For those who don’t know the tool: Mansur Rig is a modular character rig builder for Autodesk Maya, developed by Assaf Ben Zur, former Lead Rigging TD at MPC. It helps technical directors and riggers assemble joint-based full-body and facial rigs in Maya without auto-skinning. It includes an animation picker UI and an LOD (Level of Detail) switch tool. The workflow is non-linear and supports rigging models that are not in a strict T-pose. Rigs built with Mansur Rig can be used in animation, visual effects, and game pipelines.
3.0 Release: Open Source Lite and Licence Removal
The most visible change of Mansur Rig 3.0 is the removal of all licence restrictions and the end of mandatory online activation. Distribution has shifted to a public GitHub repository, which effectively makes the tool free to install and use without registration.
The C++ nodes that power the rig builder remain private, which means the tool is only partially open source. The developer confirmed that the licence server used by earlier versions will be shut down on 1 March 2026. After that date, older releases depending on that server for activation will stop working unless updated to 3.0.
Compatibility and Breaking Changes
Mansur Rig 3.0 introduces compatibility with Autodesk Maya 2026 on Windows. Autodesk has replaced several math node attribute formats, including DoubleLinear types, in Maya 2026. Mansur Rig 3.0 adapts to these changes and includes a centralised utility to update existing rigs to the new format. If Autodesk removes the deprecated formats completely in future versions such as Maya 2027, rigs saved in older Mansur Rig releases may need to be updated in Maya 2026 to remain functional. Linux support has been temporarily discontinued. The developer cites increasing maintenance complexity and low adoption as reasons for pausing Linux builds.
Features, Workflow, and Tools
Mansur Rig remains a modular rig builder that assembles joint-based systems for body and facial rigs. It is not an auto-tool. Users must still perform skinning manually or via third-party workflows. The current feature set includes a modular build system with an extensible library of rig modules, an animation picker UI for streamlined control selection, and an LOD tool to manage playback complexity. The system also supports rigs that are not posed in standard T-poses. Rigs built with Mansur Rig can be used commercially and resold. The builder itself is completely free, with no ongoing licence or subscription constraints.
System Requirements and Practical Notes
At launch, Mansur Rig 3.0 supports Maya 2020 and later on Windows. Linux support is paused, with no confirmed timeline for its return. Users of older Mansur Rig versions should update before 1 March 2026 to avoid losing access when the legacy licence server shuts down. Due to Autodesk’s changes in Maya 2026, rigs built in previous versions should be migrated through the provided centralised update utility to ensure future compatibility. As always, users are advised to test new tools in a controlled environment before integrating them into production pipelines.
