LoopTools tools have become native in the Blender 5.3 beta

In the Blender 5.3 beta, the tools of the LoopTools add-on have become part of the program: the corresponding operators are listed in the official release notes, in the modeling section. BlenderNation describes the situation this way: all Loop Tools are now native in the Blender 5.3 beta.

For modelers this means that the familiar operations are available as standard Blender operators. How much more convenient the native versions are compared with the previous ones is examined in an overview on BlenderNation.

What is listed in the 5.3 release notes

The «Modeling & UV» section of the Blender 5.3 release notes lists three operators that came from LoopTools:

• Relax → Relax Edge Loops
• Curve → Curve Edge Loops Between Selected
• Gstretch → Fit Edge Loops To Annotation

The names have changed

The operator names in the core differ from the add-on's menu items, so learning materials that refer to the old LoopTools menu no longer match the beta's interface. The native version of Gstretch is called Fit Edge Loops To Annotation, that is, it is oriented toward working with annotations.

Why Blender moves add-on functionality into the core

The step looks like a continuation of the line Blender has followed in recent years: the functionality of popular Python add-ons is gradually being turned into standard features of the program, while some of the former built-in add-ons have been moved out to the extensions platform. LoopTools is one of the best-known sets for working with edge loops, and its move into the core is probably connected precisely with how widely it is used.

For users there is a flip side to this. The native operators are a separate implementation with their own names and their own set of settings, so a complete match in behavior with the old add-on is not guaranteed, and tutorial authors will have to update their materials.

Blender 5.3 remains in beta until November 4, 2026. The new operators can be tried out right now: Blender 5.3 Beta builds are available on the official website, but beta versions are not intended for production.

What is behind the move of LoopTools into the core: fatigue from the add-on zoo, pressure from professional studios, preparation for a long 5.x cycle?