blender-version-migration-research

name: blender-version-migration-research description: Research and plan Blender add-on migrations between Blender versions. Use when upgrading Lime Pipeline or another addon across Blender releases, comparing official API/release-note changes, identifying breaking changes, mapping repo modules to risk areas, and producing a migration plan before editing code.

Blender Version Migration Research

Goal

Produce a migration brief grounded in official Blender docs before changing code for a version upgrade.

Inputs

• Source Blender version.
• Target Blender version.
• Repo path.
• Packaging target: legacy add-on or extension.

Workflow

1. Inventory addon surfaces used by the repo.
   • Registration, PropertyGroup, AddonPreferences, Panel, UIList, operators, handlers, timers, draw handlers, sequencer, nodes, linked libraries, file IO, and network usage.
2. Search official Blender release notes for every major/minor version crossed.
   • Start at https://developer.blender.org/docs/release_notes/.
3. Validate current APIs in official docs for the target version.
   • Prefer https://docs.blender.org/api/current/ for active Blender 5.x work.
4. Map each repo module into one of four buckets.
   • Unchanged.
   • Deprecated but safe.
   • Needs adaptation.
   • Likely broken.
5. Record links for every claimed breaking or deprecated area.
6. Produce a migration brief before implementation.

Required Output

• Executive summary: migration difficulty and overall recommendation.
• Risk map: high-risk modules and why.
• API delta: what stayed stable, what changed, and what is ambiguous.
• Implementation order: safest sequence of work.
• Validation plan: exact tests and Blender runtime smoke checks.

Quality Bar

• Use official Blender sources for compatibility claims.
• Distinguish confirmed breaks from optional cleanup.
• Call out ambiguity instead of guessing.
• Connect every risk back to actual repo code, not generic Blender advice.