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.