Bake Shape Keys is a free Blender add‑on that duplicates, merges, splits, and bakes shape key animations with control over interpolation, step and frame rate, supporting Blender 4.2 LTS and newer.
Developed by nickberckley.
About Bake Shape Keys
Bake Shape Keys is a Blender add‑on designed for animators, modelers and sculptors who work with shape keys. It provides one‑click operators to duplicate, merge and split shape keys while preserving animation data, and it can bake shape key actions across a specified frame range with precise control of step and interpolation. The add‑on also includes a tool to generate 3D‑printable replacement objects from baked shape keys, useful in stop‑motion pipelines. All shape‑key related operators appear in the Object → Animation menu, while duplicate, split and merge functions are located in the Specials menu of the shape‑key panel under data properties. The add‑on requires Blender 4.2 LTS or later and is released under the GNU GPL v3.0 or later.
Features
- Duplicate, merge, and split shape keys while retaining data and animation down to the last keyframe handle position
- Bake Shape Key Action keyframes values for all shape keys on each frame, with precise control over frame range, step, and interpolation
- Insert Keyframe for All Shape Keys writes keyframes for every shape key value in a single click
- Split Shape Key divides a shape key into selected and unselected vertex parts in edit mode, duplicating animation onto both
- Merge Shape Keys blends two shape keys or the entire stack into one, inheriting data from the active shape key
- Objects from Shape Keys bakes shape keys on every frame into a duplicated object for 3D-printable replacement parts, with optional duplicate detection
- Compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer
Best for
Animators and artists who need reliable shape‑key duplication, merging, splitting and frame‑by‑frame baking, especially in stop‑motion or 3D‑print workflows.
Frequently asked questions
Does Bake Shape Keys work with Blender 4.2?
Yes. Bake Shape Keys supports Blender 4.2 LTS and newer versions, so it runs on any Blender build from 4.2 LTS onward.
Where do I find Bake Shape Keys tools inside Blender?
Shape‑key animation operators are in the Object → Animation menu (object mode). Duplicate, split and merge tools are in the Specials submenu of the shape‑key panel within the data properties.
Is Bake Shape Keys free, and what license does it use?
The add‑on is free and distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later, allowing use, modification and redistribution under that license.
Can Bake Shape Keys bake shape key animations that Blender’s Bake Action can’t?
Bake Shape Keys provides a Bake Shape Key Action operator that records shape‑key values on every frame, a capability that Blender’s default Bake Action does not offer.
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