EM 1.6 In development

EM 1.6 — In development

Active development line that follows the 1.5 LTS cut. No stable release yet — features, APIs and branch URLs may still move before the 1.6 cut. Track day-to-day status on the EM dev tracker. New projects should still start from EM 1.5 LTS.

Compatibility

Blender: 5.1+ · tested on 5.1, 5.2 LTS (planned)
yEd: yEd 3.21 or later

Prerequisites

You need Blender and yEd installed before you can run this release. Install them first, then proceed to the EM-specific tools below.

Blender

5.1+

3D authoring environment. Free, GPL-3.

Download from blender.org ↗

yEd

yEd 3.21 or later

Free graph editor used to author the EM `.graphml` file.

Download from yworks.com ↗

Core language — EM 1.6

formal language

The formal language is the heart of the release. Everything else in the framework — tools, exports, web platforms — exists to author, manage and publish what is described below.

(Planned) Multi-source assembly pipeline — split out from the 1.5 GraphML Writer & Updater work (DP-48), targeting richer source-driven graph composition.
(Planned) Boolean + LOD surface strategies on Representation Models — extension of the 1.5 Surface Areale System (DP-50).
(Planned) Image Viewing System & US image resources — deferred from 1.5 DP-45.
(Planned) Richer georeferencing — full reprojection capabilities, building on the passive GeoPositionNode mirror introduced in 1.5.
(Planned) Author / License / Embargo surfacing in EM Tools UIs — completing the DP-51 work that landed at the graph layer in 1.5.

Language manual ↗ Changelog ↗ Palette repo ↗

Tools shipping with this version

Tool	Version	Status	Download	Doc
EM palette for yEd Graph editor extension archaeologist Latest dev cut of the EM palette for 1.6. The link downloads the zipped `.graphml` directly from the `EM_v1.6.dev` branch under `02_ExtendedMatrix_palette/`. Unzip and import into yEd via Edit → Manage Palette → Import Section. No stable 1.6 palette release yet — versions may move as the language settles.	1.6.dev02	included	download ↗	manual ↗
source_list.xlsx Bibliographic & archival source registry archaeologist Original source registry template, expected to remain valid in 1.6.	1.3 (legacy, still valid)	included	download ↗	manual ↗
EM Tools Blender add-on archaeologistmodeller Active dev line. The link lands on the filtered Releases page (tags `v1.6.0-dev.N`), where every `./em.sh devrel` cut publishes pre-built .zip artefacts for Windows, macOS arm64, macOS Intel, and Linux — for both Blender 5.0 and 5.1 ABIs. The latest tagged dev release is the one to download for testing 1.6 without cloning the branch.	1.6.0-dev.6 (latest dev cut)	included	download ↗	manual ↗
s3dgraphy Python library developer Dev releases are published on PyPI as pre-releases. Install with `pip install s3dgraphy==1.6.0.dev9` (the explicit pin is required — pip's default resolver skips pre-releases). Use `pip install --upgrade 's3dgraphy>=1.6.0.dev0,<1.6.1'` to follow the dev9 → dev10 → … track. To track HEAD instead, clone the branch and `pip install -e .`.	1.6.0.dev9 (PyPI pre-release)	included	download ↗	manual ↗
3DSC Survey pipeline (Blender) modeller No 1.6-paired 3DSC release yet — the 3DSC line continues to ship from the main repo. Specific paired version TBD.	TBD	included	download ↗	manual ↗
3DSC for Metashape Survey pipeline (Metashape) modeller No 1.6-paired 3DSC for Metashape release yet. Specific paired version TBD.	TBD	included	download ↗	manual ↗
Heriverse Web platform archaeologistmodeller Heriverse exporter will continue to evolve alongside 1.6; specific paired version TBD.	TBD	included	download ↗	manual ↗

Install in Blender (dev channel)

Drag a tool into the Blender window — Blender picks the build matching your OS and Blender version (4.4+) and keeps it updated automatically. This card serves the dev channel (https://blender.extendedmatrix.org/dev/index.json), so Blender will follow the v1.6.0-dev.N stream and update as new dev releases ship. For a stable build, see EM 1.5 LTS.

EM Tools1.6.0-dev.8

Connect an Extended Matrix graph to 3D content in Blender.

OS Blender

Drag & Drop into Blender

Drop it twice. The 1st drag adds the Extended Matrix repository, the 2nd installs it. Already added the repository? Once is enough.

Can't drag & drop?

Add the repository in Edit ▸ Preferences ▸ Get Extensions ▸ Repositories ▸ ＋ ▸ Add Remote Repository, then install EM Tools from the list:

Currently in the Dev channel (stable build coming soon).

Manual / offline install (advanced, no auto-updates): pick the zip for your OS & Blender version from the GitHub release — EM Tools ↗.

Installation

Step-by-step installation of Extended Matrix 1.6.

1.6 is a development line — no installable release artefact yet. The steps below are for contributors and evaluators who want to follow the dev branches. For production work, use [EM 1.5 LTS](/versions/1-5/).
Install Blender 5.1+ (or the next Blender 5.x LTS once released) from blender.org. The Blender pin for 1.6 will follow the next Blender Foundation LTS in the 5.x series — see [blender.org/download/lts](https://www.blender.org/download/lts/).
Install yEd 3.21 or later from yworks.com (free).
Download the EM palette dev cut (Extended Matrix palette v.1.6.dev02.graphml.zip) from the [EM_v1.6.dev branch](https://github.com/zalmoxes-laran/ExtendedMatrix/raw/refs/heads/EM_v1.6.dev/02_ExtendedMatrix_palette/Extended%20Matrix%20palette%20v.1.6.dev02.graphml.zip) of the ExtendedMatrix repo, unzip, and import the .graphml into yEd via Edit → Manage Palette → Import Section. The full palette folder lives at [02_ExtendedMatrix_palette/](https://github.com/zalmoxes-laran/ExtendedMatrix/tree/EM_v1.6.dev/02_ExtendedMatrix_palette) on the same branch — newer dev cuts (.dev03, …) will land there as the language settles.
Download the source_list.xlsx template — expected to remain the 1.3 legacy file in 1.6, pending revision.
Install EM-blender-tools 1.6.0-dev — easiest path is the drag-and-drop Install in Blender (dev channel) card above (it points Blender at https://blender.extendedmatrix.org/dev/index.json, so new v1.6.0-dev.N cuts arrive as auto-updates). Manual alternatives: grab a specific build from the [latest dev release](https://github.com/zalmoxes-laran/EM-blender-tools/releases?q=1.6.0-dev.&expanded=true) (pre-built .zip per Windows, macOS arm64, macOS Intel and Linux × Blender 5.0/5.1 ABI; install via Edit → Preferences → Get Extensions → Install from Disk), or follow HEAD by checking out the [EM-tools_v1.6.0_dev](https://github.com/zalmoxes-laran/EM-blender-tools/tree/EM-tools_v1.6.0_dev) branch and building locally per the repo README.
Install s3Dgraphy 1.6.0.dev9 with pip install s3dgraphy==1.6.0.dev9 if you want to script against the in-development datamodel outside Blender. (The explicit pin is required — pip's default resolver skips pre-releases.) To follow the dev9 → dev10 → … track, use pip install --upgrade 's3dgraphy>=1.6.0.dev0,<1.6.1'. To track HEAD instead, clone the [s3dgraphy_v1.6dev](https://github.com/zalmoxes-laran/s3Dgraphy/tree/s3dgraphy_v1.6dev) branch and pip install -e . from the root.
(Optional, TBD) Install 3DSC and 3DSC for Metashape from their main branches — the 1.6-paired version pairing is not yet declared.

Quick links for this release

Language docs ↗ Changelog ↗ All EM Tools releases ↗

This page is the EM 1.6 development overview. Content here is provisional — features, dependencies, branch URLs and release timing may all change before the 1.6 release. For the most current development status, refer to dev.extendedmatrix.org.

For new projects: stay on EM 1.5 LTS. 1.6 is the active development line and is not yet recommended for production work.

→ Track day-to-day development progress on the Extended Matrix dev tracker — open projects, ongoing reviews, current branch state.

Documentation (1.6 development docs)

The 1.6 documentation set mirrors the 1.5 structure on Read the Docs. Pages may be partial or unbuilt while the development line stabilises — fall back to the 1.5 LTS docs or the dev tracker when a section is missing.

Extended Matrix language manual (1.6) — docs.extendedmatrix.org/en/1.6
s3Dgraphy library (1.6) — docs.extendedmatrix.org/projects/s3dgraphy/en/latest (no dedicated 1.6 build yet; latest tracks the in-development branch)
EM-blender-tools (1.6) — docs.extendedmatrix.org/projects/EM-tools/en/1.6 (the project slug on Read the Docs is currently EM-tools; if a separate em-blender-tools-doc slug is published later it will be cross-linked from this page.)

Source repositories — development branches

There is no stable 1.6 release yet, but EM-blender-tools cuts dev releases periodically (v1.6.0-dev.N tags). Each dev release is a real download — pre-built .zip for Windows / macOS arm64 / macOS Intel / Linux × Blender 5.0 and 5.1 ABIs — so you don’t have to clone the branch to evaluate 1.6.

EM-blender-tools 1.6.0-dev (latest dev release) — Dev releases page (filtered, expanded) (Blender add-on — install the most recent v1.6.0-dev.N .zip for your platform)
EM-blender-tools (branch HEAD) — EM-tools_v1.6.0_dev (only if you want to follow HEAD and build locally)
s3Dgraphy — s3dgraphy_v1.6dev (Python library, in-development datamodel — pip install -e . from the branch)
EM-blender-tools-doc — 1.6 (documentation source for the Blender add-on)
ExtendedMatrix (yEd palette) — current dev cut — v.1.6.dev02 (zip) on the EM_v1.6.dev branch (formal language palette — dev cuts published under 02_ExtendedMatrix_palette/, newer cuts .dev03, .dev04, … will appear in the same folder.)

No stable releases yet. Dev releases (v1.6.0-dev.N) are installable and useful for evaluation, but the API, file format and palette layout may still change before the 1.6 cut. Use them to evaluate, test or contribute; do not use them for production reconstructions. For production work, stay on EM 1.5 LTS.

What’s coming in 1.6

EM 1.6 is the active development line that follows the 1.5 LTS cut. The featureset below is incremental and will stabilize as the 1.5 maintenance line continues. For day-to-day status — open development projects, ongoing reviews, current branch state — see the Extended Matrix development tracker.

Headline themes (provisional)

Multi-source assembly pipeline (planned) — building on the GraphML Writer & Updater work that landed in 1.5 (DP-48), 1.6 aims to formalise multi-source graph composition end-to-end.
Boolean + LOD surface strategies (planned) — extension of the 1.5 Surface Areale System (DP-50) with boolean and LOD-aware strategies on Representation Models.
Image Viewing System & US image resources (planned) — the deferred half of DP-45 returns: in-tool image browsing for US resources, paired with the 1.5 XLSX merge wizard.
Richer georeferencing (planned) — full reprojection capabilities on top of the 1.5 passive GeoPositionNode mirror, closing the loop with BlenderGIS and the 3D Survey Collection.
Author / License / Embargo UI surfacing (planned) — completes the DP-51 work that landed at the graph layer in 1.5 by exposing it in the EM Tools UIs.

The list above is a roadmap snapshot, not a commitment. Items may move between the 1.6 cut and a later release as the development tracker evolves.

When to use 1.6

Don’t, yet — for production work. Use 1.6 if you are a contributor or evaluator who wants to track the next iteration of EM and is comfortable working against unstable code, branch URLs that may move, and APIs that are still in flux. For everything else, EM 1.5 LTS is the current recommended line.

Blender pin

EM 1.6 currently builds against Blender 5.1 (current stable as of May 2026). The Blender LTS binding for 1.6 will follow the next Blender Foundation LTS in the 5.x series — Blender 5.2 LTS is planned for July 2026; see blender.org/download/lts for upcoming LTS announcements. Once the 5.x LTS ships and 1.6 is validated against it, this page should set blenderLts accordingly.

Citing 1.6

Canonical 1.6 reference: TBD. 1.6 has no flag paper yet. Until a dedicated reference appears, citations follow the 1.5 line plus the cumulative-citation rule documented on the How to cite EM page.

Patch history

1.6 has not yet shipped. Patch history will appear here once a 1.6 preview / pre-release lands. Until then, the canonical source of truth for in-flight work is the development tracker.