3D Cursor Transform

If you’ve been using Blender for a while, you probably know how powerful the 3D cursor is and how useful it can be.
Blender gives you a lot of great ways to transform things:

• using G R S with X Y Z
• using the transform gizmo
• using snapping to vertices, edges, faces, etc.

And honestly… it works really well.

But one thing I always missed was being able to use all of that with the 3D cursor.

Blender does have a dedicated 3D cursor tool, but all you can really do is left-click to place the cursor, similar to using Shift + RMB without the tool active.

• No shortcuts.
• No gizmo.
• No real transform workflow.

So I decided to build it myself.

What this add-on does

3D Cursor Transform brings Blender's familiar transform controls to the 3D Cursor:

• Move and rotate using G and R
• Reset location and rotation with Alt + G and Alt + R
• Use dedicated Move and Rotate gizmos
• Constrain transformations with X Y Z, including orientation switching by pressing the axis key again
• Use plane constraints with Shift + X / Y / Z or the gizmo
• MMB axis picking during transformation
• Use the arrow keys to make small adjustments during a transformation
• Use numeric input for precise control
• Use Shift for precision
• Use Ctrl for snapping and rotation steps

Basically: the familiar Blender transform workflow now works with the 3D Cursor.

How to use it

Once the 3D Cursor tool is active, transforming the cursor works just like transforming any other object in Blender.

1. Select the 3D Cursor tool.
2. Press:
   • G → Move
   • R → Rotate
   • Alt + G → Reset location
   • Alt + R → Reset rotation
3. Combine with:
   • X / Y / Z → Constrain to an axis; press the axis key again to switch orientation
   • Arrow keys → Make small movement or rotation adjustments
   • Numbers → Enter exact values
   • Shift → Precision movement or rotation
   • Ctrl → Snapping and rotation steps
4. To use the transform gizmo, enable it via:
   Viewport Header Show Gizmo Move / Rotate

About the gizmo

The gizmos follow Blender's native gizmo settings, so the corresponding Move and Rotate toggles must be enabled in the viewport.
The transform gizmo behaves similarly to Blender's native one. However, the rotation gizmo was built from scratch because Blender doesn't support rotating the 3D Cursor natively.

Snapping

Snapping works just like you’re used to:

• Enable snapping in the header
• Use Shift + Tab
• Hold Ctrl

Limitations

When the 3D Cursor gizmo is visible and another element in the scene is selected, Blender also displays the transform gizmo for that selection. This means two gizmos will be visible at the same time: Blender's selection gizmo and the add-on's 3D Cursor gizmo.

If you prefer a less cluttered viewport while using the 3D Cursor tool, simply deselect everything first.

Currently, 3D Cursor Transform supports Global and Local transform orientations. Other transform orientations are not supported at this time, as I haven't found a practical use for them when transforming the 3D Cursor.

If useful applications for other orientations come up in the future, I may add support for them as well.

Learn More

3D Cursor Transform is an open-source Blender add-on. The complete source code is available on GitHub.

GitHub is also the central place to report bugs, request new features, ask questions, get support, explore the source code, and contribute to the project.