EffectCraft — a free, open-source alternative to After Effects

EffectCraft is a free, open-source desktop app for motion graphics, animated titles and compositing — the kind of work people normally open Adobe After Effects to do. It runs natively on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it's written from scratch in pure Rust by the ArtCraft project. No subscription, no account, no watermark.

Latest version:
0.8.0 · Windows · macOS · Linux · Web · FreeBSD
License:
Free and open source (MIT / Apache-2.0) · First release October 2026
Download EffectCraftView on GitHub

What's inside

  • The workflow you already know

    Project, Composition, Timeline, Effect Controls and Effects & Presets panels, docked the way you expect, with the same keyboard shortcuts. Your After Effects muscle memory carries over.

  • Layers of every kind

    Solids, shapes, text, footage, nested compositions, nulls, adjustment layers, cameras and lights — with parenting, track mattes and all 38 blend modes.

  • Keyframes and a graph editor

    Linear, Bezier, hold, auto/continuous Bezier and roving keys, Easy Ease (F9), Keyframe Velocity dialogs, and value and speed graphs with draggable handles.

  • 300+ effects

    Blur, color correction, distort, generate, keying, particles and simulation, stylize, time and audio — with the parameter names, order and defaults After Effects users expect. All nine Layer Styles included.

  • Real 3D

    3D layers with one- and two-node cameras, depth of field, and parallel, spot, point and ambient lights that cast soft ray-traced shadows.

  • Expressions

    JavaScript with the After Effects object model — wiggle, loopOut, thisComp.layer("…") — in an inline editor with a pick-whip.

  • Export anywhere

    H.264 MP4 and ProRes MOV with alpha, HEVC, AV1, WebM/VP9, PNG / TIFF / 32-bit EXR sequences, animated GIF and WAV/AIFF. Lottie import and export built in, no plugin needed.

  • Readable project files

    Projects are versioned JSON (.ecproj), so they diff cleanly in version control.

  • No FFmpeg inside

    Every codec is pure Rust — no licensing surprises, no hidden binary.

  • Built to be scripted

    Every menu action is a command with an id, reachable from the command line, a JSON control channel and an MCP server for agents.

How it compares to After Effects

What's the same.

The panels, the shortcut keys, the keyframe behaviour, and the effects — EffectCraft implements all 298 After Effects effects with matching parameter names and defaults.

What isn't there yet.

EffectCraft cannot open After Effects project files (.aep / .aepx) and After Effects plugins don't run. Its behaviour still differs from After Effects in places, and the team hasn't measured those differences yet. The project describes itself as “not yet a replacement for After Effects on client work.”

So what is it good for today?

Trying things, learning motion graphics and compositing, and personal projects — on a free, open-source tool that runs on your own machine.

Who it's for

Good fit

Anyone who wants to learn motion graphics without an Adobe subscription; After Effects users who want a second tool for personal work; Linux users who've never had a native compositor like this.

Not a fit yet

Client work that depends on existing .aep files or After Effects plugins.

Install in three steps

  1. Download the ArtCraft Launcher (or a standalone EffectCraft installer) from the download page.
  2. Install and launch — the app opens with an empty project.
  3. Import footage, drag it onto the timeline, animate a property and hit render.

Detailed, per-platform instructions are on the download page.

FAQ

Is EffectCraft really free?
Yes — free and open source, MIT and Apache-2.0 licensed. No subscription, no account and no watermark.
Can it open my After Effects projects?
No. Projects are saved as .ecproj; .aep and .aepx files can’t be opened.
Which platforms does it run on?
Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, and in the browser via the WebAssembly build.
Do I need to know After Effects first?
No, but if you do, the panels and shortcuts will feel familiar.
Who makes it?
The ArtCraft project — the same team building PhotoCraft, FilmCraft, VectorCraft and other open-source creative apps.