Remove Broken Addons from Release and Contrib #63750

New Issue

Hi As 2.8 is getting ever closer it's time to look at making some decisions about addons and the addons list in Blender 2.8.

First, it should be made clear that all of the 2.79 addons release list was never intended to be the 2.8 addons release list. The 2.79 addons list was extended to mark the end of the series and to showcase, show code, show ideas and concepts that addons had provided

This is my proposal and plan to handle the addons list transition to Blender 2.8

Preparing the Blender addons and addons_contrib repo's for 2.8 release
Addons Developers
1: Actively encourage and help new and old developers to participate in the updating of addons to 2.8
1.1: Help new addons developers to join the addons project and participate in addons development within the Blender git environment.
2: As an addons developer within reason your welcome to fix/update the addons repo to fix api changes. If you fix your addon and notice other addons with the same issue, your welcome to fix. Updates to 2.8 api are fine without a task. Please create a task here https://developer.blender.org/maniphest/project/3/type/Patch/ if you wish to make more substantial changes to another authors addon. If you are not yet an addons developer but have fixed some built in addons you need yourself, you are most welcome to submit a task with the fixed addon and we will test and make use of it.

Addons Contrib
Addons Contrib needs a revamp. There's several issues to address.
1: Contrib was initially designed as a platform for new Blender addons devs to get used to committing and working on their addons until they were ready for the move to release addons.
1.1:This worked only up to a point, some addons authors made good use of it, some addons were not ready for release but working and maintained. Some addons ended up abandoned or orphaned and unmaintained and some had good concepts and different code methods that may have been useful in developing further addons.
2: Revitalizing Contrib
2.1: Addons Contrib needs to be largely cleaned out.
2.2: Addons that are still actively mainlined with the goal of inclusion in 2.8 series and addons fully working/updated in 2.8 nightly builds are acceptable.
2.3: Orphaned, unmaintained, broken, non 2.8 compatible addons should be removed. The Author will and should retain the right to add his/her addon back to addons contrib once updated to 2.8 and after creating a new task here: https://developer.blender.org/maniphest/project/3/type/Patch/
Addons Contrib Summary
Contrib is still a useful section for addons, with 2.8 on the horizon, and the removal of non viable addons, we can free up space for the next and new generation of addons devs. It can also provide a place to repair and rebuild addons from 2.8 beta that are not updated and returning errors.

Addons 2.8 Release
Working Release
1: All addons released with Blender 2.8 should be working at the time of release. With such major api changes, some addons are no longer viable, many are unmaintained and will take time to fix if they ever are. We should not release with these addons.
1.1: Known reported bugs in working scripts are ok.
1.2: Non updated to 2.8 api and non maintained addons should be removed from release and added to the cleaned up Addons Contrib repo until they are updated and added back to release.
1.2.1: Addons removed from release into contrib should have a lifespan of 6 months after which they should be removed from the contrib repo and a new task crated if/when they become maintained.
Addons Release Summary
With the 2.8 series we are presented here with a good opportunity to clean up and reduce the number of addons in Blender and make room for new addons with new developers and new concepts. As noted above some addons may take time to repair and return. During the transition from 2.4 series to 2.5 series, many addons did not come back. Most of the nest and popular "most used" addons eventually made a return but this was over a long period of time and some did not return until the 2.6 series and 2.7 series. Keeping this in mind we can now start to clean up and make a solid foundation addons 2.8 release.

summary
To summarize quickly. We take out the broken unmaintained addons from contrib and replace them with the broken non updated addons from release and have an error free as possible release for Blender 2.8.
Any removed addons have the opportunity and time to come back later in the 2.8 series.
I believe this proposal to be fair. It's simply not possible to fix all the addons and a clean up will commence shortly, over time and on a per addon basis.

Thanks. I'll use this task as reference to any addons removed.

Hi As 2.8 is getting ever closer it's time to look at making some decisions about addons and the addons list in Blender 2.8. First, it should be made clear that all of the 2.79 addons release list was never intended to be the 2.8 addons release list. The 2.79 addons list was extended to mark the end of the series and to showcase, show code, show ideas and concepts that addons had provided This is my proposal and plan to handle the addons list transition to Blender 2.8 **Preparing the Blender addons and addons_contrib repo's for 2.8 release** *Addons Developers* 1: Actively encourage and help new and old developers to participate in the updating of addons to 2.8 1.1: Help new addons developers to join the addons project and participate in addons development within the Blender git environment. 2: As an addons developer within reason your welcome to fix/update the addons repo to fix api changes. If you fix your addon and notice other addons with the same issue, your welcome to fix. Updates to 2.8 api are fine without a task. Please create a task here https://developer.blender.org/maniphest/project/3/type/Patch/ if you wish to make more substantial changes to another authors addon. If you are not yet an addons developer but have fixed some built in addons you need yourself, you are most welcome to submit a task with the fixed addon and we will test and make use of it. **Addons Contrib** *Addons Contrib needs a revamp. There's several issues to address.* 1: Contrib was initially designed as a platform for new Blender addons devs to get used to committing and working on their addons until they were ready for the move to release addons. 1.1:This worked only up to a point, some addons authors made good use of it, some addons were not ready for release but working and maintained. Some addons ended up abandoned or orphaned and unmaintained and some had good concepts and different code methods that may have been useful in developing further addons. 2: *Revitalizing Contrib* 2.1: Addons Contrib needs to be largely cleaned out. 2.2: Addons that are still actively mainlined with the goal of inclusion in 2.8 series and addons fully working/updated in 2.8 nightly builds are acceptable. 2.3: Orphaned, unmaintained, broken, non 2.8 compatible addons should be removed. The Author will and should retain the right to add his/her addon back to addons contrib once updated to 2.8 and after creating a new task here: https://developer.blender.org/maniphest/project/3/type/Patch/ **Addons Contrib Summary** Contrib is still a useful section for addons, with 2.8 on the horizon, and the removal of non viable addons, we can free up space for the next and new generation of addons devs. It can also provide a place to repair and rebuild addons from 2.8 beta that are not updated and returning errors. **Addons 2.8 Release** *Working Release* 1: All addons released with Blender 2.8 should be working at the time of release. With such major api changes, some addons are no longer viable, many are unmaintained and will take time to fix if they ever are. We should not release with these addons. 1.1: Known reported bugs in working scripts are ok. 1.2: Non updated to 2.8 api and non maintained addons should be removed from release and added to the cleaned up Addons Contrib repo until they are updated and added back to release. 1.2.1: Addons removed from release into contrib should have a lifespan of 6 months after which they should be removed from the contrib repo and a new task crated if/when they become maintained. **Addons Release Summary** With the 2.8 series we are presented here with a good opportunity to clean up and reduce the number of addons in Blender and make room for new addons with new developers and new concepts. As noted above some addons may take time to repair and return. During the transition from 2.4 series to 2.5 series, many addons did not come back. Most of the nest and popular "most used" addons eventually made a return but this was over a long period of time and some did not return until the 2.6 series and 2.7 series. Keeping this in mind we can now start to clean up and make a solid foundation addons 2.8 release. **summary** To summarize quickly. We take out the broken unmaintained addons from contrib and replace them with the broken non updated addons from release and have an error free as possible release for Blender 2.8. Any removed addons have the opportunity and time to come back later in the 2.8 series. I believe this proposal to be fair. It's simply not possible to fix all the addons and a clean up will commence shortly, over time and on a per addon basis. Thanks. I'll use this task as reference to any addons removed.

Added subscribers: @BrendonMurphy, @ideasman42, @brecht, @mont29, @lichtwerk

Added subscriber: @cwolf3d

Added subscriber: @StephenLeger

Added subscriber: @nBurn

hi, work will begin on this soon.
After brief discussion with Ideasman42 he indicated that
"In general prefer if we stop being central repo for too many addons though" and that "Would prefer external repo model"
There's no issue from me here.

Above I've outlined some of the process in reducing the number of addons in Blender and I would see this as a first step in any future design plans.
My primary goals are to reduce the number of addons in 2.8 and to make sure all included addons are working.
This requires emails with authors and help from active addons devs. Some people may not be happy but we are certainly not a central repo for non working addons.
A good clean out now will significantly reduce the number of addons in Blender down to a more acceptable level, after which we can look at alternatives to the current addons system.
Thanks.

hi, work will begin on this soon. After brief discussion with Ideasman42 he indicated that "In general prefer if we stop being central repo for too many addons though" and that "Would prefer external repo model" There's no issue from me here. Above I've outlined some of the process in reducing the number of addons in Blender and I would see this as a first step in any future design plans. My primary goals are to reduce the number of addons in 2.8 and to make sure all included addons are working. This requires emails with authors and help from active addons devs. Some people may not be happy but we are certainly not a central repo for non working addons. A good clean out now will significantly reduce the number of addons in Blender down to a more acceptable level, after which we can look at alternatives to the current addons system. Thanks.

Current status for Addons:
Release: 122 addons, 55 need updating to 2.8
Contrib: 66 addons, 51 need updating to 2.8
Removals:
Release: 0
Contrib: 13

Work will continue soon.

Current status for Addons: **Release:** 122 addons, 55 need updating to 2.8 **Contrib:** 66 addons, 51 need updating to 2.8 Removals: **Release:** 0 **Contrib:** 13 Work will continue soon.

Added subscriber: @jta

Added subscriber: @filibis

Current status for Addons:
Release: 95 addons, 23 need updating to 2.8
**Contrib:**92 addons, 76 need updating to 2.8

Work will continue soon.

Current status for Addons: **Release:** 95 addons, 23 need updating to 2.8 **Contrib:**92 addons, 76 need updating to 2.8 Work will continue soon.

Current status for Addons:
Release: 76 addons, 7 need updating to 2.8
Contrib: 104 addons, 83 need updating to 2.8

more to do.

Current status for Addons: Release: 76 addons, 7 need updating to 2.8 Contrib: 104 addons, 83 need updating to 2.8 more to do.

Added subscriber: @ldo

Does this mean that submissions like #40437 will be accepted now?

In #63750#705798, @ldo wrote:
Does this mean that submissions like #40437 will be accepted now?

We are always trying to improve the code. Patches will be looked at and appropriate action taken. Remember that addons release is main focus. Currently addons contrib is full of broken addons and very few working addons. How would you like to help? Addons in contrib that are broken will be fully removed from the repo around 2.81, giving Authors time to fix or abandon their addons. You are most welcome to create a task for any code cleanup/fixes you have/find. Simple bulk fixes or larger fixes on a per addon basis should be ok.

> In #63750#705798, @ldo wrote: > Does this mean that submissions like #40437 will be accepted now? We are always trying to improve the code. Patches will be looked at and appropriate action taken. Remember that addons release is main focus. Currently addons contrib is full of broken addons and very few working addons. How would you like to help? Addons in contrib that are broken will be fully removed from the repo around 2.81, giving Authors time to fix or abandon their addons. You are most welcome to create a task for any code cleanup/fixes you have/find. Simple bulk fixes or larger fixes on a per addon basis should be ok.

Current status for Addons:

Release: 90 Addons including 23 updated to 2.8 over the last 3 months. Thanks to all that participated and helped.
32 Addons removed from release to addons contrib as they were not updated or unsupported or no maintainer.
This amounts to around a 25% reduction in addons included in Blender release.

Contrib: 98 Addons, 18 updated working addons.
32 Addons removed from release to addons contrib.
80 non working addons currently in contrib needing update to 2.8.

Next step will be the clean up of contrib.
Addons from 2.79 release that did not make it to 2.8 release and are moved to contrib should have until 2.81 to be updated.
As 2.8 release is likely to inspire people to fix some much used addons I think 2.81 would be the cut off point.
If they are not working by 2.81 they will be removed from addons contrib and the Blender Repo.
Some addons have already been removed from release and contrib as they were either special for 2.79 release, no longer valid, no longer supported by the author., discontinued features.
Thanks.

Current status for Addons: Release: 90 Addons including 23 updated to 2.8 over the last 3 months. Thanks to all that participated and helped. 32 Addons removed from release to addons contrib as they were not updated or unsupported or no maintainer. This amounts to around a 25% reduction in addons included in Blender release. Contrib: 98 Addons, 18 updated working addons. 32 Addons removed from release to addons contrib. 80 non working addons currently in contrib needing update to 2.8. Next step will be the clean up of contrib. Addons from 2.79 release that did not make it to 2.8 release and are moved to contrib should have until 2.81 to be updated. As 2.8 release is likely to inspire people to fix some much used addons I think 2.81 would be the cut off point. If they are not working by 2.81 they will be removed from addons contrib and the Blender Repo. Some addons have already been removed from release and contrib as they were either special for 2.79 release, no longer valid, no longer supported by the author., discontinued features. Thanks.

Added subscriber: @TuomoKeskitalo

Hello @BrendonMurphy,

is there some URL that is up-to-date which lists add-ons that need to be upgraded to 2.8? In case anyone has some spare time to help and wants to see if there is something interesting there..

PS. Thanks for your work!

Hello @BrendonMurphy, is there some URL that is up-to-date which lists add-ons that need to be upgraded to 2.8? In case anyone has some spare time to help and wants to see if there is something interesting there.. PS. Thanks for your work!

Some stats. We started off with:
123 release addons in 2.8
82 contrib addons 2.8
205 total.
We now have:
95 release addons in 2.81
43 contrib addons in 2.81
138 total.
This gives us a 32.5% reduction in the total number of addons included. Pretty close to a 1/3 reduction.
67 addons removed entirely from the repo's. This is including addons that have arrived or are new in 2.8/2.81 so the reduction in old addons is slightly higher.
The majority of the work is done here with some stragglers in contrib to find more information on and a couple of known incoming updates.
Some more removals may follow, however there will not be the noise of the past few days.
Thanks.

Some stats. We started off with: 123 release addons in 2.8 82 contrib addons 2.8 205 total. We now have: 95 release addons in 2.81 43 contrib addons in 2.81 138 total. This gives us a 32.5% reduction in the total number of addons included. Pretty close to a 1/3 reduction. 67 addons removed entirely from the repo's. This is including addons that have arrived or are new in 2.8/2.81 so the reduction in old addons is slightly higher. The majority of the work is done here with some stragglers in contrib to find more information on and a couple of known incoming updates. Some more removals may follow, however there will not be the noise of the past few days. Thanks.

Is anybody looking at #50620, by any chance?

Changed status from 'Open' to: 'Resolved'

closing as resolved. any further removals will be treated on an individual basis. Any broken addons removed from Blender will go through review process before re-inclusion.

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Remove Broken Addons from Release and Contrib #63750