.TH "BLENDER" "1" "March 04, 2026" "Blender 5\&.0\&.1"

.SH NAME
blender \- a full-featured 3D application
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B blender [args ...] [file] [args ...]
.br
.SH DESCRIPTION
.PP
.B blender
is a full-featured 3D application. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline - modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, motion tracking, and video editing.

Use Blender to create 3D images and animations, films and commercials, content for games, architectural and industrial visualizations, and scientific visualizations.

https://www.blender.org
.SH OPTIONS

Usage: blender [args ...] [file] [args ...]
.br
.SS "Render Options:"

.TP
.B \-b or \-\-background
.br
Run in background (often used for UI\-less rendering).
.br

.IP
The audio device is disabled in background\-mode by default
.br
and can be re\-enabled by passing in \(aq\-setaudio Default\(aq afterwards.
.br

.TP
.B \-a or \-\-render\-anim
.br
Render frames from start to end (inclusive).
.br

.TP
.B \-S or \-\-scene <name>
.br
Set the active scene <name> for rendering.
.br

.TP
.B \-f or \-\-render\-frame <frame>
.br
Render frame <frame> and save it.
.br

.IP
* +<frame> start frame relative, \-<frame> end frame relative.
.br
* A comma separated list of frames can also be used (no spaces).
.br
* A range of frames can be expressed using \(aq..\(aq separator between the first and last frames (inclusive).
.br

.IP

.TP
.B \-s or \-\-frame\-start <frame>
.br
Set start to frame <frame>, supports +/\- for relative frames too.
.br

.TP
.B \-e or \-\-frame\-end <frame>
.br
Set end to frame <frame>, supports +/\- for relative frames too.
.br

.TP
.B \-j or \-\-frame\-jump <frames>
.br
Set number of frames to step forward after each rendered frame.
.br

.TP
.B \-o or \-\-render\-output <path>
.br
Set the render path and file name.
.br
Use \(aq//\(aq at the start of the path to render relative to the blend\-file.
.br

.IP
You can use path templating features such as \(aq{blend_name}\(aq in the path.
.br
See Blender\(aqs documentation on path templates for more details.
.br

.IP
The \(aq#\(aq characters are replaced by the frame number, and used to define zero padding.
.br

.IP
* \(aqanimation_##_test.png\(aq becomes \(aqanimation_01_test.png\(aq
.br
* \(aqtest\-######.png\(aq becomes \(aqtest\-000001.png\(aq
.br

.IP
When the filename does not contain \(aq#\(aq, the suffix \(aq####\(aq is added to the filename.
.br

.IP
The frame number will be added at the end of the filename, eg:
.br
# blender \-b animation.blend \-o //render_ \-F PNG \-x 1 \-a
.br
\(aq//render_\(aq becomes \(aq//render_####\(aq, writing frames as \(aq//render_0001.png\(aq
.br

.TP
.B \-E or \-\-engine <engine>
.br
Specify the render engine.
.br
Use \(aq\-E help\(aq to list available engines.
.br

.TP
.B \-t or \-\-threads <threads>
.br
Use amount of <threads> for rendering and other operations
.br
[1\-1024], 0 to use the systems processor count.
.br

.SS "Cycles Render Options:"

  Cycles add\-on options must be specified following a double dash.
.br
.TP
.B \-\-cycles\-device <device>
.br
Set the device used for rendering.
.br
Valid options are: \(aqCPU\(aq \(aqCUDA\(aq \(aqOPTIX\(aq \(aqHIP\(aq \(aqONEAPI\(aq \(aqMETAL\(aq.
.br

.IP
Append +CPU to a GPU device to render on both CPU and GPU.
.br

.IP
Example:
.br
# blender \-b file.blend \-f 20 \-\- \-\-cycles\-device OPTIX
.TP
.B \-\-cycles\-print\-stats
.br
Log statistics about render memory and time usage.
.br

.SS "Format Options:"

.TP
.B \-F or \-\-render\-format <format>
.br
Set the render format.
.br
Valid options are:
.br
\(aqTGA\(aq \(aqRAWTGA\(aq \(aqJPEG\(aq \(aqIRIS\(aq \(aqPNG\(aq \(aqBMP\(aq \(aqHDR\(aq \(aqTIFF\(aq.
.br

.IP
Formats that can be compiled into Blender, not available on all systems:
.br
\(aqOPEN_EXR\(aq \(aqOPEN_EXR_MULTILAYER\(aq \(aqFFMPEG\(aq \(aqCINEON\(aq \(aqDPX\(aq \(aqJP2\(aq \(aqWEBP\(aq.
.br

.TP
.B \-x or \-\-use\-extension <bool>
.br
Set option to add the file extension to the end of the file.
.br

.IP

.SS "Animation Playback Options:"

.TP
.B \-a <options> <file(s)>
.br
Instead of showing Blender\(aqs user interface, this runs Blender as an animation player,
.br
to view movies and image sequences rendered in Blender (ignored if \(aq\-b\(aq is set).
.br

.IP
Playback Arguments:
.br

.IP
\-p <sx> <sy>
.br
  Open with lower left corner at <sx>, <sy>.
.br
\-m
.br
  Read from disk (Do not buffer).
.br
\-f <fps> <fps_base>
.br
  Specify FPS to start with.
.br
\-j <frame>
.br
  Set frame step to <frame>.
.br
\-s <frame>
.br
  Play from <frame>.
.br
\-e <frame>
.br
  Play until <frame>.
.br
\-c <cache_memory>
.br
  Amount of memory in megabytes to allow for caching images during playback.
.br
  Zero disables (clamping to a fixed number of frames instead).
.br

.IP

.SS "Window Options:"

.TP
.B \-w or \-\-window\-border
.br
Force opening with borders, in a normal (non maximized) state.
.br

.TP
.B \-M or \-\-window\-maximized
.br
Force opening maximized.
.br

.TP
.B \-W or \-\-window\-fullscreen
.br
Force opening full\-screen.
.br

.TP
.B \-p or \-\-window\-geometry <sx> <sy> <w> <h>
.br
Open with lower left corner at <sx>, <sy> and width and height as <w>, <h>.
.br

.TP
.B \-con or \-\-start\-console
.br
Start with the console window open (ignored if \(aq\-b\(aq is set), (Windows only).
.br

.TP
.B \-\-no\-native\-pixels
.br
Do not use native pixel size, for high resolution displays (MacBook \(aqRetina\(aq).
.br

.TP
.B \-\-no\-window\-frame
.br
Disable all window decorations (Linux only).
.br

.TP
.B \-\-no\-window\-focus
.br
Open behind other windows and without taking focus.
.br

.IP

.SS "Python Options:"

.TP
.B \-y or \-\-enable\-autoexec
.br
Enable automatic Python script execution.
.br

.TP
.B \-Y or \-\-disable\-autoexec
.br
Disable automatic Python script execution (Python\-drivers & startup scripts), (default).
.br

.IP

.TP
.B \-P or \-\-python <filepath>
.br
Run the given Python script file.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-python\-text <name>
.br
Run the given Python script text block.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-python\-expr <expression>
.br
Run the given expression as a Python script.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-python\-console
.br
Run Blender with an interactive console.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-python\-exit\-code <code>
.br
Set the exit\-code in [0..255] to exit if a Python exception is raised
.br
(only for scripts executed from the command line), zero disables.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-python\-use\-system\-env
.br
Allow Python to use system environment variables such as \(aqPYTHONPATH\(aq and the user site\-packages directory.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-addons <addon(s)>
.br
Comma separated list (no spaces) of add\-ons to enable in addition to any default add\-ons.
.br

.IP

.SS "Network Options:"

.TP
.B \-\-online\-mode
.br
Allow internet access, overriding the preference.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-offline\-mode
.br
Disallow internet access, overriding the preference.
.br

.IP

.SS "Logging Options:"

.TP
.B \-\-log <match>
.br
Enable logging categories, taking a single comma separated argument.
.br

.IP
\-\-log "*": log everything
.br
\-\-log "event": logs every category starting with \(aqevent\(aq.
.br
\-\-log "render,cycles": log both render and cycles messages.
.br
\-\-log "*mesh*": log every category containing \(aqmesh\(aq sub\-string.
.br
\-\-log "*,^operator": log everything except operators, with \(aq^prefix\(aq to exclude.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-log\-level <level>
.br
Set the logging verbosity level.
.br

.IP
fatal: Fatal errors only
.br
error: Errors only
.br
warning: Warnings
.br
info: Information about devices, files, configuration, operations
.br
debug: Verbose messages for developers
.br
trace: Very verbose code execution tracing
.br

.TP
.B \-\-log\-show\-memory
.br
Show memory usage for each log message.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-log\-show\-source
.br
Show source file and function name in output.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-log\-show\-backtrace
.br
Show a back trace for each log message (debug builds only).
.br

.TP
.B \-\-log\-file <filepath>
.br
Set a file to output the log to.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-log\-list\-categories
.br
List all available logging categories for \(aq\-\-log\(aq, and exit.
.br

.IP

.IP

.SS "Debug Options:"

.TP
.B \-d or \-\-debug
.br
Turn debugging on.
.br

.IP
* Enables memory error detection
.br
* Disables mouse grab (to interact with a debugger in some cases)
.br
* Keeps Python\(aqs \(aqsys.stdin\(aq rather than setting it to None
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-value <value>
.br
Set debug value of <value> on startup.
.br

.IP

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-events
.br
Enable debug messages for the event system.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-handlers
.br
Enable debug messages for event handling.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-libmv
.br
Enable debug messages from libmv library.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-memory
.br
Enable fully guarded memory allocation and debugging.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-jobs
.br
Enable time profiling for background jobs.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-python
.br
Enable debug messages for Python.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-depsgraph
.br
Enable all debug messages from dependency graph.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-depsgraph\-eval
.br
Enable debug messages from dependency graph related on evaluation.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-depsgraph\-build
.br
Enable debug messages from dependency graph related on graph construction.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-depsgraph\-tag
.br
Enable debug messages from dependency graph related on tagging.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-depsgraph\-no\-threads
.br
Switch dependency graph to a single threaded evaluation.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-depsgraph\-time
.br
Enable debug messages from dependency graph related on timing.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-depsgraph\-pretty
.br
Enable colors for dependency graph debug messages.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-depsgraph\-uid
.br
Verify validness of session\-wide identifiers assigned to ID data\-blocks.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-ghost
.br
Enable debug messages for Ghost (Linux only).
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-wintab
.br
Enable debug messages for Wintab.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-gpu
.br
Enable GPU debug context and information for OpenGL 4.3+.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-gpu\-force\-workarounds
.br
Enable workarounds for typical GPU issues and disable all GPU extensions.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-gpu\-compile\-shaders
.br
Compile all statically defined shaders to test platform compatibility.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-gpu\-shader\-debug\-info
.br
Enable shader debug info generation (Vulkan only).
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-gpu\-vulkan\-local\-read
.br
Force Vulkan dynamic rendering local read when supported by device.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-wm
.br
Enable debug messages for the window manager, shows all operators in search, shows keymap errors.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-xr
.br
Enable debug messages for virtual reality contexts.
.br
Enables the OpenXR API validation layer, (OpenXR) debug messages and general information prints.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-xr\-time
.br
Enable debug messages for virtual reality frame rendering times.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-all
.br
Enable all debug messages.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-io
.br
Enable debug messages for I/O.
.br

.IP

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-fpe
.br
Enable floating\-point exceptions.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-exit\-on\-error
.br
Immediately exit when internal errors are detected.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-freestyle
.br
Enable debug messages for Freestyle.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-disable\-crash\-handler
.br
Disable the crash handler.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-disable\-abort\-handler
.br
Disable the abort handler.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-verbose <verbose>
.br
Set the logging verbosity level for debug messages that support it.
.br

.TP
.B \-q or \-\-quiet
.br
Suppress status printing (warnings & errors are still printed).
.br

.IP

.SS "GPU Options:"

.TP
.B \-\-gpu\-backend
.br
Force to use a specific GPU backend. Valid options: \(aqopengl\(aq or \(aqvulkan\(aq.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-gpu\-vsync
.br
Set the VSync.
.br
Valid options are: \(aqon\(aq, \(aqoff\(aq & \(aqauto\(aq for adaptive sync.
.br

.IP
* The default settings depend on the GPU driver.
.br
* Disabling VSync can be useful for testing performance.
.br
* \(aqauto\(aq is only supported by the OpenGL backend.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-gpu\-compilation\-subprocesses
.br
Override the Max Compilation Subprocesses setting (OpenGL only).
.br

.TP
.B \-\-profile\-gpu
.br
Enable CPU & GPU performance profiling for GPU debug groups
.br
(Outputs a profile.json file in the Trace Event Format to the current directory)
.br

.IP

.SS "Misc Options:"

.TP
.B \-\-open\-last
.br
Open the most recently opened blend file, instead of the default startup file.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-app\-template <template>
.br
Set the application template (matching the directory name), use \(aqdefault\(aq for none.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-factory\-startup
.br
Skip reading the \(aqstartup.blend\(aq in the users home directory.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-enable\-event\-simulate
.br
Enable event simulation testing feature \(aqbpy.types.Window.event_simulate\(aq.
.br

.IP

.TP
.B \-\-env\-system\-datafiles
.br
Set the BLENDER_SYSTEM_DATAFILES environment variable.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-env\-system\-scripts
.br
Set the BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS environment variable.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-env\-system\-extensions
.br
Set the BLENDER_SYSTEM_EXTENSIONS environment variable.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-env\-system\-python
.br
Set the BLENDER_SYSTEM_PYTHON environment variable.
.br

.IP

.TP
.B \-noaudio
.br
Force sound system to None.
.br

.TP
.B \-setaudio
.br
Force sound system to a specific device.
.br
\(aqNone\(aq \(aqDefault\(aq \(aqSDL\(aq \(aqOpenAL\(aq \(aqCoreAudio\(aq \(aqJACK\(aq \(aqPulseAudio\(aq \(aqWASAPI\(aq.
.br

.IP

.TP
.B \-c or \-\-command <command>
.br
Run a command which consumes all remaining arguments.
.br
Use \(aq\-c help\(aq to list all other commands.
.br
Pass \(aq\-\-help\(aq after the command to see its help text.
.br

.IP
This implies \(aq\-\-background\(aq mode.
.br

.IP

.TP
.B \-h or \-\-help
.br
Print this help text and exit.
.br

.TP
.B /?
.br
Print this help text and exit (Windows only).
.br

.TP
.B \-r or \-\-register
.br
Register blend\-file extension for current user, then exit (Windows & Linux only).
.br

.TP
.B \-\-register\-allusers
.br
Register blend\-file extension for all users, then exit (Windows & Linux only).
.br

.TP
.B \-\-unregister
.br
Unregister blend\-file extension for current user, then exit (Windows & Linux only).
.br

.TP
.B \-\-unregister\-allusers
.br
Unregister blend\-file extension for all users, then exit (Windows & Linux only).
.br

.TP
.B \-\-qos <level>
.br
Set the Quality of Service (QoS) mode for hybrid CPU architectures (Windows only).
.br

.IP
default: Uses the default behavior of the OS.
.br
high: Always makes use of performance cores.
.br
eco: Schedules Blender threads exclusively to efficiency cores.
.br

.TP
.B \-v or \-\-version
.br
Print Blender version and exit.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-
.br
End option processing, following arguments passed unchanged. Access via Python\(aqs \(aqsys.argv\(aq.
.br

.IP

.SS "Other Options:"

.TP
.B \-\-disable\-depsgraph\-on\-file\-load
.br
Background mode: Do not systematically build and evaluate ViewLayers\(aq dependency graphs
.br
when loading a blend\-file in background mode (\(aq\-b\(aq or \(aq\-c\(aq options).
.br

.IP
Scripts requiring evaluated data then need to explicitly ensure that
.br
an evaluated depsgraph is available
.br
(e.g. by calling \(aqdepsgraph = context.evaluated_depsgraph_get()\(aq).
.br

.IP
NOTE: this is a temporary option, in the future depsgraph will never be
.br
automatically generated on file load in background mode.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-disable\-liboverride\-auto\-resync
.br
Do not perform library override automatic resync when loading a new blend\-file.
.br

.IP
NOTE: this is an alternative way to get the same effect as when setting the
.br
\(aqNo Override Auto Resync\(aq User Preferences Debug option.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-ffmpeg
.br
Enable debug messages from FFmpeg video input and output.
.br

.TP
.B \-\-debug\-cycles
.br
Enable debug messages from Cycles.
.br

.IP

.SS "Argument Parsing:"

.SS "	Arguments must be separated by white space, eg:"

  # blender \-ba test.blend
  ...will exit since \(aq\-ba\(aq is an unknown argument.
.br
.SS "Argument Order:"

.SS "	Arguments are executed in the order they are given. eg:"

  # blender \-\-background test.blend \-\-render\-frame 1 \-\-render\-output "/tmp"
  ...will not render to \(aq/tmp\(aq because \(aq\-\-render\-frame 1\(aq renders before the output path is set.
  # blender \-\-background \-\-render\-output /tmp test.blend \-\-render\-frame 1
  ...will not render to \(aq/tmp\(aq because loading the blend\-file overwrites the render output that was set.
  # blender \-\-background test.blend \-\-render\-output /tmp \-\-render\-frame 1
  ...works as expected.
.br
.SH "ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES"
  $BLENDER_USER_RESOURCES  Replace default directory of all user files.
                           Other \(aqBLENDER_USER_*\(aq variables override when set.
  $BLENDER_USER_CONFIG     Directory for user configuration files.
  $BLENDER_USER_SCRIPTS    Directory for user scripts.
  $BLENDER_USER_EXTENSIONS Directory for user extensions.
  $BLENDER_USER_DATAFILES  Directory for user data files (icons, translations, ..).
.br
  $BLENDER_SYSTEM_RESOURCES  Replace default directory of all bundled resource files.
  $BLENDER_SYSTEM_SCRIPTS    Directories to add extra scripts.
  $BLENDER_SYSTEM_EXTENSIONS Directory for system extensions repository.
  $BLENDER_SYSTEM_DATAFILES  Directory to replace bundled datafiles.
  $BLENDER_SYSTEM_PYTHON     Directory to replace bundled Python libraries.
  $BLENDER_CUSTOM_SPLASH     Full path to an image that replaces the splash screen.
  $BLENDER_CUSTOM_SPLASH_BANNER Full path to an image to overlay on the splash screen.
  $BLENDER_OCIO              Path to override the OpenColorIO configuration file.
                             If not set, the \(aqOCIO\(aq environment variable is used.
  $TMPDIR                    Store temporary files here (UNIX Systems).
                             The path must reference an existing directory or it will be ignored.
.br

.br
.SH SEE ALSO
.B luxrender(1)

.br
.SH AUTHORS
This manpage was written for a Debian GNU/Linux system by Daniel Mester
<mester@uni-bremen.de> and updated by Cyril Brulebois
<cyril.brulebois@enst-bretagne.fr> and Dan Eicher <dan@trollwerks.org>.