Meerkat enables realtime collaborative workflows at the object level inside of the Blender viewport.
| Dependency | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Blender 4.0+ | Plugin host (https://www.blender.org/) |
| Python 3.10+ | Bundled with Blender |
| Docker Desktop | https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/ |
Download meerkat-blender-plugin.zip
This link pulls the Python Plugin from the latest release of Meerkat.
In Blender, go to Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → Install, select the downloaded zip, then check the box beside Meerkat to enable.
Requires Docker (Windows/macOS/Linux).
Depending on your situation, you might want to Host over a LAN or Remotely. See steps below and pick the suitable one for you and your team.
This setup is ideal for working in sessions where all parties are connected to the same Wi-Fi network
Run the following command in your terminal
docker run -d -p 8000:8000 --restart=unless-stopped \
--name meerkat ghcr.io/arryllopez/meerkat-server:latestIn Blender, set the server URL to ws://<your-local-ip>:8000/ws (e.g. ws://192.168.1.42:8000/ws). Share that URL with anyone on the same network.
This setup allows collaboration with anybody even on different Wi-Fi networks.
Uses Tailscale for a free public HTTPS URL — no domain, no port forwarding, no TLS setup.
After installing Tailscale and signing in, enable HTTPS Certificates in the admin console, then:
docker run -d -p 8000:8000 --restart=unless-stopped \
--name meerkat ghcr.io/arryllopez/meerkat-server:latest
sudo tailscale funnel 8000Tailscale prints a public URL like https://your-machine.tail-abc123.ts.net. In Blender, use wss://your-machine.tail-abc123.ts.net/ws.
Sessions are password-protected. Share the password with collaborators out-of-band (Discord, text, etc.) — without it, nobody can join even if they have the URL.
In the Meerkat add-on preferences, set the Server URL to the one from the step above (LAN or Remote).
Then open the Meerkat side panel in the 3D viewport (N key → Meerkat tab):
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Create Session | Start a new collaborative session |
| Join Session | Connect to an existing session by ID |
| Leave Session | Disconnect from the current session |
Once connected, use Blender normally, but see your collaborators do work in realtime within the same viewport!
cargo build # Build backend binary
cargo test # Run unit/integration tests
cargo clippy # Lint# Symlink plugin into Blender's addons directory for live reloading
ln -s $(pwd)/blender_plugin ~/.config/blender/4.x/scripts/addons/meerkatContributions welcome — especially networking, Blender Python API, and conflict resolution strategies.
- Fork the repository
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b feat/your-feature) - Commit your changes
- Open a Pull Request
Have a question or idea? Start a discussion.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.
- Use, modify, and distribute freely
- Derivative work must also be open-source under GPLv3
- No proprietary forks
See the LICENSE file for full details.