Blender Dev 0.8.0-Snapshot

Released: 2026-07-20

This pre-release builds on v0.7.0-Snapshot with structured Blender extension metadata handling, expanded runtime diagnostics, a simplified runtime source layout, and a repeatable hosted release workflow.

Added

• Added a typed TOML reader for Blender extension manifests, including focused parsing and validation tests.
• Added Blender-side runtime communication and repository-sync logging with Python regression coverage.
• Added an idempotent snapshot release script that validates the tag and changelog, builds the plugin, publishes the pre-release, uploads the distribution ZIP, and verifies its SHA-256 hash.
• Added repository issue templates and a shared Gradle run configuration for building the plugin distribution.
• Added project documentation for snapshot publishing and updated runtime workflow and troubleshooting guidance.

Changed

• Flattened the bundled Blender runtime sources into src/main/python and updated packaging and attribution paths.
• Reworked extension reloads to read manifest metadata through the structured manifest model.
• Expanded runtime command diagnostics around requests, responses, reloads, script execution, and Blender shutdown.

Fixed

• Fixed extension reloads so the manifest extension ID is used instead of the source directory name.
• Fixed runtime repository-sync launch behavior and covered generated launch scripts with Python tests.
• Fixed plugin packaging so transitive Kotlin standard-library jars cannot shadow the IntelliJ Platform runtime.

Removed

• Removed the superseded nested src/main/blender-runtime/include/blender_pycharm source layout.

Known Issues

• This remains a pre-release and is not production-hardened.
• Live Blender integration is not covered by the automated JVM and Python test suites.