---
title: Use the Scenario Blender Plugin
nav_title: Scenario Blender Plugin
summary:
  - "Generate textures, materials, props, audio, renders and greybox layouts from Blender's sidebar, into your scene."
  - "Connect it with a Project API key on the Editor role; generations bill to the project that owns the key."
  - "Scenario's official Blender extension (version 0.13.0) needs Blender 5.0 or later; install it from Scenario's extension repository so it updates itself."
description: Install the Scenario Blender Plugin from Scenario's extension repository, connect an API key, and generate textures, materials, 3D and renders in Blender.
section: integrations
order: 20
type: guide
level: Build
roles: [artist]
time: { read: 9, do: 15 }
needs: ["Blender 5.0 or later", "A Scenario API key and secret (Starter plan or above)", "An internet connection"]
last_verified: 2026-11-12
related: [integrations-overview, pbr-materials, image-to-3d, export-3d-to-engines-and-dcc, connect-scenario-mcp]
hero: integrations/scenario-blender-plugin/ch-03-lay-out-the-scene-with-blockout.webp
video: tutorials/plugins-scenario-for-blender.mp4
video_caption: "Scenario for Blender"
thumb: integrations/scenario-blender-plugin/thumb.webp
chapters:
  - { at: 0, title: "Install and connect", image: "/media/images/integrations/scenario-blender-plugin/ch-01-install-and-connect.webp" }
  - { at: 50.29, title: "Lanes and the Generate button", image: "/media/images/integrations/scenario-blender-plugin/ch-02-lanes-and-the-generate-button.webp" }
  - { at: 76.62, title: "Lay out the scene with Blockout", image: "/media/images/integrations/scenario-blender-plugin/ch-03-lay-out-the-scene-with-blockout.webp" }
  - { at: 95.5, title: "A 3D model, a material and a sky", image: "/media/images/integrations/scenario-blender-plugin/ch-04-a-3d-model-a-material-and-a-sky.webp" }
  - { at: 143.63, title: "Render an image and a video", image: "/media/images/integrations/scenario-blender-plugin/ch-05-render-an-image-and-a-video.webp" }
  - { at: 186.46, title: "Apply, edit and agents", image: "/media/images/integrations/scenario-blender-plugin/ch-06-apply-edit-and-agents.webp" }
updated: 2026-11-12
canonical: https://learn.scenario.com/integrations/scenario-blender-plugin
---

Last updated: 2026-11-12

# Use the Scenario Blender Plugin

> Install the Scenario Blender Plugin from Scenario's extension repository, connect an API key, and generate textures, materials, 3D and renders in Blender.

In short:

- Generate textures, materials, props, audio, renders and greybox layouts from Blender's sidebar, into your scene.
- Connect it with a Project API key on the Editor role; generations bill to the project that owns the key.
- Scenario's official Blender extension (version 0.13.0) needs Blender 5.0 or later; install it from Scenario's extension repository so it updates itself.


:::video https://ufgc0c9mhl4ueq76.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/academy/e76fc0a7c52a89911f5c04c69fc97745265fd4c2bab8b0494b96ff112e0c84fb.mp4
The Scenario Blender Plugin launch film, with captions.
:::

- [Download the film (MP4, 1080p, 93 MB)](https://ufgc0c9mhl4ueq76.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/academy/e76fc0a7c52a89911f5c04c69fc97745265fd4c2bab8b0494b96ff112e0c84fb.mp4?download=1)
- [Download the PDF guide (25 pages, 14 MB)](https://ufgc0c9mhl4ueq76.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/academy/1367c87ce1ca298b2192f9371f9c289acc665452000ed014b3af4a1b75329c5e.pdf?download=1)

The Scenario Blender Plugin (published as "Scenario for Blender") puts Scenario generation in Blender's sidebar; results land in your scene and an output folder. It is Scenario's official Blender extension, published on GitHub (version 0.13.0 at the time of writing). Two parts are still labeled experimental: the **Film** pages and trained models.

**Outcome:** the plugin installed, connected to your Scenario project, and a first generation in your scene.

:::flow
Go online | **Allow Online Access** |
Install | Scenario's repository, **Get Extensions** |
Connect | Project key, **Test connection** |
Generate | a lane, a prompt, the estimate | image
Use it | import into the scene | 3d
:::

![The Scenario sidebar in Blender's 3D viewport with lanes for Image, Video, 3D, Audio, Materials, Render Image, Render Video and Blockout, a prompt, settings, and a Generate button showing the price estimate](https://ufgc0c9mhl4ueq76.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/academy/ddba611e68a38ebd81309ad2283c0d0b6dd6b9e651168fc60d0a44d2d7d89a39.webp "The Scenario sidebar (N panel) in Blender 5.0. The panel shown is the plugin's offline documentation example. Screenshot from the plugin repository, version 0.9.9.")

## When to use this

| Job | Use |
|---|---|
| Textures, materials, props, audio or look development without leaving the scene | The Scenario Blender Plugin |
| Batch work across many files | The API or the Scenario MCP |
| Platform tasks such as training, collections or usage | The web app or the Scenario MCP |

## Install

:::steps
1. Open **Edit** > **Preferences** > **System** > **Network** and enable **Allow Online Access**. The plugin cannot reach Scenario without it.
2. In **Get Extensions**, open **Repositories**, choose **Add Remote Repository** and paste `https://blender.scenario.com/repo/index.json`.
3. Search for **Scenario** in **Get Extensions** and install it. It appears as **Scenario** in the Add-ons list.
:::

- **Without the repository:** download `scenario-<version>.zip` from the releases page of the `scenario-labs/blender-plugin` repository on GitHub and use **Install from Disk**. A ZIP copy does not update itself; keep one copy only, either the ZIP or the repository one.
- **Verify a ZIP (optional):** releases ship a `SHA256SUMS` file; run `shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS` (macOS) or `sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS` (Linux) in the folder that holds the ZIP and `SHA256SUMS`.
- **Why not Blender's extensions site:** the plugin needs an external account and keys, so Scenario hosts its own extension repository.

## Connect it to Scenario

:::steps
1. In the Scenario web app, open **Settings** > **Organization** > **API Keys** > **Add API Key**. Create a **Project** key for the project that should receive your generations, with the **Editor** role, and, on Enterprise, a usage limit if you want a cap. Copy the key and the secret.
2. In Blender, open **Edit** > **Preferences** > **Add-ons** > **Scenario**.
3. Leave **Credentials** on **Saved in Blender**, paste the key and the secret, and press **Test connection**.
4. Choose an **Output Folder** for generated files.
:::

- **Two ways to connect:** sign in with your Scenario account in the add-on preferences, or paste an API key and secret as above. Saved credentials live in Blender's preferences, not a system keychain.
- **Shared machines:** choose **Credentials** > **Environment** and set the key and secret as environment variables instead.
- **Billing:** generations are billed to the project that owns the key.

## Generate your first texture

:::steps
1. In the 3D viewport, press **N** and open the **Scenario** tab, or click the Scenario button in the viewport header.
2. Pick the **Image** lane.
3. Choose a model in **Model**. The picker lists the models available to your account.
4. Type a prompt, for example `weathered teal paint on wooden planks, top-down, even light, tileable`.
5. Read the estimate on the **Generate** button, then click it. The job appears under **Jobs**.
6. When it finishes, the result shows in **Generations** and in your output folder, with actions to view it or import it.
:::

## The lanes

| Lane | What it makes | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| **Image** | Images from text or references | Textures, decals, concept frames, references |
| **Video** | Video from a prompt, an image or a scene playblast | Animated previs, motion tests |
| **3D** | Meshes; also edit tasks on an exported selection | Props and set dressing. In-place editing is still incomplete |
| **Materials** | Saved PBR texture sets | Apply to a chosen material slot on a mesh |
| **Audio** | Speech, music or sound effects | Added to the sequencer |
| **Environment** | 360 panoramas from a prompt or an image, HDRI and upscales | Set as the scene's World |
| **Render Image** | A finished still from a scene capture plus look references | Grey previs to a styled frame |
| **Render Video** | Video from timeline captures, with a camera path planner and style references | Previs to a styled shot |
| **Blockout** | A greybox layout from a written scene description | Fast layouts you then refine or rebuild |

- **Prompt helpers:** **New**, **Rewrite** and **Translate**. They can spend credits too.
- **A floating composer** gives quick access to the current lane from the viewport.

## Studio and workflows

**Studio**, in the viewport header, opens larger pages: **Create**, **Film**, **Workflows**, **Library**, **Jobs**, **Results** and **Connection**.

- **Workflows:** pick **Private** or **Public**, load a workflow, fill its inputs, press **Request workflow price**, then **Generate**. A workflow your team built in the web app runs from Blender with the same inputs.
- **Film (experimental):** load a recipe, generate the shots, build a timeline, then review and export. Each step asks for confirmation before it spends.

## Previs to picture

:::flow
Block out | grey, by hand or **Blockout** | 3d
Camera | set the shot |
Render Image | one or two look references | image
Render Video | follows timeline and camera | video
:::

The scene keeps the composition; the model supplies the look.

## Credits and privacy

- **An estimate before every generation,** on **Generate**. Models, settings and references change the price.
- **Cost previews send data:** your prompt and settings go to the Scenario API while you edit, before you click **Generate**.
- **Generations upload** scene captures, selected meshes and reference files to your Scenario project.
- **Stored locally:** keys, prompts, job state and media stay in Blender's preferences, extension storage and your output folder.

## Agents in Blender

The plugin runs a local server named `scenario-blender` (by default at `http://127.0.0.1:9876/mcp`, with a bearer token) so an AI agent on your machine can read the open scene and generate into it.

- **The Agents (MCP) panel** shows its status and token, with setup for Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop and Codex.
- **Treat the token as a secret.**
- **Running arbitrary Python** from an agent is a separate permission, off by default.
- **Connect both servers if you like:** the hosted Scenario MCP still covers platform work (collections, training, workflows, usage) without Blender. See [Connect the Scenario MCP](https://learn.scenario.com/mcp/connect-scenario-mcp).

## Updates

- **From the repository:** Blender lists new versions in **Get Extensions** and updates the plugin there. **Preferences** > **Add-ons** > **Scenario** > **Updates** also checks, and **Set up official repository** adds the repository if you started from a ZIP.
- **From a ZIP:** install the newer ZIP with **Install from Disk** and restart Blender.
- **Release notes:** the repository's releases and changelog on GitHub.

:::check
**Accept when:** **Test connection** succeeds, a first image lands in **Generations** and your output folder, the asset also appears in your Scenario project, and the credits charged match the estimate you saw within normal variance.
**Reject when:** the plugin generates in a project you did not intend (check which project owns the key), or results import at the wrong scale or into the wrong material slot.
:::

## If it breaks

| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| **Test connection fails** | Check **Allow Online Access**, then the key and secret (no spaces), then that the key still exists and is a **Project** key |
| **Generate stays on "estimating"** | The estimate needs a connection to Scenario. Check your network and that the form has every required field, such as a reference image for an edit model |
| **403 or a plan message** | The key's role cannot run models, the organization is on Free (API keys need a paid plan), or an admin turned the model off. Use an **Editor** key, check the plan, or pick another model |
| **The job failed** | Read the message under **Jobs**. Moderation blocks and input problems are the usual causes; see [Blocked prompts and moderation](https://learn.scenario.com/help/blocked-prompts-and-moderation) |
| **A lane misbehaves** | Read the known limitations in the repository (some file types do not import, and **Film** is experimental), then report a bug through its support page, without pasting keys, tokens or signed asset URLs |
| **Two Scenario entries in Add-ons** | A ZIP copy and the repository copy are both installed. Remove the ZIP copy and keep the repository one |

Source: https://learn.scenario.com/integrations/scenario-blender-plugin