A lightweight Blender 5 add-on that restores support for importing .dae (COLLADA) files after the official importer was removed in version 5. Originally created by /u/varyingopinions on Reddit, ekztal on GitHub. Extended and reworked by MilesExilium.
Installation
Download simple_collada_importer.py Blender → Edit → Preferences → Add-ons Click Install… → select the .py file Enable Simple COLLADA (.dae) Import via File → Import → Simple COLLADA (.dae)
What's New (v0.7.2) The original add-on imported geometry with basic material name assignment but no textures, no rig, and no skin weights. The following has been added:
"Texture loading" — Automatically loads image files from the same folder as the .dae and builds a Principled BSDF node graph with albedo, AO, and normal map channels wired correctly.
"Polylist support" — The original only handled . Many game model exporters use instead; both are now supported with automatic fan-triangulation.
"Armature import" — Optionally imports the full bone hierarchy as a Blender armature, with correct world-space positioning. Toggle via the Import Rig checkbox in the file browser.
"Skin weights" — Vertex groups and an Armature modifier are created automatically, with the bind shape matrix baked in so the mesh aligns with the rig on import.
"Coordinate space fix" — Replaced the hardcoded 90° rotation with proper per-file handling so models land right-side up regardless of the source exporter.
"Normal map compatibility" — Supports both FCOLLADA (Blender) and OpenCOLLADA3dsMax (3ds Max) exporter conventions for normal map channel detection.
"Bad diffuse correction" — If an exporter accidentally assigned an AO or specular map to the diffuse channel, the importer automatically substitutes the correct albedo file if one is found nearby.
Notes
Tested on Blender 5.0 Skin weights require the mesh and armature to be exported together in the same .dae file Normal maps on models with multiple UV channels may need to be connected manually in the shader editor