FaceLink 0.3.9 Alpha

FaceLink 0.3.9 Alpha

FaceLink 0.3.9 is a privacy-hardening maintenance release for the v0.3.8 product-onboarding
work. It removes development-machine paths from public assets and scripts without rewriting
the already published Git history.

Highlights

• Sanitized the graphical-installer screenshot and editable .blend demo source.
• Replaced hard-coded development Blender/FFmpeg paths with explicit parameters, environment
  variables, PATH lookup and conventional Blender discovery.
• Converted README setup examples to portable repository-relative paths.
• Added a regression test that scans tracked public files for high-risk credential signatures,
  the former author email and known development-machine path fragments.
• Configured this repository's future commits to use the GitHub noreply identity.

Install

1. Install official Blender 4.2 or newer and Python 3.11 or newer.
2. Download FaceLink-Setup-0.3.9.exe and SHA256SUMS.txt from this release.
3. Verify the EXE hash, open it, select Check setup, then Install FaceLink.
4. Restart Blender and ChatGPT Desktop/Codex, then start the FaceLink bridge in Blender.

Blender and Python remain external prerequisites. The alpha EXE is not yet code-signed, so
Windows SmartScreen may report an unknown publisher.

Privacy boundary

This release removes personal paths from the current tree and downloadable assets. It does not
rewrite older public commits or tags; the earlier commit-author email therefore remains in Git
history. A complete removal would require a disruptive force-push and release/tag rebuild.

Verified

• Repository privacy scan over tracked text and binary assets.
• 110/110 Python unit, CLI, MCP, configuration, diagnostics and repository-privacy tests
  passed, with 93.65% line coverage and 86.48% branch coverage.
• Blender 4.2.23 LTS, 4.5.12 LTS and 5.2.0 LTS on Windows x64.
• Graphical installer build, embedded checksum validation and no-write self-test.
• Editable demo asset timeline, FCurves and keyframes loaded through Blender 4.5.12 LTS.

FaceLink 0.3.8 Alpha

FaceLink 0.3.8 Alpha

FaceLink 0.3.8 makes the Windows alpha approachable without weakening its local trust boundary.
The new graphical setup is a single small EXE containing the FaceLink host and Blender extension;
Blender and Python remain detected external prerequisites.

Highlights

• FaceLink-Setup-0.3.8.exe provides prerequisite checking, path selection, component choices,
  live logs and installation without administrator access.
• Embedded Wheel, Blender ZIP and PowerShell backend are checked against the embedded SHA-256
  manifest before installation.
• facelink configure-mcp safely configures the file shared by ChatGPT Desktop, Codex CLI and
  the Codex IDE extension.
• Existing Codex TOML is preserved and backed up; FaceLink updates only its marked managed block
  and refuses to overwrite an unmanaged mcp_servers.facelink table.
• The README now includes a four-second real Blender animation, its MP4 and the editable .blend
  containing ordinary FaceLink-created keyframes.

Install

1. Install official Blender 4.2 or newer and Python 3.11 or newer.
2. Download and open FaceLink-Setup-0.3.8.exe.
3. Select Check setup, review detected paths, then select Install FaceLink.
4. Restart Blender and ChatGPT Desktop/Codex. Enable FaceLink if needed and press Start Bridge.
5. Run facelink doctor or use /mcp in a local OpenAI client to verify the connection.

The setup does not bundle Blender, request an OpenAI API key or expose the bridge token. Raw ZIP,
Wheel, source distribution, PowerShell installer and SHA-256 manifest remain available for manual
or audited installation.

The alpha EXE is not yet code-signed. If Windows SmartScreen reports an unknown publisher, verify
the file against SHA256SUMS.txt before choosing More info → Run anyway, and use only assets
from this official GitHub release.

OpenAI client boundary

The ChatGPT desktop app, Codex CLI and Codex IDE extension share the local Codex MCP configuration.
ChatGPT on the web does not read local configuration files; web use would require a separately
hosted and reviewed plugin rather than this localhost-only Blender bridge.

Verified

• 109/109 Python unit, CLI, MCP, configuration and diagnostics tests passed, with 93.65%
  line coverage and 86.48% branch coverage.
• Blender 4.2.23 LTS, 4.5.12 LTS and 5.2.0 LTS on Windows x64.
• Source execution, overlay UI, authenticated bridge, ZIP validation and isolated extension
  installation on every supported Blender line.
• Graphical installer compilation, resource extraction, checksum validation and no-write plan.
• The release Wheel was installed into a clean E-drive virtual environment; version import,
  launcher discovery, Doctor and idempotent MCP TOML generation passed from that installation.
• Demo generation through Blender 4.5.12: 96 rendered frames and 24 editable keyframe values.

Alpha boundaries

• Windows is the only fully verified operating system in this release.
• Python and Blender are prerequisites rather than bundled applications.
• Existing Blender extension upgrades may still require removing the prior extension in Blender
  Preferences before the setup installs the new ZIP.
• FaceLink does not universally infer controllers, convert IK/FK, generate missing character
  motion or judge artistic animation quality.

FaceLink 0.3.7 Alpha

FaceLink 0.3.7 Alpha

FaceLink 0.3.7 turns the existing creator-review engine into a more installable Windows alpha.
Blender remains an external dependency: the release detects Blender 4.2 or newer but does not
redistribute the several-hundred-megabyte application.

Highlights

• facelink doctor diagnoses Python, the installed FaceLink host, MCP launcher, Blender version,
  discovery directory, live authenticated bridge and optional OpenAI BYOK readiness.
• Human-readable output supports setup; stable JSON output supports bug reports and automation.
• Diagnostic output contains neither OPENAI_API_KEY values nor bridge bearer tokens.
• install-windows.ps1 verifies release checksums and provides a fully non-mutating -PlanOnly
  mode before it creates an isolated host or installs the Blender extension.
• The Blender bridge health response reports the FaceLink version for version-skew diagnosis.

Install

1. Install official Blender 4.2 or newer and Python 3.11 or newer.

2. Download install-windows.ps1, facelink-0.3.7.zip,
   facelink-0.3.7-py3-none-any.whl and SHA256SUMS.txt from this release.

3. Run the checksum-verifying installer:

   .\install-windows.ps1 `
     -WheelPath .\facelink-0.3.7-py3-none-any.whl `
     -ExtensionZipPath .\facelink-0.3.7.zip `
     -ChecksumsPath .\SHA256SUMS.txt

4. Open Blender's FaceLink sidebar and press Start Bridge.

5. Run the installed facelink doctor --blender-exe C:\path\to\blender.exe, then configure the
   printed facelink-mcp.exe path in the MCP client.

Use -PlanOnly first to inspect paths without changing the machine. If FaceLink is already
installed in Blender, update or remove that extension through Blender Preferences before the
automatic extension step.

Verified

• 101 Python unit, CLI, MCP and diagnostics tests.
• 93.39% line coverage and 86.05% branch coverage.
• Blender 4.2.23 LTS, 4.5.12 LTS and 5.2.0 LTS on Windows x64.
• Source execution, overlay UI, authenticated bridge, ZIP validation and isolated extension
  installation on every tested Blender version.
• Windows installer plan, release checksum verification and clean wheel installation.

Alpha boundaries

• Windows is the only fully verified operating system in this release.
• Blender and Python are prerequisites rather than bundled applications.
• Mapping review is required; FaceLink does not universally infer controllers or convert IK/FK.
• FaceLink does not generate missing character motion or judge artistic animation quality.
• Paid/live OpenAI provider behavior is not part of the acceptance matrix.

FaceLink 0.3.6 Alpha

FaceLink 0.3.6 Alpha

FaceLink turns constrained shot descriptions into ordinary editable Blender animation while
keeping scene mutation behind typed validation and visible artist review.

Highlights

• Editable movement, turning, camera tracking, Action/NLA playback and deterministic navigation.
• Reviewed rename_only, sampled bake_pose and evaluated bake_evaluated_pose rig adapters.
• Placement-preserving Armature object-motion baking with source-unit or rig-scaled translation.
• Scene, Action and Rig fingerprints reject stale plans before mutation.
• Blender-side Stage, Apply, Discard, revision history and safe current-session rollback.
• MCP tools can use the model already available in the client; BYOK OpenAI planning remains
  optional and separately billed.

Verified

• 88 Python tests.
• 92.91% line coverage and 85.41% branch coverage.
• Blender 4.2.23 LTS, 4.5.12 LTS and 5.2.0 LTS on Windows x64.
• Source execution, overlay UI, authenticated bridge, ZIP validation, clean install and installed
  extension loading on every tested Blender version.

Install

1. Download facelink-0.3.6.zip and facelink-0.3.6-py3-none-any.whl below.

2. In Blender 4.2 or newer, open Edit → Preferences → Get Extensions → Install from Disk,
   select the ZIP, enable FaceLink, open the FaceLink sidebar and press Start Bridge.

3. Install Python 3.11 or newer, then install the wheel in an isolated environment:

   py -3.11 -m venv .venv
   .\.venv\Scripts\python -m pip install .\facelink-0.3.6-py3-none-any.whl
   .\.venv\Scripts\facelink-mcp

4. Add that facelink-mcp executable to your MCP client's configuration. See the README for a
   complete example.

Verify downloaded files with SHA256SUMS.txt before installation.

Alpha boundaries

• Windows is the only fully verified operating system in this release.
• Mapping review is required; FaceLink does not universally infer controllers or convert IK/FK.
• External driver/constraint dependencies and parented or constrained Armature object motion are
  rejected.
• FaceLink does not generate missing character motion or judge artistic animation quality.
• Paid/live OpenAI provider behavior is not part of the acceptance matrix.

Report reproducible defects through the issue form and use private vulnerability reporting for
security issues. Do not attach API keys, bearer tokens or unlicensed production assets.