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  • Published 12 Mar 2026

The Blender Foundation folder is a problem...

There will be no screenshots because this is basic file system change that really needs to be addressed. Also I didn't do a very through search. So, if this is talked about somewhere else. I'm sorry, just link it in a comment.

The Problem
Under a Windows install Blender automatically creates a "Blender Foundation" Directory under...

%app_data% \ %user% \ Roaming

Which, for the most part is benign.

However if you are like me, you maintain a small system drive and put everything elsewhere which this then becomes problematic. Because add-ons and extensions use that folder if they come with assets. Like many of the add-ons out there for doing plants. This causes the the directory to balloon quickly, which is not the problem.

The problem is the user doesn't know it's happening.

Then to fix it you have to manually go in and play with environment variables. Which to most people could be a scary thing, and to the rest of us an inconvenience. Not to mention it gets complicated with multiple versions of Blender installed. Which leads so more complex solutions.

THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE

This should be user definable from within the Blender preferences like everything else. No one should need to make system level changes to point Blender at a simple folder.

"uSe A pOrTaBlE iNsTaLl AnD qUiT wHiNiNg" No! I, nor should anyone else have to use a portable install as a solution to this. This is about user agency. One of the absolute worst things you can do is remove the option of choice from the users hands. Especially when it comes to file management.

So my proposal is simple.

Make the location of the Blender Foundation folder customizable along with the other paths in Blender.

That is all, Thanks.

60%

Development Status: Open

Upvote 3 Downvote 2
hardwire666
12 Mar 2026

3 Comments

Lauloque

It took a bit to understand what you call "Blender Foundation folder", but it is usually called the local or user directory .

For what it's worth, you can set custom directories for things like your addons, asset libraries and whatnot:

demo pic

And for addons that download and store assets, they usually have options to chose where to store that too, and for those who don't, it's up to them to implement that.

The user directory stores Blender’s configuration (preferences, keymaps, startup file, extensions, etc.). Using the user directory as defined by the OS is a simple way for Blender to reliably find its configuration when it starts. The application needs to know where to look before it can load any preferences, so having a predictable location avoids a bootstrap problem. Right now the startup cycle looks like this:

  • check for a portable directory next to Blender
  • otherwise check the standard user directory
  • otherwise create a new configuration in user directory

I suspect that Blender could be modified to be able to check for a small file in its installation directory indicating where the configuration should live, and the startup cycle would look like this:

  • check the installation directory for a file specifying a config location, and check that directory
  • otherwise check for a portable directory next to Blender
  • otherwise check the standard user directory
  • otherwise create a new configuration in user directory

And that file could be created by setting a custom user directory in Blender's preferences.

But I bet that comes with its own limitations. E.g. on Windows specifically, the default installation directory requires admin privileges to create or edit such files. And it can be its own hassle to maintain too.

So, at the end of the day, is that really better and necessary , when you can already just create a portable directory next to the Blender executable and call it a day?

1
toi_hirvi

Would be nice for blender to accept shortcuts to portable folder in windows. Right now if you want to keep portable folder elsewhere, you need to make junction using command line.

markspeir

VERY much agreed!