Start Here

Installation

Install the add-on, enable it in Blender, and check that everything works.

Dope Track installs as a Blender extension from one ZIP file.

Install

1. Open Edit > Preferences > Get Extensions.
2. Click the dropdown at the top right, then Install from Disk.
3. Pick the Dope Track ZIP.

You can also just drag the ZIP into a Blender window.

The file is around 1.9 GB because all the solvers are packed inside it, so give Blender a few minutes to unpack everything.

Not the Add-ons tab

Use Get Extensions, not Add-ons > Install from Disk. That older button is for the pre-4.2 add-on format, and feeding it this ZIP gives you:

ZIP packaged incorrectly; __init__.py should be in a directory, not at top-level

Nothing is wrong with the download. Extensions keep their manifest at the top of the ZIP, which is exactly what that older installer refuses. Install it from Get Extensions and it works.

Once installed, Dope Track lives in %APPDATA%\Blender Foundation\Blender\<version>\extensions\user_default\dope_track. If you previously unzipped it into the addons folder by hand, delete that copy - Blender lists extensions and add-ons separately, and the stale one will keep showing up.

What You Need

Blender 5.1 is a hard minimum. The bundled programs are compiled for its version of Python, so Blender 4.x can't load them.

First Check

Open a Node Editor and switch the tree type to Dope Track. Press Shift + A and you should see six sections: Input, Media Prep, Lens & Align, Tracking, Object Tracking and Output.

Now build the smallest graph that proves things work:

Footage -> Convert Footage -> (Convert) -> Import as Footage -> Preview

If you can load a clip, convert it to frames and preview them, your install is fine.

Checking Everything Else

For a proper test, go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons > Dope Track and press Run Diagnostics. It checks the GPU, the bundled libraries and every solver, then writes a report to your Desktop. See GPU and Dependencies.

Anything To Download?

Only if you use AI masking. That node has an Install AI Runtime button (about 2 GB) and a Download AI Model button (about 900 MB), and neither one runs until you press it. Everything else already ships with the add-on.

Updates

Preferences shows your installed version and can check for a newer one once a day. It only tells you about it. Nothing downloads or installs on its own.