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chennes merged 1 commit into from
Feb 10, 2026
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Fix links and clean up README content #353

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40 changes: 6 additions & 34 deletions README.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -5,16 +5,20 @@ ships with a point-in-time snapshot of this Addon: by the time you install FreeC
Addon Manager is no longer the most recent version. Install *this* addon to update the internal Addon Manager to the
latest version (and to allow future self-updating).

Note that there are multiple available branches of this addon. Most users should use Main, but Development is also
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Consider formatting branch names as inline code (e.g., Main, Development) to make it unambiguous that these are literal branch choices rather than general adjectives.

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Note that there are multiple available branches of this addon. Most users should use Main, but Development is also
Note that there are multiple available branches of this addon. Most users should use `Main`, but `Development` is also

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available and may contain work-in-progress features (but may also be less stable). For users on older versions of
FreeCAD built using Qt5 and/or Python 3.8, a dedicated branch is available.
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The new branch guidance isn’t actionable because it says “a dedicated branch is available” for Qt5/Python 3.8 users but doesn’t specify the branch name (or the branch display name users will see) or link to it. Please name the branch(es) explicitly (e.g., the exact git_ref / branch display name) so users know what to select.

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FreeCAD built using Qt5 and/or Python 3.8, a dedicated branch is available.
FreeCAD built using Qt5 and/or Python 3.8, the `qt5-py38` compatibility branch is available: see [`qt5-py38` on GitHub](https://github.com/FreeCAD/AddonManager/tree/qt5-py38).

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## Addon Sources

The main source of addons is the git repository at https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD-Addons. Custom addon sources can
The main source of addons is the git repository at https://github.com/FreeCAD/Addons. Custom addon sources can
be configured in the Addon Manager preferences when running FreeCAD. These addons are primarily written by
third parties and provided by repositories not under the FreeCAD authors' or maintainers' control: you use these addons
at your own risk.

## Information for Addon Developers

To submit an addon you have created see the documentation [here](https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD-addons/blob/master/Documentation/Submission.md).
To submit an addon you have created see the documentation [here](https://github.com/FreeCAD/Addons/blob/main/Documentation/Submission.md).
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Minor grammar: “To submit an addon you have created see …” reads like it’s missing punctuation. Consider “To submit an addon you have created, see …” (or rephrase) for clarity.

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To submit an addon you have created see the documentation [here](https://github.com/FreeCAD/Addons/blob/main/Documentation/Submission.md).
To submit an addon you have created, see the documentation [here](https://github.com/FreeCAD/Addons/blob/main/Documentation/Submission.md).

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For information about developing an addon in the first place, see [the FreeCAD wiki](https://wiki.freecad.org/Workbench_creation#Distribution).
The Addon Manager supports five different types of addons: "Workbench", "Macro", "Preference Pack", "Bundle", and "Other". This
information is provided to the Addon Manager via a file called `package.xml` whose [format is documented on the wiki](https://wiki.freecad.org/Package_Metadata).
Expand All @@ -26,37 +30,5 @@ process runs to cache all macros from both [the GitHub repository](https://githu
and [the Wiki](https://wiki.freecad.org/Macros_recipes). All official catalog-based addons and macros are downloaded from
that server.

## Addon Manager Design Goals

The Addon Manager is now designed to be self-updating, with a goal of allowing versions of FreeCAD back to 0.21 to
use their default copy of Addon Manager to install a new version of Addon Manager. This means that the Addon Manager
should support PySide2 and Python 3.8 for the foreseeable future.

The Addon Manager is also designed to be run in a "standalone" mode to allow for easier UI development. In this mode
it does not interact with FreeCAD at all, and does not use or affect "real" FreeCAD preferences, module installation,
etc.

### Request to Developers

If you plan on submitting a PR to improve the Addon Manager, please write unit tests as appropriate for your development
work. Network and filesystem access should be mocked, and the tests should be able to run without access to FreeCAD (always
use the `addonmanager_freecad_interface.py` file to mediate FreeCAD interactions).

## Roadmap

This module is under active development, with the following rough plan (the order of priorities is only approximate,
and actual development may happen out of order).

1. Handle download interruption and allow resumption
2. Automatic update check for Addon Manager to update itself, even if it's not installed as an Addon
3. Implement automatic Python dependency resolution on FreeCAD/Python version switching
4. Construct `requirements.txt` for <depends> to ensure correct Python module installation
5. FreeCAD in Virtual Env to eliminate `--user` option to `pip`
6. Add/remove macro toolbar button
7. Add option to perform background update checks and recaches
8. Implement "offline mode" for uninstallation
9. Add option to run Preference Pack after install
10. Redesign the GUI

Bug reports and pull requests are welcome. Please make sure you are familiar with
[the contributing process](https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).
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