# EpicGames/BlenderTools: Send to Unreal and UE to Rigify, Reviewed for Pipeline Engineers

> Two Blender addons from Epic Games, Send to Unreal and UE to Rigify, cut manual export and retargeting work between Blender and Unreal Engine. The install path is simple, but the release cadence and the assumptions each addon makes about your asset setup are worth checking before you commit a team to them.

**EpicGames/BlenderTools** — Blender addons that improve the game development workflow between Blender and Unreal.

- Repository: https://github.com/EpicGames/BlenderTools
- Website: https://epicgames.github.io/BlenderTools/
- Stars: 3,327 · Forks: 166
- Language: Python
- License: MIT
- Published: 2026-09-24 · Updated: 2026-09-24 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/epicgames-blendertools

## What Send to Unreal and UE to Rigify actually replace

The repository holds two separate Blender addons, not one product. Send to Unreal is described in the README as "a one-click solution for sending assets from Blender to Unreal Engine." UE to Rigify is "a node based retargeting system for Blender's Rigify addon," aimed at retargeting and authoring animation on Unreal marketplace assets. They solve different problems and can be installed independently.

The audience is narrow and specific: game developers who model or animate in Blender and ship into Unreal Engine. A solo artist moving one static mesh will not notice much difference between the addon and a manual FBX export. A studio moving hundreds of assets, or retargeting a purchased animation pack onto a custom Rigify control rig, is the case where the addon earns its place. The README frames both tools around workflow between the two applications, and the topics list on the repository (blender, blender-addon, pipeline, python, unreal) points at the same pipeline audience.

## How the two addons divide the work

Send to Unreal handles asset transfer. The README shows it as a one-click action, with a GIF demonstrating the flow and a link to the Send to Unreal documentation. The repository layout supports this: send2ue/ is a top-level directory alongside ue2rigify/, so the two addons are packaged as separate Blender extensions rather than a single monolithic plugin.

UE to Rigify is the more structural of the two. It is described as node based, which means the retargeting logic is expressed as a graph rather than a fixed mapping table. That matters when the source skeleton does not match the target: a node graph can be rewired, a hardcoded mapping cannot. The addon builds on Blender's Rigify addon, so it inherits Rigify's metarig and control-rig conventions instead of introducing its own rig format.

Both addons are written in Python, which is what a Blender addon has to be. The repository carries a requirements.txt listing docker==6.1.3, unittest-xml-reporting==3.2.0, fake-bpy-module-latest==20231010, PyGithub==2.1.1 and pydevd-pycharm~=223.7571.203. Those are development and test dependencies, not runtime requirements for the addon inside Blender, and the README does not present them as an install step for end users.

## Installing Send to Unreal from a release build

The README does not give a command line install. It points to the releases page, filtered by addon name, as the download location. The workflow is therefore: download the release archive for the addon you want, then install it through Blender's addon preferences. The README's own download links are release queries, which is the authoritative source for the current build.

The repository also documents how to be told about new builds, which is a reasonable signal that releases are the distribution channel rather than a package index. The README gives these steps for release notifications:

```
1. At the top right of this page select `Watch`
2. Select `Custom` from the dropdown.
3. Check `Releases`
4. Click `Apply`.
```

What you should see after step 4 is an email notification each time a new addon version is released, per the README. That is the whole upgrade mechanism the repository documents. There is no described auto-update inside Blender, and no package manager command to pin a version. If your studio needs reproducible addon versions across workstations, you are managing the release archives yourself.

For contributors rather than users, the README links three separate guides: development, documentation and testing. The presence of tests/ and tox.ini in the repository layout means the project does run an automated test suite, and requirements.txt names the tooling used to drive Blender in that suite. None of that is needed to use the addons.

## Retargeting with UE to Rigify is not a drop-in for every skeleton

The node-based design is the addon's strength and its constraint. A node graph gives you control when the source rig and the Rigify target disagree, but it also means someone has to build or adapt that graph. The README describes the addon as a retargeting system for Rigify specifically, so if your studio uses a custom control rig that is not Rigify, the addon is aimed at a workflow you have not adopted.

The second constraint is version drift. The most recent releases listed for the repository are Send to Unreal 2.4.3 on 2023-11-09, Send to Unreal 2.4.2 on 2023-10-12, and UE to Rigify 1.6.2 on 2023-06-01. Those are the addon releases, and they are older than the repository's last push on 2026-09-09. The gap between the newest addon release and the newest commit is not explained in the README, and neither is a compatibility matrix for Blender or Unreal Engine versions. If you are on a recent Blender release, confirm compatibility against the release notes for the addon version you download rather than assuming the main branch is a supported build.

There is also no documented rollback. If a Send to Unreal update changes how an asset lands in Unreal, the README does not describe how to revert to the previous addon version beyond reinstalling an older release archive. Plan for that by keeping the archives you have validated.

## Compared with a plain FBX export or an engine-side importer

The obvious alternative is Blender's built-in FBX and glTF exporters paired with Unreal Engine's own import dialog. The difference is where the mapping lives. A manual export leaves every decision, scale, axis conversion, material slot naming, collision setup, to the artist each time. Send to Unreal moves that decision into the addon so it happens consistently on every send. The cost is that the addon's conventions become your conventions, and the README does not enumerate them; the linked Send to Unreal documentation is where that detail lives.

A second alternative for the retargeting side is Unreal Engine's own IK Retargeter, which keeps the work inside the engine. UE to Rigify takes the opposite position: it brings the retarget into Blender so you can author new animation on Rigify controls. Choose based on where your animators actually work. If they never open Blender, UE to Rigify adds a tool they will not use. If they live in Blender and only use Unreal as the destination, moving the retarget into Blender removes a round trip.

## Licence and what the MIT terms mean for a studio pipeline

The repository is MIT licensed, with LICENSE.md at the top level. MIT is permissive: it allows use, modification and redistribution, including inside commercial projects, provided the copyright notice and permission notice are preserved. For a studio embedding these addons in an internal pipeline, that is about as unobstructed as licensing gets.

Two practical notes, not legal advice. First, the addons are distributed as release archives from GitHub, so if you redistribute a modified build internally or externally, keep the licence file with it. Second, MIT covers the addon code in this repository. It does not cover Unreal Engine itself, Blender itself, or any marketplace asset you retarget with UE to Rigify. Those carry their own terms, and the README says nothing about them.

Maintenance is the other cost. The last push to the repository was on 2026-09-09, which is recent, but the newest addon release listed is from 2023-11-09. Those two facts point in different directions, and the README does not reconcile them. Treat the release page, not the commit history, as the thing you are adopting.

## Who should install this, and what to check first

Install Send to Unreal if your team already moves assets from Blender to Unreal Engine and wants that step to be one click instead of a manual export dialog every time. Install UE to Rigify if you retarget third-party or marketplace rigs onto Rigify controls and want that mapping expressed as an editable node graph. Both are MIT licensed and both install from release archives, so the commitment is low.

Skip both if you need a documented rollback path, a compatibility matrix, or a support contract. The README does not describe any of those. Skip UE to Rigify if your rigs are not Rigify based, because the addon is built around that addon's conventions by its own description.

What to verify before you roll either addon out: the exact addon version in your release archive, the Blender version you are running it in, and the Unreal Engine version your project targets. The README does not state supported versions, so that check has to come from the release notes for the specific build you download. If the newest release for the addon you need predates your Blender version, test it on one asset before you put it in front of a team.

## Conclusion

Adopt Send to Unreal if your team already exports FBX or glTF by hand and wants a one-click path from Blender into Unreal Engine, and adopt UE to Rigify if you retarget marketplace or third-party rigs onto Rigify controls. Do not adopt either if you need a documented rollback or a formal support contract, because the README does not describe one. Before committing, verify the installed addon version against the release you downloaded, and confirm that your Blender and Unreal Engine versions are the ones the current release notes name.

## FAQ

### What is EpicGames/BlenderTools used for?

It is a repository of Blender addons that improve the game development workflow between Blender and Unreal Engine. It contains two addons: Send to Unreal for sending assets to Unreal Engine, and UE to Rigify for node-based retargeting onto Blender's Rigify addon.

### How do I install Send to Unreal?

The README does not give a command line install. It links to the GitHub releases page filtered by addon name, where you download the addon archive and then install it through Blender's addon preferences.

### How do I use the Blender Tools addons together?

They are separate addons with separate documentation. Send to Unreal handles asset transfer with a one-click send, while UE to Rigify handles retargeting with a node graph built on Rigify. The README links a documentation section for each.

### What is the licence for EpicGames/BlenderTools?

The repository is MIT licensed, with LICENSE.md at the top level. That permits use, modification and redistribution provided the copyright and permission notices are preserved. It does not cover Blender, Unreal Engine or any marketplace asset you retarget.

### How do I get notified about new Blender Tools releases?

The README describes watching the repository, choosing Custom from the Watch dropdown, checking Releases and clicking Apply. It states you will then get an email notification each time a new addon version is released.

## Sources

- [EpicGames/BlenderTools on GitHub](https://github.com/EpicGames/BlenderTools)
- [License: MIT](https://github.com/EpicGames/BlenderTools/blob/main/LICENSE)
- [Project website](https://epicgames.github.io/BlenderTools/)
- [README](https://github.com/EpicGames/BlenderTools/blob/main/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/EpicGames/BlenderTools/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/epicgames-blendertools