A free Blender add-on that organizes anything you want to reuse — objects, materials, lights, cameras, collections, node groups, worlds — into a clean, Asset-Browser-ready library. Point it at a scene or an imported .blend; it sorts every keepable datablock into its own file, auto-catalogued by type and name, textures packed in. 100% local — no account, no cloud, no lock-in. The output is a standard native Blender library that keeps working even if you uninstall the add-on.
Sort a whole file into a clean, catalogued library in one click — the main event.
Mark, protect, pack, thumbnail, and catalog the selected datablocks right in the current file — a fast way to tag as you go.
In Blender (4.2+): Edit → Preferences → Add-ons, top-right dropdown → Install from Disk…
Select curator-v0.2.zip — don't unzip it first.
Tick the checkbox next to Curator. In the 3D viewport press N → the Curator sidebar tab — two panels, Organize into Library and Mark in Place.
For every datablock of the kinds you pick, Curator marks it as an asset and protects it from purge, packs its textures so it travels (no pink materials), auto-catalogs it, and writes it to its own self-contained .blend at <library>/<Type>/<Category>/<name>.blend.
Open the file you want to harvest — your scene, or File → Open an imported pack.
In Curator → Organize into Library:
Library = a fresh folder (e.g. Asset-Library/). Keep which kinds = tick Materials / Objects / Collections / Node groups / Worlds. Leave One file per category off (the default) for the most shareable output — one file per asset.
Click Organize into Library. The status bar reports Organized N asset(s) → N file(s), N catalog(s).
Edit → Preferences → File Paths → Asset Libraries → + → pick your Library folder. Then open an Asset Browser, choose that library — everything appears, catalogued.
Categories are automatic. Objects sort by type (Meshes/, Lights/, Cameras/…); materials, collections, and worlds group by the first _-token in the name (Materials/Tech, Collections/Kit); node groups sort by tree type. Rearranging catalogs later in the browser moves nothing on disk — the catalog layer is virtual.
Curator never saves your source file — it only writes new files into the library. In-scene it briefly marks and packs the datablocks to build self-contained assets, then restores your session to how it found it (press Ctrl-Z to revert any texture packing too). Warnings — like a texture whose source file is missing — print to the System Console (Window → Toggle System Console) and never stop the run. The library it builds is a standard native Blender library, so it keeps working even if you uninstall Curator.
The questions people actually hit. Tap one to open it.
Curator ships as a single file, curator.py, zipped up as curator-v0.2.zip. In Blender: Edit → Preferences → Add-ons, top-right dropdown → Install from Disk…, pick the .zip — don't unzip it first. If you already unzipped the download, you can also point Install straight at curator.py inside it — either works.
Hover over the 3D viewport and press N. No Curator tab there means the add-on is installed but switched off — tick its checkbox in Edit → Preferences → Add-ons (search "Curator"). Once it's on, the tab shows two panels: Organize into Library and Mark in Place.
"Set a Library folder first" means the Library field is empty — pick a destination folder. "Pick at least one kind to organize" means every checkbox under "Keep which kinds" (Materials, Objects, Collections, Node groups, Worlds) is off — tick at least one.
By default, Selected only is off, so Curator sweeps every keepable datablock in the open file — not just what's selected. Tick Selected only to restrict a run to your current selection.
No. Curator only writes new files into the library folder — your open file is never saved, and it's restored to how it found it when the run finishes (Ctrl-Z also reverts any in-session texture packing). Warnings, like a texture with a missing source file, print to the System Console (Window → Toggle System Console) and never stop the run.
Blender 4.2 or newer. Version 0.2 is checked installing and running Organize into Library in Blender 4.2 LTS.
Curator is free, unlocked by email — re-download it any time from startingframe.com/products/ with the same address.
A real person reads every message, and bugs get fixed. Include these three things and we can usually find it on the first reply:
Download it from the tools page — one email (which adds you to the newsletter) unlocks it, then it's yours on your machine. No account, no cloud; the library you build is a plain native Blender library.
Starting Frame. — the guide · startingframe.com
Curator · organize anything you reuse into a clean library.