Installation and Requirements¶

Install the release zip directly in Blender. It includes all required add-on components.

Requirements¶

Blender 5.0 or newer is required. Metal or Vulkan is mandatory for Pro Particles Studio 5.4.

On Windows and Linux, select Vulkan in Blender's Preferences and restart Blender after changing the backend. On Apple Silicon macOS, Blender must use Metal. OpenGL, DirectX 12 and CPU software rendering are not supported.

A dedicated GPU is strongly recommended. For Pro Pyro, 6 GB VRAM is the practical minimum and 8 GB or more is recommended for larger scenes.

16 GB system RAM minimum. Large Output Caches, VDB previews, high-resolution terrain, geometry exports and baked simulations can require additional RAM depending on scene size.

Install the add-on¶

Pro Particles Studio includes the Pro Particles, Pro Pyro and Pro Terrain workspaces. The tab and control names shown in Blender are used throughout this manual.

1. Download the Pro Particles Studio zip from your store library. Keep it as a zip.
2. In Blender, open Edit > Preferences > Get Extensions.
3. Choose Install from Disk... and select the Pro Particles Studio zip.
4. Enable the add-on if Blender does not enable it automatically.
5. Open the 3D Viewport Sidebar with N. The Pro Particles, Pro Pyro and Pro Terrain tabs should be available.

Installed add-on files¶

All required files are installed with the add-on. No manual copying is needed.

The folder icon in the Pro Particles and Pro Pyro panel headers opens the folder containing the simulation files. Use it when following troubleshooting or support instructions. Do not rename or move these files.

If Blender reports a missing solver, reinstall from the original zip and confirm that the installation layout has not been changed.

Add-on Preferences¶

Open the Pro Particles Studio entry in Blender's Add-on Preferences. Preferences define defaults for newly created systems; they do not rewrite existing scenes.

Runtime & GPU¶

• Default Compute Device: GPU index used by newly created systems. -1 automatically prefers a compatible discrete GPU. If several cards are equally suitable, the first one in the device list is used. Use the refresh control to list supported adapters.

GPU Preview requires Blender and Pro Particles Studio to use the same graphics card. On a computer with multiple GPUs, automatic selection can differ between the two applications. If GPU Preview stays empty, refresh the device list and set Compute Device to the card Blender uses. For identical cards, try their device numbers individually. Selecting several cards for Cycles rendering does not change Blender's viewport GPU.

Support Diagnostics¶

If simulation or GPU Preview fails, reproduce the problem, then choose Export Diagnostics in the add-on Preferences. Save the text file and send it to support. The report contains technical system information, simulation settings and recent messages, without scene geometry. Nothing is uploaded automatically. Export is also available when the solver cannot start.

For more detail, choose Start Detailed Logging before reproducing the problem, then export the report. Detailed logging is off by default and lasts for the current Blender session. Choose Stop Detailed Logging when finished. Export soon after the problem occurs and before closing Blender, since only recent activity is retained.

After a simulation error, playback stops. Correct the reported problem and choose Retry Solver in the Pro Particles panel. Pressing Play before retrying does not open repeated error popups. GPU Preview retries temporary connection failures automatically; if it stays empty, use Blender Geometry while support investigates.

Pro Pyro Defaults¶

• Authoring: new Pyro setups start with Lists unless Nodes is selected. Existing scenes keep their current authoring mode.
• Viewport: selects GPU Preview or Volume (VDB) for new setups. If the required Metal or Vulkan backend is unavailable, Volume (VDB) is selected and the add-on reports the unsupported backend.
• Solver: selects Dense or Sparse. New installs default to Dense.
• Color Channel: default Color Channel state for new Pyro setups.
• Fire Channels: default Fuel/Flame channel state for new Pyro setups.
• Default Max Sparse Cells: starting Sparse memory capacity copied into new Pyro setups.

The Pyro authoring, viewport and solver choices are also available before creating a setup, so they can be overridden per setup.

Pro Terrain Defaults¶

• Node Cache (MB): RAM budget for reusable terrain preview results in new scenes, initially 2048 MiB. Set 0 to disable caching. Existing scenes retain their own value under Pro Terrain > Preview Cache. This is a node-cache budget, not a limit on all Blender memory or VRAM. See Preview Cache.

For a first terrain, see Pro Terrain. Terrain uses the same supported Metal or Vulkan backend.

First start: solver and OS security¶

Pro Particles Studio checks its packaged solver when the add-on loads. If the runtime cannot start, the Pro Particles tab shows the reason, a Recheck Runtime button and the runtime folder.

Resolve the operating-system block first, then click Recheck Runtime. When the check succeeds, restart Blender or disable and re-enable the add-on to load the full simulation controls.

Windows: SmartScreen¶

• If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning, verify that the add-on came from your official store library before using an override offered by Windows.
• Some managed Windows security policies do not allow an override. Contact the administrator or support in that case.
• If the solver file is missing after installation, check Windows Security protection history before reinstalling the complete add-on zip.

macOS: Gatekeeper¶

• macOS may block an unnotarized solver on first use. After the first blocked start, open System Settings > Privacy & Security.
• If macOS offers Open Anyway for simulation_solver, follow that system prompt and then click Recheck Runtime in Blender.
• Pro Particles Studio does not remove macOS security metadata automatically.

Linux: file permissions¶

The add-on restores missing execute permission on its packaged solver when the installation folder allows it. If execution is still denied, check that the folder is writable and not mounted with noexec, then click Recheck Runtime.

Pro Particles Studio does not disable Gatekeeper, SmartScreen, antivirus protection or other OS security controls.

Verify the installation¶

The Pro Particles, Pro Pyro and Pro Terrain tabs should load without a missing-solver warning. If they do not, reinstall from the original zip, resolve any OS security block and restart Blender.

First simulation: preparation time¶

The first simulation run prepares Pro Particles Studio for your GPU. Blender shows progress during this step. It can take longer on the first run, particularly on Windows; subsequent starts are usually faster.

Wait for preparation to finish before judging simulation speed. A graphics-driver, Blender or add-on update can require this preparation again.