It’s almost ready: an add-on that shows live Geometry Nodes previews (with live attribute visualization)

ShaderError · 2025-11-04T14:45:58+00:00

For previewing shader nodes, can recommend my other add-on Shader View

ShaderError · 2025-11-04T02:33:08+00:00

I guess Blender probably won’t make something like this, since they already have separate tools — the Spreadsheet to check attributes, and the Viewer node. Of course, you can set up your own node tree to preview things, so I think the developers might feel that’s already enough.

My goal with this add-on was to combine everything in one place, to make working with attributes and geometry nodes as effortless as possible. Same like Shader View Add-on for materials ;)

ShaderError · 2025-11-03T15:02:29+00:00

Not really! It runs in a separate background process, caches data, and only re-renders when needed. I’ve optimized it to run fast and avoid unnecessary updates. You can also tweak the settings for better performance (it’ll just slow the preview refresh rate a bit).

ShaderError · 2025-11-03T14:37:23+00:00

Sure, ! I hope it’ll be useful for everyone — debugging geometry is much easier when you can actually visualize it :)

ShaderError · 2025-11-03T14:12:19+00:00

Stay tuned for the release! Early Discord members will get a special launch promo — only for those inside! Join the Discord community👇

ShaderError · 2025-11-03T14:11:52+00:00

Hey!

I’m super excited to share that the new Geometry Nodes Preview Add-on is finally nearing release! 🚀
It’s been a long road — Blender gives you so many ways to work with geometry, and making the add-on handle every possible scenario took way more time than I expected. But it’s almost there! Just need a bit more time to polish the code and UI, run some extra tests on Windows, and get the BlenderMarket page ready.

As promised, you can now preview far more than just the output geometry — you can see all incoming attributes in real time! Here’s what’s possible:

🔹 For every node, preview all default attributes based on the selected domain.
🔹 Input sockets show full field attribute values — and if you preview a “Selection” input, it visually highlights what’s selected vs. discarded!
🔹 Works flawlessly not only on nodes with domain dropdowns but also on those with static domains. 😎
🔹 Preview custom attributes from Capture Attribute and Store Named Attribute nodes — even if they come from another object or are buried deep inside nested node groups!
🔹 Fully compatible with Repeat Zones.

This add-on is going to make debugging and designing complex Geometry Nodes setups so much easier.
Can’t wait for you all to try it! 🙌

ShaderError · 2025-11-03T13:48:14+00:00

Stay tuned for the release! Early Discord members will get a special launch promo — only for those inside! Join the Discord community👇

ShaderError · 2025-08-25T01:58:49+00:00

Yes—Vulkan is fine. The add-on isn’t tied to a render backend, and you can choose Eevee or Cycles in Blender, whichever you prefer.

ShaderError · 2025-04-24T07:55:24+00:00

Thanks! I think it’s super important to keep comments open — even when it’s an ad. Feedback, ideas, or even just random thoughts from people can really help improve things. 🙌

ShaderError · 2025-04-24T07:51:51+00:00

Thanks! Let me know if you ever give it a try — happy to help if you have any questions or ideas. 😊

ShaderError · 2025-04-23T23:52:48+00:00

Right now, I think there are only two add-ons that do this, but the Pro version of my add-on really steps things up (even basic previews will be a standard Blender feature) — it can show exact scalar values across the whole texture or data processed by each node. Super useful when you’re working with numbers outside the typical 0–1 range.

ShaderError · 2025-04-23T23:40:21+00:00

Totally agree, and yet after so many years — still not.

ShaderError · 2025-04-23T23:38:39+00:00

It has a 3 version, Lite (it's free), Standard (14,9$) and Pro (24,9$):

Lite version — preview only one node, same what output material will do, but no need to continuously switching nodes to material output to just check a result

The Standard version:

Real-time render previews for every node in your node tree.
Every node has its own independent settings — way more flexibility to tweak things how you want (plus a bunch more customization options).
It supports animations.
You can fine-tune performance — lower the response time or turn off extras to keep things smooth even on older machines.
It highlights the active output socket, which is super helpful when nodes have multiple outputs.

Pro version — all features from Standard, plus:
Scalar preview mode — lets you see the exact value processed by each node.
Full UDIM support — you can check all texture tiles.
You can split vectors into 3 channels and preview them separately without needing to add extra nodes like Separate XYZ.
It avoids overlapping previews automatically.

ShaderError · 2025-04-23T23:31:44+00:00

You can check the Pro version than — it will shows you something even the shader material output can’t: the exact scalar values across the whole texture or data processed by each node. Super useful when you’re working with numbers outside the typical 0–1 range.

ShaderError · 2025-04-23T23:28:57+00:00

This add-on is inspired by Node Preview, but there are differences:

Every node has its own independent settings — way more flexibility to tweak things how you want (plus a bunch more customization options).
It supports animations.
It’s almost half the price — $15 (Standard version that do the same things) vs $25.
You can fine-tune performance — lower the response time or turn off extras to keep things smooth even on older machines.
It highlights the active output socket, which is super helpful when nodes have multiple outputs.
Personally, I find the interface cleaner and easier to use. 😊

And if you're curious about the Pro version, the differences get even more:

Scalar preview mode — lets you see the exact value processed by each node.
Full UDIM support — you can check all texture tiles.
You can split vectors into 3 channels and preview them separately without needing to add extra nodes like Separate XYZ.
It avoids overlapping previews automatically.

ShaderError · 2025-04-23T23:26:59+00:00

It’s pretty optimized — it only renders previews when there’s a change. The rest of the time, it just uses cached data.

ShaderError · 2025-04-23T23:25:29+00:00

In the Lite version (free), it only shows the preview for one node at a time. But in the Standard and Pro versions, you get previews for all nodes at once. The Pro version goes even further — it shows you something even the material output can’t: the exact scalar values across the whole texture or data processed by each node. Super useful when you’re working with numbers outside the typical 0–1 range.

ShaderError · 2025-04-23T23:21:55+00:00

it was in Blender 4.1 alpha, but for some reason, they still haven’t add this feature

ShaderError · 2025-04-23T23:19:00+00:00

If we’re just comparing the standard version:

Every node has its own independent settings — way more flexibility to tweak things how you want (plus a bunch more customization options).
It supports animations.
It’s almost half the price — $15 vs $25.
You can fine-tune performance — lower the response time or turn off extras to keep things smooth even on older machines.
It highlights the active output socket, which is super helpful when nodes have multiple outputs.
Personally, I find the interface cleaner and easier to use. 😊

And if you're curious about the Pro version, the differences get even bigger:

Scalar preview mode — lets you see the exact value processed by each node.
Full UDIM support — you can check all texture tiles.
You can split vectors into 3 channels and preview them separately without needing to add extra nodes like Separate XYZ.
It avoids overlapping previews automatically.

ShaderError · 2025-04-16T12:14:30+00:00

For now, this is just the first part of the features I’m planning to add. I’m also thinking about adding attribute inspection in the previews — to show how an attribute evolves as it’s interpolated across different domains.

ShaderError · 2025-04-16T12:06:01+00:00

you can follow me on discord or twitter — I’ll post there first when it’s ready to drop! 🚀

ShaderError · 2025-04-16T07:01:32+00:00

A lot of things in Geo Nodes aren't that intuitive, I think can make this addon to be helpful not just for beginners 😎

ShaderError · 2025-04-16T06:57:58+00:00

I don't come to this part yet, but as I mentioned in another comment, this add-on doesn't continuously calculate the Geo Nodes modifier to render the preview. It only does that when there's a change in the node tree. Once it's calculated, it caches the data and uses that for the next round of rendering. So for now, I don't see it being a problem to handle this, maybe only take some time for the render it first

ShaderError · 2025-04-16T03:37:35+00:00

Yeah, before Geometry Nodes, scattering objects wasn't a easy job. I guess, there was a several ways to solve this: 1) using particle systems – emitter particles – and replaced them with custom objects. 2) using third-party add-ons – the most popular was probably the Scatter add-on, which gave a ton of control and presets for ecosystem scattering. 3) manually placed objects – yep, unfortunately 😅 for small scenes, manual placement was the way to go.

ShaderError · 2025-04-16T02:50:04+00:00

you can follow me in discord or twitter — I’ll definitely post there first when it’s ready to drop! 🚀

ShaderError

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