Blender HAL DAT Model Addon

Installation

Two steps: install Blender itself, then install this addon into Blender.

1. Installing Blender

Blender is the free 3D software this addon plugs into. The addon is built and tested against Blender 4.5.7 LTS, so use that exact version. Other versions may behave unexpectedly or fail to load the addon at all.

Step 1 — Download Blender 4.5.7 LTS

Go to blender.org/download/lts and pick the 4.5 LTS download for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux). LTS stands for "Long Term Support" — it's the version Blender keeps stable for years.

Blender LTS download page
The Blender LTS download page. Pick the 4.5 LTS download for your platform.

Step 2 — Run the installer

Open the file you just downloaded and follow the prompts. On Windows it's a standard installer; on macOS, drag the Blender app into your Applications folder; on Linux, extract the archive somewhere and run the blender binary.

Blender installer running
The installer running. Accept the defaults unless you have a reason to change them.

Step 3 — Launch Blender

Open Blender. You'll see a splash screen, then the default scene with a cube in the middle. You can dismiss the splash by clicking anywhere outside it.

Blender first launch screen
Blender's default scene — the cube, light, and camera you'll delete later when prepping a model.

2. Installing the plugin

The plugin is distributed as a .zip file you drag into Blender. There's nothing else to install — once enabled, the import and export options appear in Blender's File menu.

Step 1 — Download the plugin

Grab the latest plugin .zip from the project's GitHub page. On GitHub, click the green Code button and choose Download ZIP.

GitHub Code button with Download ZIP option
On the GitHub page, click Code → Download ZIP.

Step 2 — Open Blender's Extensions preferences

In Blender, open the Edit menu at the top of the window, then choose Preferences…. In the window that opens, click Get Extensions in the left-hand list.

Extensions section of Preferences
The Extensions panel inside Preferences.

Step 3 — Install the .zip

You have two options:

Install from Disk menu
The "Install from Disk…" option lives in the dropdown next to the search box.

Step 4 — Confirm the addon is enabled

After installing, the addon shows up in the Extensions list with a checkbox next to its name. Make sure the checkbox is ticked. Close the Preferences window.

Addon enabled in extensions list
When the checkbox is ticked, the addon is active and ready to use.

To verify it worked, open the File menu at the top of Blender. You should see a Gamecube model (.dat) entry under both Import and Export.

Note: Blender only loads the addon once at startup. If you update the plugin later, fully quit and relaunch Blender for the new version to take effect.

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