Effectcraft

EffectCraft

Audit basis: this checkout is tag v0.20.0, commit 720c67117ea232ef01631a368bb617012f4c63d6 ("Release 0.20.0", 2026-11-01; the v0.19.0 ref was fetched for id diffs). The installed /Applications/EffectCraft.app matches this tag and prints effectcraft 0.20.0. Verify against your installed version — the ArtCraft Launcher auto-updates. No references/ directory ships with this skill: every claim is cited inline to the repository.

v0.19.0 → v0.20.0 adds comp.deleteAllMarkers (Delete All Markers for composition markers, PR #2169 — the engine command registry goes 680 → 681 ids in this audit's multiline non-test extract; nothing removed) and the Swedish (sv) interface translation (18 languages, #1541). Behaviour: the disk cache drops frames rendered before adjustment layers blended in their mode (#2666, extending 0.19.0's adjustment-blend invalidation); the Tools bar's Alt/Option-click cycles the flyout tool slot (#2684); the Workspace menu offers all four options, as After Effects does (#2690); the 3D views take After Effects' names in the Japanese catalog and the comp says which camera (#2691); the channel button keeps After Effects' red/green/blue colours (#2692); Fast Previews sits beside the resolution control (#2694); a file dropped on a floating Timeline joins that composition (#2700); the web tab title follows the open document (#2710); a floating panel's ≡ menu draws in its own window (#2711); Help ▸ Expression Reference opens a page that exists (#2712); and frame_position no longer panics on a zero or negative frame rate (#2693). MCP (36 tools), control (24 methods), CLI (12 subcommands) and UI commands (111) are unchanged — zero diff files under those trees.

Overview

EffectCraft is a free, open-source, clean-room reimplementation of Adobe After Effects 2026 for motion graphics and visual effects: compositions, layers, keyframes, 307 effects, layer styles, expressions, Classic and Advanced 3D, tracking, roto/paint, a render queue and Lottie/timeline interchange. It is pure Rust with no FFmpeg; media codecs come from the sibling FilmCraft project, pinned by revision (Cargo.toml). It is alpha: the repo self-rates ≈91% feature breadth but ≈45% "ready for real work" (docs/gaps.md, docs/target-app-parity.md). FilmCraft is the editing/NLE sibling; EffectCraft is the compositor. Source: GitHub storytold/effectcraft, MIT OR Apache-2.0.

v0.18.0 was a maintenance release: the effect registry stood at 307 effects and the engine command registry gained text.deleteSurrounding over v0.17.0's 672.

v0.19.0 brings SAM 2: a new crates/sam2 crate reimplements Meta's Segment Anything 2 (Hiera backbone, FPN neck, prompt encoder, two-way mask decoder, memory encoder/attention — all matched block-by-block against PyTorch), SAM 2.1 Tiny joins the model registry, loads through the existing install flow, works as a MaskModel, and becomes the Roto Brush object tracker (a failing tracker falls back to the classic engine; effectcraft-cli bench --roto measures it). The engine command registry gains keys.setMuted (673 → 674 over v0.18.0; four ids were re-wrapped to multiline cmd! calls, none removed). Also new for agents, carried from the v0.18.0 wave: each open composition is a tab in the timeline group's tab row, with an overflow menu (PR #2458); export pipelines encode while the next batch renders and skip transparent pixels when compositing (PR #2518); Edit-menu keys edit a focused text field, docked and in panel windows (PR #2459); panels moved onto craft-ui's shared docking (PR #2432); egui 0.37; a startup update prompt with direct self-updating (PR #2420); and Windows installs per-user by default (PR #2493). adjustment layers blend in their blend mode (#2618, disk cache invalidated accordingly); Premiere Pro export pre-renders in the background (#2269); Render Queue: two outputs of one job never write the same file and default names avoid the queue's other outputs; commands that write to a given path never replace footage, a proxy or the project file (#1743); mask copy/paste between layers works (#2091); discrete property choices are one undo step each (#2152); and wheel frame-stepping is now opt-in. What is new for agents: each open composition is a tab in the timeline group's tab row, with an overflow menu (PR #2458); export pipelines now encode while the next batch renders and skip transparent pixels when compositing (PR #2518); Edit-menu keys edit a focused text field, docked and in panel windows (PR #2459); a workarea-selector hover cursor fix; software-GPU median timeouts fixed; panels moved onto craft-ui's shared docking (PR #2432); the UI migrated to egui 0.37; a startup update prompt with direct self-updating (PR #2420); and Windows installs per-user by default (PR #2493). The shared-module refactor consolidated the cmd!/query! call sites (697 → 678 occurrences) without changing the registry.

Capabilities (verified)

Project and document model

• Native .ecproj is versioned, pretty-printed JSON headed by savedBy and schema (currently 2), with activeComp/openComps/compTimes, settings, items, nextId, renderQueue, render templates and preferences (crates/project/src/lib.rs). Saving re-reads the text before writing and writes atomically; a project whose savedBy is a newer version still opens, with a warning.
• XML project copy .ecprojx is the same data as EffectCraftProject XML (lossless); Save a Copy As XML writes it, file.open reads it back.
• Autosave, crash recovery and MCP checkpoints; mcp --autosave writes a checkpoint after each mutating call (crates/engine/src/settings/autosave.rs, docs/agents.md). Out-of-range values are repaired on open and reported in the result's repaired list, not rejected (crates/project/src/limits.rs).
• One project per app process, with compositions open as tabs restored from openComps — now one tab per open comp in the timeline group's tab row, with an overflow menu; 36 panel kinds and 15 named workspaces, and any panel can move to its own native window (crates/ui-egui/src/dock.rs, docs/architecture.md).

Composition, animation, expressions

• Compositions use exact integer Tick time at 254,016,000,000 ticks/s; comp.new defaults to 1920×1080, 29.97 fps, 10 s, and accepts renderer: classic3D|advanced3D. Layer kinds cover footage, precomp, solid, text, shape, null, camera, light, 3D model and parametric primitive; adjustment layers are solids with the adjustment switch.
• Parenting, track mattes, all 38 blend modes and motion blur are in the document model (crates/color/src/blend.rs).
• Keyframes: linear/Bezier/hold, per-side speed and influence (Easy Ease), auto/continuous Bezier, roving keys, Keyframe Velocity/Interpolation, and a Graph Editor with value and speed graphs. Time remap/stretch/reverse/freeze are layer.* commands.
• Expressions run on boa with the AE object model (thisComp, thisLayer, thisProperty, valueAtTime, velocityAtTime, wiggle, temporalWiggle, smooth, loopIn/Out, sampleImage, sourceRectAtTime, nearestKey, propertyGroup, text style API) and AE legacy array maths (crates/expr/src/lib.rs).

Effects, text, shapes, masks

• 308 registered effects, 2987 parameters, 280 GPU-capable, all 32-bit float, 21 categories, 0 marked partial, plus 9 Layer Styles with Global Light (docs/effects.md, generated from crates/effects/src/catalog.rs and checked by the effects_doc_is_current test — identical at v0.19.0 and v0.20.0; the previous audit's 307/3032 did not match its own pinned tag). Effects are addressed by id (ec.<category>.<name>) or display name.
• 54 built-in animation presets (8 text animators, 23 backgrounds, 23 transitions) and .ecpreset save/apply.
• Text, shapes and masks: point/paragraph text with style runs, variable fonts, text animators; shape operators (trim, repeater, round corners, offset, zig zag, twist, wiggle, merge, gradient stroke); masks with 7 modes, feather, expansion, vertex editing and Mask Interpolation. New: text.deleteSurrounding deletes characters around the caret (the only registry addition this release).

3D, tracking, roto and paint

• Classic 3D and Advanced 3D: 3D layers, one/two-node cameras with depth of field, Parallel/Spot/Point/Ambient/Environment lights, ray-cast shadows; Advanced 3D adds PBR materials, six primitives, imported models and environment lighting.
• Tracking: point/transform tracking, stabilize, affine/perspective corner-pin tracks, mask tracking including face outline/detailed features, Warp Stabilizer, and a 3D Camera Tracker that creates cameras, solids, nulls, text and shadow catchers.
• Roto Brush and Object Matte: stroke/propagate/freeze with optional MobileSAM or classical fallback; face tracking with optional MediaPipe Face Landmarker. Paint strokes/clone source, Liquify and all five puppet pin kinds are commands. Content-Aware Fill and Scene Edit Detection run as background jobs with wait; Auto-trace is synchronous.
• Cryptomatte picking: effect.pickCryptomatte replaces/edits the effect's Selection with the ID under a point, in one undo step; effect.cryptomatteAt only reports.
• Replace Source: layer.replaceSource {layers?, item: id|name} swaps a footage/precomp/solid layer's source while keeping everything; layer.revealSource opens the Project panel on the item.

Import formats (only what the code registers)

.json through plain file.import is data footage, not Lottie. PSD/PDF/AI/EPS import as footage or as a composition (importAs).

Export formats

The Render Queue writes 13 formats (crates/project/src/render_queue.rs):

Render Settings/Output Modules cover quality, resolution, time span (Work Area by default), frame rate, proxy use, overrides, colour depth, field rendering, motion blur, frame blending, skip existing frames, crop/ROI/resize, extra outputs, post-render actions and logs. New: export now encodes while the next batch renders and skips transparent pixels when compositing (faster exports, PR #2518).

• Single frames also export as a layered PSD or a multi-layer OpenEXR.
• Lottie .json/.lottie with a warnings list.
• Timeline interchange .xml (FCP7 default), .fcpxml, .otio, .edl, .aaf, .omf.
• Essential Graphics template .ectemplate and animation preset .ecpreset.

Automation and platform (counts re-measured at this tag)

• CLI effectcraft-cli: the 12 subcommands are info commands exec run props get set render-frame render bench script mcp, with --json, --project, --demo, --empty, --save, --save-as, --bridge, --gpu, per-codec render flags, --queue and --progress; run --args-file F reads one argument per line.
• MCP over stdio: 36 tools — 27 headless and 9 bridge-only (screenshot, ui_inspect, ui_elements, ui_click, ui_drag, ui_key, ui_type, ui_set, control) — plus resources effectcraft://document and effectcraft://commands.
• Control channel: effectcraft --control <port> (or EFFECTCRAFT_CONTROL_PORT) speaks newline JSON on 127.0.0.1: 24 methods — engine.execute, ui.menu.invoke, engine.commands, ui.menu.list, render.frame, ui.inspect/elements/set/screenshot/click/move/drag/scroll/key/type, ui.panel.show/close, ui.playback, ui.resize, ui.focus, ui.viewer.locate/hit, ui.timeline.locate, app.quit.
• Two command tiers: engine ids run headless (CLI/MCP/engine.execute); UI-only ids dispatch only in the live app. No command is a disabled stub.
• Scripts/ScriptUI: .jsx/.js with the AE object model, dockable ScriptUI panels; script.run, file.runScript, CLI script FILE.jsx.
• WebAssembly effect plug-ins: .wasm/.wat, API v1, sandboxed in wasmi with no imports.
• Web build (apps/effectcraft-web) runs the same engine/UI as WASM with OPFS/IndexedDB storage and window.effectcraft; it is not the installed macOS app.
• GPU: a wgpu compute compositor for Metal/Vulkan/Direct3D 12/WebGPU; CPU is the reference; headless CLI/MCP render on the CPU and say so unless started with --gpu. Software-GPU median timeouts were fixed this release.
• Localization: menus in 11 languages; panel/tooltip catalogs in 8. Korean and Italian remain absent.

Known limitations and not-implemented

• After Effects projects will not open. No .aep/.aepx reader, no .ffx presets, no .mogrt templates, no AE SDK plug-ins. Only .ecproj/.ecprojx, .ecpreset and .ectemplate are native.
• Fidelity against After Effects is mostly unmeasured. The live comparisons (scalar ease plus Tint, Tritone, Black & White, Exposure, Levels (Individual Controls), Curves, Luma Key, Extract, 4-Color Gradient and Fill) match After Effects 2026 renders within 1–3/255, Brightness & Contrast up to 6.2/255. Everything else is self-graded — never promise AE-identical renders (docs/fidelity/README.md).
• Alpha stability. docs/gaps.md still lists open crash reports; re-check the tracker rather than quoting this skill.
• No hardware video decode/encode (VideoToolbox, NVENC, Quick Sync, VA-API). HEVC/AV1 have no B-frames, multi-reference or SAO/CDEF; Opus has no FEC/DTX.
• Output/import gaps: no 16-bpc uncompressed, AVI, MXF output, DNxHR, DPX/Targa/Photoshop sequences or ProRes RAW; no USD/USDZ, Substance .sbsar, camera raw, HEIF/AVIF, BRAW/R3D/ARRIRAW.
• FBX/DPX/PDF caveats: FBX is 7.x only, with no animation, skinning, cameras or lights; DPX/Cineon log values are shown as stored; PDF/AI/EPS import lacks JPX/JBIG2 and Illustrator procset EPS.
• Scripting gaps: no .jsxbin, no Startup/Shutdown script folders, no script shortcuts, no Legacy ExtendScript engine mode, no BridgeTalk.
• The macOS .app contains no CLI — get the universal effectcraft-cli from its separate release zip or build it. The control channel has no authentication, binds 127.0.0.1, serves at most 16 connections, times out at 60 s and rejects lines over 4 MiB.
• Docs drift — trust code/runtime. Several docs still say 306 effects and 411 commands; the registries say 308/2987 and 681 ids (this audit's multiline non-test extract). docs/gaps.md gap 3's "no PR CI gate" is stale.
• .prproj is not read or written — convert to FCP7 XML in Premiere first.

How to operate

Launch (macOS)

shCopy code
open -a EffectCraft                                  # empty Untitled Project (not the demo)
open -a EffectCraft Project.ecproj                   # open a project
open -a EffectCraft --args --control 9877 --demo     # agent-driven window + demo project
/Applications/EffectCraft.app/Contents/MacOS/EffectCraft --control 9877 --demo

Flags: --control <1-65535> (or EFFECTCRAFT_CONTROL_PORT), --demo, --empty, --home, --version; after -- every argument is a file. Unknown options exit 1 before the window opens. The app starts empty by default, unlike most one-shot CLI commands, which start with the demo.

CLI

effectcraft-cli is a separate macOS release zip (signed/notarized) or cargo build --release -p effectcraft-cli; it is not inside the .app. <comp> is an id, name or - (active comp); <layer> is an id, #n or name; values are JSON or bare strings.

• Most commands open the demo project unless you pass --project F.ecproj, a positional *.ecproj, or --empty. commands, script and mcp start empty.
• --save writes back to the opened project, --save-as F writes a copy. --gpu attaches the GPU compositor; CPU is the default.
• render needs --out (or --queue); render --comp … renders exactly one item; --progress prints progress lines on stderr.
• render-frame accepts --time, --frame, --max-side, --scale, --transparent; --template T.ectemplate --values values.json renders one Essential Graphics instance.
• mcp --automation-read-root DIR / --automation-write-root DIR (repeatable) confine agent file access.

MCP

effectcraft-cli mcp serves JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio, one message per line. It has 36 tools:

Resources effectcraft://document and effectcraft://commands. batch is atomic ($N.key references); command_batch stops at the first error by default. A renderQueue.render call with _meta.progressToken emits progress notifications and can be cancelled.

Control channel

effectcraft --control 9877 accepts one JSON object per line and replies per line. 24 methods: engine/menus (engine.execute, ui.menu.invoke, engine.commands, ui.menu.list), render (render.frame), inspect (ui.inspect, ui.elements, ui.set, ui.screenshot), input (ui.click, ui.move, ui.drag, ui.scroll, ui.key, ui.type), panels/playback (ui.panel.show, ui.panel.close, ui.playback, ui.resize, ui.focus), viewer/timeline (ui.viewer.locate, ui.viewer.hit, ui.timeline.locate) and app.quit. ui.elements lists widgets drawn in the last frame {id,label,rect}; ui.screenshot returns a PNG. Edit-menu keys now edit a focused text field (docked or in a panel window).

Document model and workflow

One project per app process in one main window; each open composition is a tab in the timeline group's tab row. Panels follow After Effects, dock/float on craft-ui's shared docking, and any panel can move to its own native window. Each layer carries a property tree addressed by paths such as transform/position, effects/#1/blurriness or @<uid>.

1. Create a composition (comp.new) and add layers (layer.new*, file.import, layer.replaceSource).
2. Animate (prop.set/prop.addKey) and ease (keys.select + keys.easyEase).
3. Apply effects (effect.apply), edit effects/#1/..., preview and save.
4. Export via renderQueue.add + renderQueue.render, or Lottie/timeline/template commands.

shCopy code
effectcraft-cli exec comp.new '{"name":"Main","width":1920,"height":1080,"frameRate":30,"duration":3}' --empty --save-as main.ecproj
effectcraft-cli exec layer.newText '{"text":"Hello","name":"Title","size":160,"fill":"#ffffff"}' main.ecproj --save
effectcraft-cli run main.ecproj \
  prop.addKey '{"layer":"Title","path":"transform/position","time":0,"value":[-400,540]}' \
  prop.addKey '{"layer":"Title","path":"transform/position","time":1,"value":[960,540]}' \
  keys.select '{"keys":[{"layer":"Title","path":"transform/position","time":0},{"layer":"Title","path":"transform/position","time":1}]}' \
  keys.easyEase '{"which":"both"}' --save
effectcraft-cli render main.ecproj --comp Main --out title.mp4 --format h264 --progress

Each headless CLI invocation is a new session: edits survive only if saved; group selection-dependent steps in one run (or one MCP session).

Open / save / export, exact formats

• Open .ecproj, .ecprojx, or .xml whose root is EffectCraftProject; file.importProject merges another project. Save .ecproj, or XML when the path is .ecprojx/.xml; Save a Copy, Save a Copy As XML and Increment and Save exist.
• Export the 13 Render Queue formats, single-frame layered PSD or ProEXR, Lottie, timeline formats, .ectemplate, .ecpreset. A .xml path is ambiguous: file.open expects an EffectCraft XML project, file.importTimeline expects FCP7 XML — use .ecprojx for projects.
• Rejected: .prproj and every AE-native format above.

Keyboard shortcuts (only verified ones)

Cmd+N New Composition, Cmd+K Composition Settings, Cmd+Shift+X Trim Comp to Work Area, Cmd+Alt+N New Project, Cmd+O Open, Cmd+S Save, Cmd+Alt+Shift+S Increment and Save, Cmd+Shift+S Save As, Cmd+I Import, Cmd+M Add to Render Queue, F9 Easy Ease, Cmd+Alt+K Keyframe Interpolation, Cmd+Shift+K Keyframe Velocity, Cmd+Alt+H Toggle Hold, Cmd+Alt+T Enable Time Remapping, Cmd+G/Cmd+Shift+G Group/Ungroup Shapes, Cmd+Opt+/ Replace Source. Property reveals A/P/S/R/T/M/F/E/L/U are in docs/agents.md §Timeline. Shortcuts are command data; for anything else read effectcraft-cli commands --json — do not invent shortcuts.

Working with an AI agent

Choose the surface

• Headless (preferred): effectcraft-cli exec/run for one-shots or effectcraft-cli mcp for a persistent session; mcp --autosave checkpoints dirty work after each mutating call.
• Live app: start effectcraft --control 9877, then mcp --bridge 9877 or the raw control channel. Web: no TCP channel; use window.effectcraft.

Prepare inputs

• Convert unsupported sources: camera raw/AVI/BRAW/R3D/USDZ/Substance → H.264/ProRes/WebM or PNG/EXR/TIFF sequences; 3D → glTF/GLB/OBJ/STL/FBX 7.x; audio → WAV/AIFF; data → JSON/CSV/TSV.
• Image sequences: pass one numbered file with sequence: true (or import the folder); keep media next to the project (relative paths resolve against the project folder on open).
• Query list_fonts/text.fonts first; extra fonts come from EFFECTCRAFT_FONT_DIRS.

Inspect and repair project files

• .ecproj is documented by the code: savedBy, schema, activeComp, openComps, settings, items, nextId, renderQueue. Item, layer and property ids share one counter; keep nextId above every id. Never bump schema.
• Prefer commands over JSON surgery; after a hand edit, reopen and check the repaired list in file.open's result.
• For moved media: footage.missing, footage.relink {item, path} or file.relinkFootage {folder, dryRun}.
• layer.revealSource is the safe way to find a layer's Project item in the UI.

Scripting

• Scripts run against the AE object model; run_script/script keep edits (wrap in app.beginUndoGroup()/endUndoGroup()). The CLI script exits 1 with file:line:col.
• Reads are allowed under the script's own folder and the project folder; writes and network require Settings ▸ Scripting & Expressions.
• Setting an array property to the wrong length throws Array is not of the correct dimension — pad or trim arrays in generated scripts.

Verify exports

• Read the result: renderQueue.render returns per-item statuses; CLI render exits 1 if any item failed.
• Re-import the output and render a frame to prove it decodes; use --transparent for alpha.
• Lottie: inspect warnings; timeline: inspect warnings, missing and prerendered.
• Odd comp sizes: H.264/HEVC dimensions round down to even.

Do not

• Try to open .aep/.aepx/.aex/.ffx/.mogrt/.prproj; there is no reader.
• Drive the GUI without --control (discover widgets with ui.elements), edit a .ecproj the app has open, or expose the control port (no authentication).

Concurrency and safety

• Save early; open_project/file.newProject replaces a dirty project without a prompt. Without --autosave, MCP work is memory-only.
• After a broken bridge connection, mutating calls have an unknown outcome; inspect before retrying.
• Scripts may read files only in their own or the project's folder; confine agent file access with --automation-read-root / --automation-write-root.

Verification protocol

Alpha-software discipline; run this for every delegated task.

1. Copy first. Work on a scratch .ecproj (--save-as / Save a Copy), never the only copy; update the app only between projects.
2. Round-trip in a fresh process. New → comp/layers/keyframes/effects → save → reopen via info --project → render a frame and a short movie.
3. Check both artifacts. A render-frame PNG at a known time and the final MP4/MOV/sequence; confirm dimensions, duration, audio and alpha.
4. Check the time span. Queued items default to Work Area; CLI render defaults to the whole comp unless --work-area.
5. Check format constraints. H.264/HEVC even dimensions; ProRes 4444 for alpha; WebM VP9 for VP9 alpha; WAV/AIFF are 16-bit PCM; EXR is 32-bit float.
6. Interchange and Lottie: inspect warnings/missing/prerendered, re-import the result.
7. Report, don't hide. Give the exact command, version, file and observed result. Fidelity differences against After Effects are expected and are the most useful report.

Sources & evidence

• Repository: https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft; inspected tag v0.20.0, commit 720c67117ea232ef01631a368bb617012f4c63d6 (git rev-parse HEAD, 2026-11-02); the v0.19.0 ref was fetched for id diffs. Fast-moving alpha — verify against your installed version (the installed bundle matches this tag at 0.20.0).
• Installed app at this pin: version 0.20.0, bundle ai.storyteller.effectcraft; Contents/MacOS holds only the app binary (no CLI). No GUI was launched; only --version was run.
• Read: README.md, Cargo.toml, docs/ (agents, mcp, control-protocol, architecture, file-format-parity, gaps, effects, effects-parity, fidelity/README, footage, plugins, scripting-parity, web); apps/effectcraft-cli/src/main.rs, apps/effectcraft/src/{main,control_server}.rs; crates/project/src/{lib,render_queue,styles,limits}.rs; crates/engine/src/cmd.rs (registry) and crates/engine/src/cmd/; crates/{media,interchange,lottie,expr,keyframe,plugin,automation,script}/src; crates/effects/src/{lib,catalog}.rs; crates/color/src/blend.rs; crates/ui-egui/src/{control,commands,dock,menus}.rs. Counts were re-measured from code and diffed against a fetched v0.17.0 ref; no build, test or render was run.
• Delta method: cmd!/query! call sites 697 (v0.17.0) → 678 (v0.18.0) after the shared-module refactor; unique literal ids 563 → 564 (+text.deleteSurrounding, nothing removed); static TOOLS ToolDef entries 36 → 36; docs/effects.md 307/3032 unchanged (test-enforced).