Exporting
Configure per-object export settings and quickly export your assets in a variety of 3D and 2D formats.
Exporting your assets from Blender to your game engine can be an annoying process. You first have to select the object you want to export, go to the File menu, select Export, choose the file format, choose the folder and file name, and finally configure the export settings. This can be tedious, especially if you’re iterating on your assets and need to export them frequently.
To streamline this process, this add-on provides quick export operators that allow you to configure your desired export settings once on a per-object basis. After that, a button is presented in the Playable panel in the 3D viewport to quickly export the object with those configured settings.
Currently only armatures are supported by the quick export operator. We are actively adding support for more object types.
Configuring export settings
With an armature selected, you can configure its export settings in the Object panel under the Playable tab. Here you can set the Format and Filepath for the export. The file extension is automatically updated to match the selected format.
You can also toggle which child objects are included in the export using the child object list below the export button. This is useful if you have multiple meshes parented to your armature but only want to export specific ones.
Export formats
The add-on supports a variety of export formats, organized into three categories: 3D animation formats, 2D skeletal formats, and sprite sheet formats.
3D animation formats
These formats export your armature, meshes, and animations as 3D files ready for use in game engines.
- glTF Binary (.glb) — The standard binary glTF format. A good general-purpose option for any engine that supports glTF.
- Godot GLB (.glb) — A binary glTF export with an optional Godot integration pass. See Godot integration below.
- Unreal FBX (.fbx) — FBX export optimized for Unreal Engine, with settings pre-configured for Unreal’s import pipeline.
- Unity FBX (.fbx) — FBX export optimized for Unity, with settings pre-configured for Unity’s import pipeline.
For 3D formats, an additional Constant Frame Rate option is available under the “Animation Options” section. When enabled, animation frames are exported at a constant rate.
Godot integration
The Godot GLB format exports a standard .glb file and, when Generate Godot .tres + .import is enabled, runs a post-export pass that prepares the file for a native Godot workflow:
- It writes a seed Animation resource (
.tres) for each exported animation into a companion_datafolder. - It patches the
.glb.importfile that Godot generates so each animation points at its seed resource, letting Godot fill in the bone tracks on import while preserving your loop and event data. - Animations marked as looping are imported with loop mode already enabled.
- Any animation events on the clip are written as Godot method tracks, so hitboxes, spawners, and custom events fire at the right frame at runtime.
The integration recognizes a standard project.godot file as the project root. If Blender exports into a Godot project directory, the importer picks up the generated resources automatically the next time the editor refreshes.
2D skeletal formats
These formats export your armature as a 2D skeleton with an accompanying sprite atlas. They are designed for 2D game engines that support skeletal animation. See the 2D Skeleton documentation for details on configuring 2D-specific settings.
- Pachario 2D (.pchr) — A compact binary file holding the skeleton data (bones, meshes, animations, vertex skinning) together with the atlas image. See the PCHR format specification.
Sprite sheet formats
These formats render your animations frame-by-frame into a sprite sheet image. They’re useful for 2D games that use traditional frame-based animation rather than skeletal animation. See the 2D Skeleton documentation for details on configuring sprite sheet rendering settings.
- Sprite Sheet (.png) — Renders all exportable animation frames into a single PNG sprite sheet grid. See the format specification.
- Aseprite (.json) — Exports an Aseprite-compatible JSON metadata file alongside a PNG sprite sheet. The JSON includes frame positions, durations, and animation tags. See the format specification.
- Godot SpriteFrames (.tres) — Renders a sprite sheet and writes a Godot SpriteFrames resource with each animation and its frame regions already defined. Drop the resource onto an
AnimatedSprite2Dand your animations are ready to play.
Armatures & animation exporting
When exporting an armature, the add-on automatically respects any export settings provided by our animation system. It handles the baking and loading of animations for you, making the process a one-click operation.
Only animations that are marked for export in their animation settings will be included. The add-on bakes all layers down into final actions and loads them into the NLA editor before performing the export.
Because the add-on needs to bake the animations, this can take some time depending on the complexity of the armature and the number of animations. If it looks like Blender has frozen, just give it some time to finish the baking and export process.