How to Restore Factory Settings in Blender

Restoring Blender to its factory settings is a quick way to resolve UI bugs, fix broken user preferences, or start fresh with a clean slate. This guide explains how to instantly reset Blender to its default state using the built-in application menu, as well as how to manually delete system preference files if the software fails to launch properly.

Method 1: Reset Blender Using the File Menu

If Blender is currently running, you can restore default settings directly through the user interface in a few clicks.

1. Open Blender.
2. Click on File in the top-left menu bar.
3. Hover over Defaults.
4. Click Load Factory Settings.
5. Confirm the action by clicking the blue Load Factory Settings prompt that appears on your screen.

Note: Loading factory settings only resets the current session. To make this change permanent for all future sessions:

• Go to File > Defaults > Save Startup File.
• Alternatively, open Edit > Preferences, click the menu icon (three lines) in the bottom-left corner, and select Save Preferences.

Method 2: Manually Delete Preference Files

If Blender crashes on startup or will not open, you can manually delete the configuration folder to force the software to generate fresh default settings.

Windows

1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type %appdata%\Blender Foundation\Blender and press Enter.
3. Open the folder corresponding to your installed version number (e.g., 4.0, 3.6).
4. Delete the config folder.

macOS

1. Open Finder.
2. Press Cmd + Shift + G to open the Go to Folder search bar.
3. Type ~/Library/Application Support/Blender/ and press Enter.
4. Open the folder for your current Blender version.
5. Delete the config folder.

Linux

1. Open your File Manager or Terminal.
2. Navigate to ~/.config/blender/.
3. Locate the folder matching your Blender version number.
4. Delete the config directory inside it.

Once the configuration folder is deleted, launching Blender will automatically recreate the default settings files.