TMHSDigital · TMHSDigital · Jul 18, 2026 · Jul 18, 2026
diff --git a/.github/workflows/blender-smoke.yml b/.github/workflows/blender-smoke.yml
@@ -160,9 +160,8 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           # Frame-independent check only (no render): 9409 verts displaced via one
-          # foreach_get + one foreach_set; asserts count unchanged, Z span matches the
-          # amplitude, and a probe vertex matches the closed-form wave. Exits non-zero
-          # on failure.
+          # foreach_get + one foreach_set; asserts the Z span matches the amplitude
+          # and every vertex matches the closed-form wave. Exits non-zero on failure.
           xvfb-run -a "$BLENDER" --background \
             --python examples/wave-displace/wave_displace.py --
 

diff --git a/docs/gallery/assets/depsgraph-export-hero.webp b/docs/gallery/assets/depsgraph-export-hero.webp
diff --git a/docs/gallery/damped-track-aim/index.html b/docs/gallery/damped-track-aim/index.html
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ <h1>damped-track-aim</h1>
     </div>
     <section class="detail-section md">
 <p>A runnable example that aims twelve brass spikes at an ember core with <code>Object.constraints.new(&#x27;DAMPED_TRACK&#x27;)</code> — the data-API path, not <code>bpy.ops.object.constraint_add</code> (which needs an active object and fails in headless loops). Damped Track is the twist-stable aim constraint: it points one local axis at a target without the roll fights Track To is known for.</p>
-<p><strong>What it witnesses:</strong> every spike carries exactly one unmuted <code>DAMPED_TRACK</code> bound to the core on <code>TRACK_Z</code>. After a depsgraph update, each evaluated local <code>+Z</code> aligns with the world vector toward the core (dot ≥ 0.998 ≈ 3°). A missing constraint, a muted one, a <code>TRACK_TO</code> stand-in, or a flipped axis fails the check.</p>
+<p><strong>What it witnesses:</strong> every spike carries exactly one unmuted <code>DAMPED_TRACK</code> bound to the core on <code>TRACK_Z</code>. After a depsgraph update, each evaluated local <code>+Z</code> aligns with the world vector toward the core (dot ≥ 0.998 ≈ 3.6°). A missing constraint, a muted one, a <code>TRACK_TO</code> stand-in, or a flipped axis fails the check.</p>
 <h2>Run</h2>
 <pre><code># Cheap correctness check (no render) — the CI check:
 blender --background --python damped_track_aim.py --
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
 CORE_RADIUS = <span class="n">0.32</span>
 NEEDLE_DEPTH = <span class="n">1.05</span>
 NEEDLE_RADIUS = <span class="n">0.055</span>
-<span class="c"># Local +Z must face the core; cos(3°) ≈ 0.9986 — leave a little room for</span>
+<span class="c"># Local +Z must face the core; 0.998 = cos(3.6°) — leave a little room for</span>
 <span class="c"># cone tessellation / float noise while still catching a flipped axis.</span>
 MIN_AIM_DOT = <span class="n">0.998</span>
 LIFT = <span class="n">1.55</span>
@@ -481,7 +481,6 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
     scene.collection.objects.link(floor)
 
     wall = bpy.data.objects.new(<span class="s">&quot;Wall&quot;</span>, floor_me.copy())
-    wall.data = floor_me.copy()
     wall.data.materials.clear()
     wall.data.materials.append(
         make_dielectric(<span class="s">&quot;StudioWall&quot;</span>, (<span class="n">0.012</span>, <span class="n">0.013</span>, <span class="n">0.016</span>), roughness=<span class="n">0.55</span>)
@@ -555,18 +554,8 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
             scene.eevee.taa_render_samples = <span class="n">128</span>
         <span class="k">except</span> AttributeError:
             <span class="k">pass</span>
-        <span class="c"># Bloom helps the ember core read without a compositor tree.</span>
-        <span class="k">for</span> attr, val <span class="k">in</span> (
-            (<span class="s">&quot;use_bloom&quot;</span>, <span class="k">True</span>),
-            (<span class="s">&quot;bloom_intensity&quot;</span>, <span class="n">0.12</span>),
-            (<span class="s">&quot;bloom_threshold&quot;</span>, <span class="n">0.85</span>),
-            (<span class="s">&quot;bloom_radius&quot;</span>, <span class="n">4.5</span>),
-        ):
-            <span class="k">if</span> hasattr(scene.eevee, attr):
-                <span class="k">try</span>:
-                    setattr(scene.eevee, attr, val)
-                <span class="k">except</span> Exception:
-                    <span class="k">pass</span>
+        <span class="c"># No bloom here on purpose: EEVEE has no use_bloom on 4.2+ or 5.x —</span>
+        <span class="c"># glow lives in the compositor (see examples/compositor-glare).</span>
 
     scene.render.resolution_x = <span class="n">1280</span>
     scene.render.resolution_y = <span class="n">720</span>

diff --git a/docs/gallery/depsgraph-export/index.html b/docs/gallery/depsgraph-export/index.html
diff --git a/docs/gallery/driver-wave/index.html b/docs/gallery/driver-wave/index.html
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
 
 <span class="k">def</span> wave_scale(i):
     <span class="s">&quot;&quot;&quot;The driver function: column height profile, 0.4..2.4.&quot;&quot;&quot;</span>
-    <span class="k">return</span> <span class="n">1.4</span> + math.sin(i * <span class="n">0.6</span>) <span class="k">if</span> i &gt;= <span class="n">0</span> <span class="k">else</span> <span class="n">1.0</span>
+    <span class="k">return</span> <span class="n">1.4</span> + math.sin(i * <span class="n">0.6</span>)
 
 
 <span class="k">def</span> build_columns():
@@ -351,6 +351,11 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
     scene.render.engine = <span class="s">&#x27;CYCLES&#x27;</span> <span class="k">if</span> engine == <span class="s">&#x27;cycles&#x27;</span> <span class="k">else</span> eevee_engine_id()
     <span class="k">if</span> engine == <span class="s">&#x27;cycles&#x27;</span>:
         scene.cycles.samples = <span class="n">32</span>
+    <span class="k">else</span>:
+        <span class="k">try</span>:
+            scene.eevee.taa_render_samples = <span class="n">64</span>
+        <span class="k">except</span> AttributeError:
+            <span class="k">pass</span>
     scene.render.resolution_x = <span class="n">1280</span>
     scene.render.resolution_y = <span class="n">720</span>
     scene.render.image_settings.file_format = <span class="s">&#x27;PNG&#x27;</span>

diff --git a/docs/gallery/gn-sdf-remesh/index.html b/docs/gallery/gn-sdf-remesh/index.html
@@ -261,7 +261,10 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
     <span class="k">import</span> bmesh
     sc = bpy.context.scene
     fme = bpy.data.meshes.new(<span class="s">&quot;Floor&quot;</span>); bm = bmesh.new()
-    bmesh.ops.create_grid(bm, x_segments=<span class="n">1</span>, y_segments=<span class="n">1</span>, size=<span class="n">30.0</span>); bm.to_mesh(fme); bm.free()
+    <span class="k">try</span>:
+        bmesh.ops.create_grid(bm, x_segments=<span class="n">1</span>, y_segments=<span class="n">1</span>, size=<span class="n">30.0</span>); bm.to_mesh(fme)
+    <span class="k">finally</span>:
+        bm.free()
     fmat = bpy.data.materials.new(<span class="s">&quot;Studio&quot;</span>); fmat.use_nodes = <span class="k">True</span>
     fb = fmat.node_tree.nodes.get(<span class="s">&#x27;Principled BSDF&#x27;</span>)
     fb.inputs[<span class="s">&#x27;Base Color&#x27;</span>].default_value = (<span class="n">0.055</span>, <span class="n">0.06</span>, <span class="n">0.07</span>, <span class="n">1</span>)  <span class="c"># dark graphite studio</span>
@@ -302,11 +305,16 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
     p.add_argument(<span class="s">&quot;--engine&quot;</span>, choices=[<span class="s">&quot;auto&quot;</span>, <span class="s">&quot;cycles&quot;</span>], default=<span class="s">&quot;auto&quot;</span>)
     args = p.parse_args(argv)
 
+    <span class="c"># EEVEE-id inversion witnessed for real: the OTHER era&#x27;s id must be</span>
+    <span class="c"># rejected by this build, the helper&#x27;s accepted</span>
     eid = get_eevee_engine_id()
-    expected = <span class="s">&#x27;BLENDER_EEVEE&#x27;</span> <span class="k">if</span> bpy.app.version &gt;= (<span class="n">5</span>, <span class="n">0</span>, <span class="n">0</span>) <span class="k">else</span> <span class="s">&#x27;BLENDER_EEVEE_NEXT&#x27;</span>
-    bpy.context.scene.render.engine = eid
-    <span class="k">if</span> bpy.context.scene.render.engine != expected:
-        print(<span class="s">f&quot;</span><span class="s">ERROR: EEVEE id </span>{eid}<span class="s"> != expected </span>{expected}<span class="s">&quot;</span>, file=sys.stderr); <span class="k">return</span> <span class="n">5</span>
+    wrong = <span class="s">&#x27;BLENDER_EEVEE_NEXT&#x27;</span> <span class="k">if</span> bpy.app.version &gt;= (<span class="n">5</span>, <span class="n">0</span>, <span class="n">0</span>) <span class="k">else</span> <span class="s">&#x27;BLENDER_EEVEE&#x27;</span>
+    <span class="k">try</span>:
+        bpy.context.scene.render.engine = wrong
+        print(<span class="s">f&quot;</span><span class="s">ERROR: wrong-era EEVEE id &#x27;</span>{wrong}<span class="s">&#x27; was accepted</span><span class="s">&quot;</span>, file=sys.stderr); <span class="k">return</span> <span class="n">5</span>
+    <span class="k">except</span> TypeError:
+        <span class="k">pass</span>  <span class="c"># correctly rejected</span>
+    bpy.context.scene.render.engine = eid  <span class="c"># raises TypeError if the helper&#x27;s id is invalid</span>
 
     obj = build()
     base = len(obj.data.vertices)

diff --git a/docs/gallery/index.html b/docs/gallery/index.html
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ <h2><a href="depsgraph-export/">depsgraph-export</a></h2>
         <div class="card-body">
           <h2><a href="wave-displace/">wave-displace</a></h2>
           <p class="teaches">Bulk vertex IO at real scale — 9,409 vertices displaced into a standing wave with one foreach_get and one foreach_set, no per-vertex access.</p>
-          <p class="witnesses"><span class="tag">witnesses</span> The bulk path is correct, not just fast: vertex count unchanged, Z span matches the wave amplitude, probe vertex matches the closed form exactly.</p>
+          <p class="witnesses"><span class="tag">witnesses</span> The bulk path is correct, not just fast: the Z span matches the wave amplitude and every vertex matches the closed-form wave, so a stride bug in the flat buffer cannot hide.</p>
           <a class="card-link" href="wave-displace/">View example <span aria-hidden="true">&rarr;</span></a>
         </div>
       </article>

diff --git a/docs/gallery/swatch-grid/index.html b/docs/gallery/swatch-grid/index.html
@@ -185,9 +185,12 @@ <h1>swatch-grid</h1>
     <section class="detail-section md">
 <p>A runnable example that renders a 3×2 grid of spheres — one material per cell — to a single PNG. It demonstrates the <a href="https://github.com/TMHSDigital/Blender-Developer-Tools/tree/main/skills/procedural-materials-and-shaders/SKILL.md"><code>procedural-materials-and-shaders</code></a> patterns end to end:</p>
 <ul><li><strong>Principled BSDF</strong> metals (gold, copper: high metallic, low roughness) and dielectrics (red/blue plastic, white rough), configured with <strong>string socket lookups</strong> and <strong>4-tuple colors</strong>.</li><li>The <strong>emission</strong> pattern (an emissive orange swatch).</li><li>The cross-version <strong><code>set_specular</code> shim</strong> (<code>Specular</code> → <code>Specular IOR Level</code>, renamed in Blender 4.0).</li></ul>
-<p>It doubles as a live proof of the <strong>EEVEE engine-id</strong> behavior: the version-branch helper resolves <code>BLENDER_EEVEE</code> on Blender 5.x and <code>BLENDER_EEVEE_NEXT</code> on 4.2–4.5, and the chosen id is asserted against the running build before rendering — so a regression in that mapping fails the example, not just the docs.</p>
+<p>It doubles as a live proof of the <strong>EEVEE engine-id</strong> behavior: the version-branch helper resolves <code>BLENDER_EEVEE</code> on Blender 5.x and <code>BLENDER_EEVEE_NEXT</code> on 4.2–4.5, and the check witnesses the inversion for real — the *other* era&#x27;s id must be <strong>rejected</strong> by the running build (assignment raises <code>TypeError</code>) and the helper&#x27;s id accepted — so a regression in that mapping fails the example, not just the docs.</p>
 <h2>Run</h2>
-<pre><code># Default: render with the build&#x27;s EEVEE engine (needs a GPU/display)
+<pre><code># Cheap correctness check (materials + engine-id witness, no render):
+blender --background --python swatch_grid.py --
+
+# Render and pixel-verify with the build&#x27;s EEVEE engine (needs a GPU/display):
 blender --background --python swatch_grid.py -- --output swatch.png
 
 # GPU-less / CI hosts: render the pixels with Cycles (CPU). The EEVEE id is still
@@ -212,7 +215,10 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
 the version-branch helper resolves `BLENDER_EEVEE` on Blender 5.x and `BLENDER_EEVEE_NEXT`
 on 4.2-4.5, and the chosen id is asserted against the build before rendering.
 
-Run headless:
+By default it runs only the correctness check (no render) — the CI smoke check.
+Pass --output to also render and pixel-verify a still:
+
+    blender --background --python swatch_grid.py --                       # check only
     blender --background --python swatch_grid.py -- --output swatch.png
     blender --background --python swatch_grid.py -- --output s.png --engine cycles --samples 8 --width 640
 
@@ -304,9 +310,11 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
         <span class="k">for</span> c <span class="k">in</span> range(GRID_COLS):
             me = bpy.data.meshes.new(<span class="s">f&quot;</span><span class="s">S</span>{i}<span class="s">&quot;</span>)
             bm = bmesh.new()
-            bmesh.ops.create_uvsphere(bm, u_segments=<span class="n">48</span>, v_segments=<span class="n">24</span>, radius=<span class="n">0.92</span>)
-            bm.to_mesh(me)
-            bm.free()
+            <span class="k">try</span>:
+                bmesh.ops.create_uvsphere(bm, u_segments=<span class="n">48</span>, v_segments=<span class="n">24</span>, radius=<span class="n">0.92</span>)
+                bm.to_mesh(me)
+            <span class="k">finally</span>:
+                bm.free()
             <span class="k">for</span> poly <span class="k">in</span> me.polygons:
                 poly.use_smooth = <span class="k">True</span>
             ob = bpy.data.objects.new(<span class="s">f&quot;</span><span class="s">S</span>{i}<span class="s">&quot;</span>, me)
@@ -364,7 +372,7 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
 <span class="k">def</span> main():
     argv = sys.argv[sys.argv.index(<span class="s">&quot;--&quot;</span>) + <span class="n">1</span>:] <span class="k">if</span> <span class="s">&quot;--&quot;</span> <span class="k">in</span> sys.argv <span class="k">else</span> []
     p = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=<span class="s">&quot;Render a procedural-materials swatch grid.&quot;</span>)
-    p.add_argument(<span class="s">&quot;--output&quot;</span>, required=<span class="k">True</span>, help=<span class="s">&quot;Output PNG path&quot;</span>)
+    p.add_argument(<span class="s">&quot;--output&quot;</span>, default=<span class="k">None</span>, help=<span class="s">&quot;optional: render a still PNG here&quot;</span>)
     p.add_argument(<span class="s">&quot;--engine&quot;</span>, choices=[<span class="s">&quot;auto&quot;</span>, <span class="s">&quot;eevee&quot;</span>, <span class="s">&quot;cycles&quot;</span>], default=<span class="s">&quot;auto&quot;</span>,
                    help=<span class="s">&quot;auto/eevee use the version-correct EEVEE id; cycles for GPU-less hosts&quot;</span>)
     p.add_argument(<span class="s">&quot;--samples&quot;</span>, type=int, default=<span class="n">32</span>)
@@ -378,15 +386,25 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
     build_scene(mats)
 
     sc = bpy.context.scene
-    <span class="c"># EEVEE engine-id proof: frame-independent, must hold even when we render with Cycles.</span>
+    <span class="c"># EEVEE engine-id proof: frame-independent, must hold even when we render with</span>
+    <span class="c"># Cycles. Witness the inversion for real: the OTHER era&#x27;s id must be rejected</span>
+    <span class="c"># by this build, and the helper&#x27;s id must be accepted.</span>
     eid = get_eevee_engine_id()
-    expected = <span class="s">&#x27;BLENDER_EEVEE&#x27;</span> <span class="k">if</span> bpy.app.version &gt;= (<span class="n">5</span>, <span class="n">0</span>, <span class="n">0</span>) <span class="k">else</span> <span class="s">&#x27;BLENDER_EEVEE_NEXT&#x27;</span>
-    sc.render.engine = eid
-    <span class="k">if</span> sc.render.engine != expected:
-        print(<span class="s">f&quot;</span><span class="s">ERROR: EEVEE id helper returned &#x27;</span>{eid}<span class="s">&#x27;, engine is &#x27;</span>{sc.render.engine}<span class="s">&#x27;, </span><span class="s">&quot;</span>
-              <span class="s">f&quot;</span><span class="s">expected &#x27;</span>{expected}<span class="s">&#x27;</span><span class="s">&quot;</span>, file=sys.stderr)
+    wrong = <span class="s">&#x27;BLENDER_EEVEE_NEXT&#x27;</span> <span class="k">if</span> bpy.app.version &gt;= (<span class="n">5</span>, <span class="n">0</span>, <span class="n">0</span>) <span class="k">else</span> <span class="s">&#x27;BLENDER_EEVEE&#x27;</span>
+    <span class="k">try</span>:
+        sc.render.engine = wrong
+        print(<span class="s">f&quot;</span><span class="s">ERROR: wrong-era EEVEE id &#x27;</span>{wrong}<span class="s">&#x27; was accepted by this build — </span><span class="s">&quot;</span>
+              <span class="s">&quot;the engine-id inversion this example witnesses is gone&quot;</span>, file=sys.stderr)
         <span class="k">return</span> <span class="n">5</span>
-    print(<span class="s">f&quot;</span><span class="s">eevee_engine_id=</span>{eid}<span class="s"> (expected </span>{expected}<span class="s">) OK; set_specular resolved &#x27;</span>{specular_socket}<span class="s">&#x27;</span><span class="s">&quot;</span>)
+    <span class="k">except</span> TypeError:
+        <span class="k">pass</span>  <span class="c"># correctly rejected</span>
+    sc.render.engine = eid  <span class="c"># the helper&#x27;s id must exist (raises TypeError if not)</span>
+    print(<span class="s">f&quot;</span><span class="s">eevee_engine_id=</span>{eid}<span class="s"> accepted, &#x27;</span>{wrong}<span class="s">&#x27; rejected OK; </span><span class="s">&quot;</span>
+          <span class="s">f&quot;</span><span class="s">set_specular resolved &#x27;</span>{specular_socket}<span class="s">&#x27;</span><span class="s">&quot;</span>)
+
+    <span class="k">if</span> <span class="k">not</span> args.output:
+        print(<span class="s">&quot;swatch-grid OK&quot;</span>)
+        <span class="k">return</span> <span class="n">0</span>
 
     render_engine = <span class="s">&#x27;CYCLES&#x27;</span> <span class="k">if</span> args.engine == <span class="s">&#x27;cycles&#x27;</span> <span class="k">else</span> eid
     sc.render.engine = render_engine
@@ -414,6 +432,7 @@ <h2>Source</h2>
         <span class="k">if</span> <span class="k">not</span> (non_black <span class="k">and</span> regions_ok):
             print(<span class="s">&quot;ERROR: render failed verification (black or wrong region count)&quot;</span>, file=sys.stderr)
             <span class="k">return</span> <span class="n">3</span>
+    print(<span class="s">&quot;swatch-grid OK&quot;</span>)
     <span class="k">return</span> <span class="n">0</span>