrl + Alt + Shift + D
    • macOS: Cmd + Opt + Shift + D
Debug the addon

Hot Reloading

You can use Hot Reload to apply changes instantly, making it quick to verify code changes for UI panels, operators, and more.

  1. Ensure Blender is running, launched via the Run or Debug configuration from PyCharm.
  2. Make changes to your Python code.
  3. The reload is triggered by one of the following methods:
    • Automatically: Simply switch focus from PyCharm back to Blender. (Requires Save files when switching to a different application enabled in System Settings > Autosave).
    • Manually: If the above setting is disabled, the reload is triggered by manually saving the file (e.g., Ctrl/Cmd + S).
  4. Check the Blender console or PyCharm notification for confirmation. Your addon is now running the updated code.

Note: This performs a “Deep Reload” by unregistering the addon, purging relevant modules from sys.modules, and re-registering. This handles most code changes, but complex state changes may still require a restart.