> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://jabe.gitbook.io/jabe-rig-wiki/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://jabe.gitbook.io/jabe-rig-wiki/documentation/about-the-jabe-rig.md).

# About the Jabe Rig

What the Jabe Rig is, what it includes and how it is built.

The Jabe Rig is a feature-rich Minecraft character rig for Blender. It is distributed as a Blender add-on that bundles the rig, adds a control panel to the 3D Viewport and keeps the rig's custom properties in sync.

|                 |                                        |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| Add-on version  | 1.0.0                                  |
| Rig version     | 1.0.0                                  |
| Blender version | 5.2 or newer (in testing)              |
| Rig type        | Minecraft                              |
| Arm types       | Steve (4x4), Alex (4x3) and Slim (3x3) |

The add-on and the rig have their own version numbers. The add-on version is the one in Blender's Preferences. The rig version is shown in the panel, next to the rig's name, when a rig is active.

{% hint style="info" %}
**In testing.** The Jabe Rig is still being tested. It works correctly on Blender 5.2 and newer. The lowest Blender version it can run on has not been determined yet.
{% endhint %}

## What is in the rig

* **Limbs with IK and FK.** Arms, legs and fingers can each be switched between IK and FK with one click, without the pose jumping.
* **Squash and stretch** on the head, body, arms and legs.
* **IK Parent Tree.** Choose what each IK control follows (shoulder, chest, waist, root, world and more) and change it while animating.
* **Fingers** with IK and FK, a Fingers Master control and one shared parent setting per hand, or one per finger.
* **A face rig** with cartoon eyes and mouth, an eye tracker and an IK tongue.
* **Emotions.** Eye shapes such as heart, money, dizzy and X, plus eyelid, frown, tired, tear and blush controls.
* **Materials from the panel.** Eye, eyebrow, mouth and lipstick colors, sparkles, specular and emission, with no node editing.
* **Taper** controls for the body, arms and legs.
* **Display settings.** Separate subdivision levels for viewport, playback and render on each body part, plus per-part visibility.
* **Bone collection toggles** to show only the controls you need.
* **Several rigs in one scene**, and support for linking the rig and using it as a Library Override.

## How it works

The rig is the runtime and the add-on is the source of truth:

* Every setting is a **custom property** stored on the rig. The panel is generated from the add-on's property definitions, so each setting appears in the panel and can be keyframed like any other property.
* Persistent behavior is driven by those properties and by Blender drivers. The add-on creates missing properties, updates existing ones and never deletes your animation data.
* A few controls (materials, bone collection visibility, subdivision levels and IK parent selectors) are applied by the add-on when you change them, so keep the add-on enabled while you animate.

{% hint style="success" %}
**The rig does not break without the add-on.** All of its state lives in the .blend file as custom properties, so a file keeps working if the add-on is disabled or not installed. Only the panel and the controls listed above stop updating until the add-on is enabled again.
{% endhint %}

## Where to go next

New here? Start with [Installing the add-on](/jabe-rig-wiki/documentation/getting-started/installing-the-add-on.md). Looking for a specific control? Open [Features](/jabe-rig-wiki/documentation/features.md) or the [Properties reference](/jabe-rig-wiki/documentation/reference/properties-reference.md).


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