OctaneBlender for Octane 2026?

[pegot]

I see a version of Octane Render 2026.1 was released for the addon on December 2'nd. When will 2026 be released for the custom build non addon Blender version?

[pegot]

Bump.

[linograndiotoy]

Octane 2026.1 will be available as an addon only for Blender 5.0 (current 4.5.5 based version will be discontinued); no new custom builds will be released going forward.
We expect to release a TEST version of Octane 2026.1 for Blender 5.0 in approximately three weeks.

Once the Blender 5.0 integration is completed, development will focus exclusively on Blender 5.0.
The Octane 2026.1 addon for Blender 4.5.5 will not be maintained.

A new Octane 2025.5–based custom build (30.9) will be released soon.
This will be the final custom build release.

From that point on, no additional custom builds are planned.
Only updates and bug fixes for existing custom builds will continue.

Why this change is beneficial

This decision allows us to significantly reduce fragmentation across different builds and Blender versions, which in turn brings several concrete benefits:

Faster development and fixes: focusing on a single integration path allows issues to be identified and resolved more quickly.

Improved stability and consistency: fewer parallel branches mean less divergence in behavior between versions.

Better long-term maintenance: development effort can be concentrated where it matters most, instead of being spread across multiple custom builds.

More predictable releases: users can rely on a clearer roadmap with fewer version-specific caveats.

Stronger Blender 5.0 support: dedicating resources to Blender 5.0 ensures better compatibility with its new architecture and future updates.

At the same time, we remain committed to supporting users with ongoing projects by continuing to provide updates and bug fixes for existing 2025 custom builds.

[pegot]

So in three weeks the addon moves out of Beta and becomes a Stable release? Also does that mean it has reached performance parity with the custom build?

[linograndiotoy]

No. We will be releasing a TEST version of Octane 2026.1 based on Blender 5.0.
Overall performance is on par with previous versions; however, AOV generation is currently slower, and we are actively working on optimizing that.

The key points are:

• No more new custom builds going forward

• Focus on the Blender 5.0 addon, based on the latest OctaneRender version (2026.1)

• Continue maintaining the existing 2025 versions, based on Blender 4.5.5, for as long as needed to support ongoing projects

[Arthur]

Hi everybody, I did some vibe coding to patch the Blender 4.5 plugin for the latest version of Blender 5. After a few hours, I managed to have a (apparently) fully functional plugin, I also put the plugin link . Here is a recap of what has been done :


Octane Plugin Compatibility Patch for Blender 5.0.1

This document summarizes the modifications applied to the Octane Blender plugin
(v2026.1 Beta originally built for Blender 4.5) in order to make it fully functional
in Blender 5.0.1.

---

1. Color Management Fix

Issue:
The plugin failed to enable because the UI panels
RENDER_PT_color_management_curves and
RENDER_PT_color_management_display_settings
were removed from the Blender 5.0 API.

Fix:

File:
octane/uis/color_management.py

Action:
All imports and references to the removed color management UI panels were deleted.

---

2. Grease Pencil v3 Compatibility

Issue:
Plugin registration failed with the error:
AttributeError: type object 'Types' has no attribute 'GreasePencilv3'

In Blender 5.0, Grease Pencil types were merged and the specific GreasePencilv3
type no longer exists.

Fix:

File:
octane/properties_/geometry.py

Action:
The register() and unregister() functions were modified to dynamically check for
the existence of GreasePencilv3.
If the type does not exist (as in Blender 5.0, where only GreasePencil is present),
the registration step is skipped gracefully instead of crashing.

---

3. Kernel Selection Crash (AttributeError)

Issue:
Selecting "Quick-Add Kernel NodeTree" caused a crash because
node_tree.active_output_node was None during initialization.

Fix:

File:
octane/utils/utility.py

Action:
Added robust None checks in the following functions:

* beautifier_nodetree_layout_with_nodetree
* find_active_output_node

Fallback logic was added to locate any valid kernel output node when the active
output node is not yet defined.

---

4. OSL Node Crash and Editability

Issue:
OSL nodes caused UI crashes (EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION) and their parameters
were read-only.
The root cause was that Blender OSL sockets do not support ID properties
(self["value"]), which the plugin was incorrectly using for custom getters
and setters.

Fix:

File:
octane/nodes/base_osl.py

Actions:

* Removed custom getters and setters:
All set= and get= arguments were removed from socket property definitions,
reverting them to standard Blender RNA properties.

* Fixed default value initialization:
The is_new_input check in build_pin was removed to ensure default values are
properly assigned during OSL node compilation.

Result:
OSL nodes no longer crash the UI and are fully editable.

---

5. Final Render Crash (F12)

Issue:
Pressing F12 caused an immediate hard crash (EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION)
inside octane_blender.pyd.

Root Cause:
The Octane C++ binary was compiled for Blender 4.5 and attempted to access the
RenderPass C-struct of Blender 5.0 using an incompatible memory layout.
The struct changed in Blender 5.0, resulting in illegal memory access.

Fix: "Buffer Proxy" Strategy

File:
octane/core/frame_buffer.py

Action:

* Blender 5.0 is detected at runtime.
* A gpu.types.Buffer is allocated to act as a proxy framebuffer.
* Octane is initialized with is_viewport=True even during final render.
This forces the C++ binary to write into the raw buffer pointer instead of
accessing Blender's incompatible RenderPass structure.
* Pixel data is manually synchronized from the GPU buffer to Blender's render
result using:
render_pass.rect.foreach_set(arr)

Result:
Final rendering (F12) works correctly in Blender 5.0.1, including:

* Beauty pass
* Denoised pass
* All AOVs

No modification or recompilation of the C++ binary was required.

---

[linograndiotoy]

Thanks for taking the time to experiment with this — I appreciate the effort and the initiative.

That said, I’m a bit concerned that sharing unofficial patches like this may add confusion to the current situation.
At the moment we already have multiple Octane / Blender combinations in circulation, and an official new 2026.1 addon for Blender 5.0 is almost ready to be released.

Introducing additional community-patched versions, even if they appear to work, makes it harder for users to understand:

• which versions are officially supported

• which bugs are addon-related vs patch-related

• where issues should be reported

This can quickly fragment testing and feedback, and ultimately slow things down for everyone.

For now, I’d strongly recommend waiting for the official 5.0 addon release rather than promoting parallel patched builds. It will help keep things clearer and more manageable for users.

Again, thanks for the work — but consistency is really important at this stage.