Installation (Blender 4.2) use the .py file, not the .zip:

1. Blender>Edit>Preferences>Add-ons
2. Look in the upper right of the window and click the button with the down arrow (tooltip on mouse hover will say "Add-ons Settings")
3. Click, "Install from Disk..."
4. Choose the AutoStopFree_42x_24_08_07.py file
5. Search for and enable Auto Stop...
6. You'll now see it in the 3D Viewport N-Panel under "ASF".

Installation for Blender 2.8 - 4.1+:

1. Blender>Edit>Preferences>Add-ons>Install
2. Navigate to Auto_Stop_Free_Latest_...zip, select it and "Install Add-on".
3. In Add-ons window, use the magnifying glass / search bar and type "Auto Stop" until you see it.
4. Enable the Add-on with with checkbox.
5. Check your 3d Viewport window N-Panel region for the tab "ASF". Press "N" if you don't see it.

Usage:

Auto Stop - Stops playback / recording at your scene's end frame. If you load a saved .blend file with this setting enabled, you will need to uncheck and re-check it for it to work properly. You can adjust your scene's end frame in Timeline or Output properties panels.

Installation for Blender 2.79 / 2.7x

• Open the file "Auto_Stop_Free_Legacy...py" in Blender 2.7x text editor.

• Click "Run"  (or Alt P).

• In 3D Viewport, press "T" to see your panels.

• Look for "ASF" near the bottom.

• Functions and features exactly like described previously.

Why Support Blender 2.79 / 2.7x?

As a fan of rigid body physics, Blender 2.79 / 2.7x is unique compared to the 2.8+ versions of Blender because rigid body objects can be grabbed, thrown, rotated, and scaled with the mouse in real-time while animation playback is running, even if the object does not have "Animated" enabled in its Rigid Body properties. This is a ton of fun! The only thing that would be more fun is doing this in VR. However, this provides an opportunity to do some fun chaotic physics simulation motion graphics and potentially puppeteer type work in 2.7x and then import that into 4.0+ for the benefit of Eevee etc.

Having Auto Stop Free is very helpful for capturing this action, namely because Auto Stop prevents cache from being lost. You can record your various grabs, throws, rotations, scales, etc of rigid body objects. Auto Stop stops the recording at the last scene frame, and then you can bake your cache by going to the Blender Properties window, Scene>Rigid Body Cache>Current Cache to Bake. This allows you to playback your captured physics performance. You can also then save your Blend file and import it into a newer version of Blender, like 4.0+ for use with Eevee. Make sure to bake your baked cached again to keyframes before rendering to prevent errors like misplaced objects and glitchy motion blur etc. Enjoy!