Collection (Blender)
Group objects and control their visibility
Also known as: Blender collections · Blender collection instance · Blender exclude collection · Blender Outliner collection · Blender group
Definition
A collection in Blender is a group of objects, shown in the Outliner, that you can hide, exclude from the view layer, disable in renders or instance elsewhere. Collections replace the old groups and layers and are the way to organize a scene: environment, props, lights and cameras each get their own. A Collection Instance places a linked copy of a whole collection many times, and changing the original updates every copy.
In production
Name collections clearly and use them to export parts of a scene separately. The eye icon hides objects in the viewport, the checkbox excludes the collection from the view layer, and the camera icon controls rendering, so an object can seem to be missing when one of them is off. Collection instances are useful for modular kits and repeated props, and for linking assets from other files.