> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.renderjuice.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Prepare a Blender project with Blend Project Packer > Create a Renderjuice-ready Blender project package with the local Blend Project Packer extension. Renderjuice renders your `.blend` on another machine. Blend Project Packer helps you create an upload package that includes the scene file and the files your scene depends on. It checks the saved project, collects render dependencies, rewrites fragile paths in a copy, and creates a portable folder or zip you can inspect before uploading. If your scene depends on custom Blender add-ons or extensions, upload those add-ons to Renderjuice separately and select them in the render job. The packer can include add-on installation copies in the local package, but Renderjuice does not install add-ons from the project zip yet. Read [Using add-ons and extensions with Renderjuice](/rendering-with-blender/addons) before rendering an add-on-dependent scene. ## Recommended workflow Use this path when you want the safest first upload to Renderjuice. Install Blend Project Packer from the [Blender Extensions listing](https://extensions.blender.org/add-ons/blend-project-packer/). After enabling it, open the 3D Viewport, press `N`, and select the **Project Pack** tab. Save the project before packing. The packer reads the saved file on disk and writes a separate portable copy, leaving your working `.blend` unchanged. **Folder** is the best default. It is faster than zip output and lets you inspect the package before uploading. Use **Zip** only if you want the extension to create a single archive directly. The extension scans the scene, checks dependencies, and creates a portable package beside the current `.blend` unless you changed the output directory in the extension preferences. Blend Project Packer panel showing folder output, build button, done state, and dependency counts If the project check finds missing files, unbaked caches, or add-on decisions, Blender shows a review dialog. Blend Project Packer review dialog showing a missing file warning, an unbaked simulation cache warning, and add-on bundle choices Fix anything that affects the render. Continue only when you know the warning is irrelevant to the scene, shot, or frame range you plan to render. If the review dialog lists add-ons that affect opening or rendering the scene, keep the relevant add-ons selected so the packer can copy their installed archives into the package. After packing, open the portable folder or zip and look under `addons/legacy/` and `addons/extensions/`. Upload each needed add-on zip on the Renderjuice **Add-ons** page, wait for validation, then select those add-ons in the render job. Follow [Using add-ons and extensions with Renderjuice](/rendering-with-blender/addons) for the upload and selection steps. If you used **Folder** output, zip the generated portable folder and upload that zip to Renderjuice. If you used **Zip** output, upload the generated `*-portable.zip`. If your scene depends on custom add-ons at render time, upload and select those add-ons separately in Renderjuice. A project zip does not install add-ons on the render node by itself, even when the packer bundled add-on installation copies into the local package. ## What the packer checks Blend Project Packer is useful when the project has more than a simple `.blend` file: * images, textures, image sequences, UDIM tiles, fonts, sounds, movie clips, or VDB files * linked `.blend` libraries * Alembic, mesh cache, multires, or baked simulation cache folders * compositor or render output paths outside the project folder * add-ons that may affect opening or rendering the scene, so you know what to upload separately in Renderjuice It also writes `blend-project-pack.json`, a packaging receipt with copied files, path rewrites, linked-library scan results, cache moves, checksums, warnings, and add-on decisions. You normally do not need to edit it. ## Blender Pack Resources vs Blend Project Packer Blender's built-in **File > External Data > Pack Resources** is enough for some simple scenes. It embeds Blender-packable data into the `.blend`. Blend Project Packer is for project packaging. Use it when **Pack Resources** does not cover the whole render setup, especially when your project needs: * cache folders that cannot be embedded into a `.blend` * linked libraries and their dependencies * image sequences or UDIM tiles expanded into actual files * external render or compositor output paths rewritten to portable paths * a preflight report before uploading to a render farm If **Pack Resources** already gives you a `.blend` that opens and renders correctly on another machine, you may not need the packer for that project. ## What the output contains The exact folders depend on your scene, but a portable package usually looks similar to this: ```markdown theme={null} my-project-portable/ |-- my-project.blend |-- blend-project-pack.json |-- textures/ |-- caches/ |-- libraries/ |-- sounds/ |-- fonts/ |-- movieclips/ |-- volumes/ |-- renders/ ``` Upload the zip that contains this folder structure, not the original working folder unless you already know it contains every dependency. ## How to read warnings | Warning | What to do | | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Missing file | Relink the file or remove the unused reference before packing. | | Unbaked simulation cache | Bake the simulation in Blender, save the `.blend`, then pack again. | | Add-ons to include | Keep add-ons selected when they affect opening or rendering the scene, then upload the generated add-on zips separately through [Add-ons](/rendering-with-blender/addons). | | Output paths outside the project | Let the packer rewrite them into the portable project. | ## Boundaries Blend Project Packer helps catch common portability problems, but it does not: * bake simulations for you * recover files that are missing on disk * prove that every custom add-on behaves correctly on Linux render nodes * install add-ons on Renderjuice from the project zip * submit the render job to Renderjuice Related guides: * [Preparing your Project](/renderjuice-101/preparing-blender-file) * [Why It Works Locally But Not On Renderjuice](/renderjuice-101/works-locally-not-on-renderjuice) * [Using add-ons and extensions with Renderjuice](/rendering-with-blender/addons)