Every Blender modifier in one list: what each Add Modifier group does

Based on: Blender 5.2 LTS (screenshots from 5.2.1, English interface, default shortcuts). Checked in November 2026. All pictures are real Blender screenshots. The red numbers and boxes were added to explain them. In most pictures the Properties editor was dragged wider.

Click Add Modifier in the Modifiers tab and you get dozens of names. It is normal not to know where to start. This post opens that menu one group at a time and gives each modifier a one-line job. Think of it as a map.

A modifier changes how an object looks without touching the original shape. It works like a filter in a photo app: turn it off and the original comes back. The idea, the stack order and Apply are covered in What is a modifier. A first hands-on try is in Blender beginner chapter 7: modifiers. This post is the next step. It answers "what is everything else in that menu?"

After this post you can:

1. Tell the nine groups of the Add Modifier menu apart.
2. Pick common Generate and Deform modifiers by name.
3. Add a modifier by opening the menu and typing.
4. Find the series post that covers the modifier you need.

Before you start: Select the default cube in a new file (File ‣ New ‣ General) and open the Modifiers tab (wrench icon) in the Properties editor on the right. The menu items change a little with the object type (mesh, curve, text and so on). This post uses the default cube, which is a mesh.

1. The big picture: nine groups

Follow along: Click the Add Modifier button at the top of the Modifiers tab. When the menu opens, move the mouse over Edit.

Figure 1. The Add Modifier menu: ① the five groups of standard modifiers ② four groups of modifiers built with nodes ③ the list that opens when the mouse is over Edit (Blender screenshot)

Lines split the menu into four blocks.

The lower-middle groups are ready-made tools built from nodes, which snap together like Lego bricks. Nodes are covered in Geometry Nodes for beginners. At first, the five upper groups are all you need.

1-1. Edit: changes data rather than shape

The Edit list is ③ in Figure 1. These modifiers change information attached to points (UV coordinates, point weights) more than point positions. Many of them show no visible change, so you can skip them at first.

2. Generate: adds faces or rebuilds the mesh

This is the group you will use most. These modifiers add, remove or rebuild points and faces.

Follow along: Move the mouse over Generate.

Figure 2. ① The Generate list. Array and Array (Legacy) are separate items at the top (Blender screenshot)

The seven in bold each get their own post in this series (section 6).

3. Deform: moves points without changing the mesh

Deform modifiers keep the number of points and their connections. They only move the points. The net stays the same; you just pull it.

Follow along: Move the mouse over Deform.

Figure 3. ① The 16 Deform modifiers (Blender screenshot)

4. Normals, Physics and the node groups

Follow along: Move the mouse over Normals, then over Physics.

Figure 4. Left: Normals. Right: Physics (Blender screenshot)

A normal is the direction a face points. It decides how light hits that face. The Normals group keeps the shape and only adjusts these directions, which changes the shading.

You usually turn physics on in the Physics tab rather than in this menu. Turning on Cloth in the Physics tab also puts a Cloth modifier in the stack. That is why the same names show up here.

Now open the four node groups in the lower part.

Follow along: Move the mouse over Geometry, Hair and Simulation in turn.

Figure 5. From the top: the Geometry, Hair and Simulation groups (Blender screenshot)

Most of these go with hair curves or node work. While you are learning mesh modeling, just remember that ready-made node tools live here.

5. Add by name: type in the menu

If scrolling through lists is slow, type. When the Add Modifier menu is open, pressing a letter turns it into a search.

Follow along:

1. Click Add Modifier to open the menu.
2. Without clicking anything, type B E V.
3. When Generate ▸ Bevel is highlighted at the top, press Enter.

Figure 6. ① bev in the search field ② the first result, Generate ▸ Bevel. Each result shows which group it belongs to (Blender screenshot)

Figure 7. After Enter: ① a Bevel panel appears ② defaults are Amount 0.1 m, Segments 1, Limit Method Angle (30°) (Blender screenshot)

The search also lists other names below the top one. Enter adds the highlighted top line, so check that it is the one you want first. The "Generate ▸" text in front of each result also teaches you where that modifier sits in the menu. To remove the Bevel, click the X at the right end of the panel header.

6. One at a time: the 10-part modifier series

If this post is the map, the posts below are walks through each neighborhood. They all use the same setup: Blender 5.2, starting from a new file, real screenshots.

To let an AI build a modifier stack, continue with Let AI build a modifier stack.

7. Practice

1. Open the Add Modifier menu and count the items in Generate and Deform. Check that they match the tables here.
2. With the menu open, type S O L and write down the first result.
3. Add a Bevel to the default cube, then turn on Cloth in the Physics tab. See what new item appears in the Modifiers tab. Undo with Ctrl+Z afterwards.
4. Instead of the cube, add a curve with Add ‣ Curve ‣ Bezier and open the Add Modifier menu. Find what is different from a mesh.

8. Common mistakes and fixes

Summary in one line

Add Modifier = five standard groups (Edit, Generate, Deform, Normals, Physics) + four node groups. Generate makes new shape; Deform only bends. Open the menu and type to search. The next post covers the Mirror modifier, the first one worth getting used to.

Next: Mirror modifier · Whole series: this post

References

• Blender 5.2 Manual: Modifiers (contents)
• Blender 5.2 Manual: Modifiers Introduction
• Blender 5.2 Manual: Common Modifier Options
• Shortcuts: Blender 5.2.1 default (Blender) keymap
• Image license: screenshots of Blender taken by AZTechnology. Blender license: blender.org/about/license