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Choosing an AI tool for Blender MCP: Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, Kimi, and local AI compared

Once installed, the official Blender MCP works with many AI apps. This guide compares Claude Code, the Claude desktop app, Codex, Antigravity CLI, Kimi Code CLI, local AI, and ChatGPT on the web by account, cost, how to register, and wait-time setting, then walks through how to choose.

AZTechnology12 min read

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Based on: Blender Lab MCP add-on and server 1.0.3, Blender 5.2 LTS, the official MCP docs of each AI app (Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity CLI, Kimi Code CLI, llama.cpp, OpenAI custom MCP servers). Checked in November 2026. All figures are real PowerShell and Blender screens.

Search for Blender MCP and you get Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Kimi, and local AI all mixed together. One thing to know first: the Blender side is one, and the AI app can be swapped.

Think of a wall socket. Once the socket (Blender's MCP add-on and server) is installed, it stays put, and you can plug in any appliance (AI app), a vacuum or a fan, because the plug standard is the same. What MCP is, is explained in What is MCP?.

This guide compares the AI apps you can use with Blender MCP in one table and explains how to choose for your situation. How to actually connect each app is in the app-by-app guides linked here.

1. What changes and what stays

PartWhere it runsWhen you switch AI apps
MCP add-onInside BlenderStays. Install once
MCP server (blender-mcp)Outside Blender, on your PCStays. Just register the same server in each app
26 tools (scene summary, screen capture, code execution, and more)Inside the serverStay. Same tools whichever app calls them
AI appYour PC or the internetThis is what changes. Registration, account, and cost differ

So the Blender side is done once you follow Installing the official Blender MCP. This guide only compares the last row, the AI app.

This guide is based on the official MCP made by Blender Lab. For how it differs from the similarly named community version (MCP for Blender), see The official Blender MCP vs. the community MCP for Blender.

2. The comparison table

AI appWhere it runsAccount and costRegistering Blender MCPServer wait-time settingGuide
Claude desktop appYour PC (app)Claude account. The Blender connector is available on all plans, including freeAdd Blender under Customize > ConnectorsNone (the app handles it)Installing the official MCP, Section 5
Claude CodeYour PC (terminal)Sign in with a Claude account. What you can use depends on the planclaude mcp add <name> -- <command>Environment variable MCP_TIMEOUT (ms, default 30 s)Adding it to Claude Code
CodexYour PC (terminal)Sign in with a ChatGPT account. What you can use depends on the plancodex mcp add <name> -- <command> or config.tomlstartup_timeout_sec (s, default 10 s)Working in Blender with Codex
Antigravity CLI (agy)Your PC (terminal)Sign in with a Google accountagy mcp add or mcp_config.jsontimeoutSeconds (s)Connecting Blender MCP to agy
Kimi Code CLIYour PC (terminal)Sign in with a Kimi account (OAuth). Depends on the plan.kimi-code\mcp.jsonstartupTimeoutMs (ms)Working in Blender with Kimi Code CLI
Local AI (llama.cpp)Your PC (including the model)No subscription. Needs a graphics card and memory insteadRegister the server address in the web UI (server runs in web mode)NoneDriving Blender with AI on your own computer
ChatGPT on the webOpenAI's serversChatGPT account, workspace permissionsCannot start the server on your PC. Needs a public HTTPS address or Secure MCP TunnelNot applicableUsing Blender MCP with ChatGPT

In the registration commands, <command> is the same server start command. For example, if you downloaded the server to C:\blender_mcp, it is uv --directory C:\blender_mcp\mcp run blender-mcp. This part stays the same whatever the app.

The "server wait-time setting" is how many seconds the app waits for the server to start. The Blender server can take tens of seconds to start on some PCs, so if connections keep dropping, check this setting first. Codex in particular has a short default of 10 seconds, so on a PC where the server takes about 20 seconds to start, Codex may fail first. If you use Codex, add startup_timeout_sec = 30 to the server entry in config.toml to raise it to 30 seconds. Details are in Section 5 of When Blender MCP won't connect.

3. How far each app guide actually tested

The app guides were not all written the same way. Some actually drove Blender; some follow the official docs. Keep this in mind when choosing.

AI appWhat its guide did
Claude CodeRegistered, checked the connection, summarized a scene, and got a preview render
Claude desktop appConnector steps follow Claude's official tutorial
CodexInstall and registration steps follow OpenAI's official docs. The Blender figures were taken with the same server connected through another app
Antigravity CLIInstalled, registered, saw the 26 tools under /mcp in a chat, and ran a read question
Kimi Code CLIInstall, sign-in, and MCP registration follow the official docs. The check skill was run directly in Blender, not through Kimi
Local AIRan a small and a large model on a laptop with an 8 GB graphics card and compared them
ChatGPT on the webFollows OpenAI's official docs. ChatGPT itself was not tried

4. How to choose

Answer these questions in order and most choices make themselves.

  1. Do you already pay for an AI subscription? If so, start with that company's tool: Claude Code or the Claude desktop app with a Claude plan, Codex with a ChatGPT plan, Antigravity CLI with a Google account.
  2. If the terminal (the black window) is new to you, the Claude desktop app is easiest. You just add a connector, no commands.
  3. If you want to use "GPT", pick Codex, not ChatGPT on the web. ChatGPT on the web cannot start the server on your PC.
  4. If you want no subscription and want the scene to stay on your PC, pick local AI. With an 8 GB graphics card, though, small models often made mistakes when changing the scene.
  5. Once you choose, learn that one app for a while. The Blender side stays the same, so switching later only means one registration line.
WhoApp to pick
New to this and want a chat windowClaude desktop app
New, but willing to learn the terminalClaude Code or Antigravity CLI
Already on a ChatGPT planCodex
Want to try at no cost and have a graphics cardLocal AI (llama.cpp)
Want to compare several appsLeave the Blender side alone and register the apps one by one

5. Whatever the app, Blender uses the same tools

Starting point: a new file (File > New > General) with the default cube.

Whatever the AI app, the tools that drive Blender are the same 26. The figure below is the result of asking Claude Code for a floor plane, a monkey head, a red material, and a camera, one after another. Other apps connected to the same server can do the same job with the same tools. The tone of the answers and the order of work differ by model.

Steps:

  1. Register Blender MCP in the app you chose (app guides in the Section 2 table).
  2. Open a new file and send "Tell me which objects are in the open Blender scene. Don't change anything."
  3. If the answer lists Camera, Cube, and Light, you are connected.
  4. For the next prompts, follow Ten first prompts for Blender MCP.
  5. Once the first prompts feel familiar, move on to the hands-on examples: modifiers, lights and materials, a low-poly room, and turntable renders, in that order. How much the AI uses per job is in Measuring Blender MCP token use.

The Blender 3D Viewport in camera view. Camera Perspective at the top left; inside the dashed camera frame, a red cube on a floor plane with a smooth monkey head on top; the Outliner on the right shows Camera, Cube, Floor Figure 1. A scene Claude Code built with the official MCP tools. Floor plane, a Cube with a red material, a smooth Suzanne, and the camera view (Blender screenshot)

6. Checking the versions installed on your PC

Starting point: a PC with at least one app installed.

If you have several apps installed, it helps to check their versions in one go. Each app guide was written for the version of its time, so if your version is very different, menus or commands may have changed.

Steps:

  1. Open PowerShell.
  2. Type the version command for each app you have installed.
claude --version
agy --version
kimi --version
uv --version
  1. If you see "not found" instead of a version number, that app is missing, or you did not open a new window after installing it.

A PowerShell window. claude --version shows 2.1.318 (Claude Code), agy --version shows 1.4.12, kimi --version shows 2.4.1, uv --version shows uv 0.12.11 Figure 2. AI app and uv versions on one PC. From the top: Claude Code 2.1.318, Antigravity CLI 1.4.12, Kimi Code CLI 2.4.1, uv 0.12.11 (terminal screenshot)

uv is not an AI app; it is the tool that starts the Blender server. Every app starts the server through uv, so check it as well.

7. When you mix several apps

Do thisWhy
Give work to one app at a timeIf two AIs change the same scene at once, it is hard to tell whose result is whose
Register the server under the same name (for example blender) in each appSaying "use the blender server" stays clear
Keep only one Blender openIf two Blenders use the same port, connections go to only one of them
Save before giving workIn every app, the code execution tool really changes the file

More safe habits are in Safety check before handing Blender to AI.

Practice

  1. Answer the five questions in Section 4 and pick one app that suits you.
  2. Check your versions with the commands in Section 6 and compare them with the versions in the app guides.
  3. Register Blender MCP in the app you picked, send the first prompt from Section 5, and check that the object names match the Outliner.

Common mistakes and fixes

SymptomCauseFix
Not sure whether to reinstall the Blender add-on after switching appsTreating the Blender side and the app side as one thingThe Blender side stays. Only register the server in the new app
Blender is nowhere in ChatGPT on the webChatGPT on the web cannot start the server on your PCUse Codex, or see the tunnel section in Using Blender MCP with ChatGPT
Connections work in some apps and not othersThe server's start time is close to the app's wait timeRaise the "wait-time setting" from the Section 2 table
Other apps connect but only Codex fails at server startCodex's startup_timeout_sec defaults to 10 secondsAdd startup_timeout_sec = 30 to the server entry in config.toml
A command like kimi mcp is not foundRegistration differs by app versionUse the settings file method from the app guide
Local AI says "done" but the scene is unchangedA small model did not check its resultUse a larger model, or check the result on screen

In one line

The Blender side (add-on, server, 26 tools) is one; swap the AI app. Easy start: the Claude desktop app. GPT: Codex. No subscription: local AI. Once connected, move on to Ten first prompts for Blender MCP.

References

Back to the Blender guides

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