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Free After Effects Alternative for Motion Graphics
EffectCraft is an open-source, clean-room rebuild of Adobe After Effects from scratch — a free app for motion graphics and visual effects, no Adobe subscription required.
It's a free rebuild of Adobe After Effects built from scratch — layers, 3D cameras, lights and 306 effects for animation and video compositing.
When it helps
Good for animated titles and promo videos without an Adobe subscription, and it works offline. Not yet ready to replace After Effects on paid client work, and it can't open .aep files.
Pros
- Free, works offline, no subscription needed
- 306 effects cover everything After Effects has
- Export animations straight to Lottie for websites
- Open it right in the browser, no install
Cons
- Very young project, launched just a week ago
- No one checked how closely it matches After Effects
- Can't open old After Effects project files (.aep)
How to set it up — step by step
- 1Open the EffectCraft project page on GitHub using the link in the facts block.
- 2Download the installer for your system (Mac, Windows, Linux) from Releases, or open it right in the browser.
- 3Install and launch the app to see the panels and demo project.
- 4Send the agent the text from the block below — it will download, install EffectCraft, and show you a demo render.
- 5Check the resulting clip and decide whether the app fits what you need.
Text for your agent
Copy this and send it to your agent — Claude Code, Codex, any of them:
Download and install EffectCraft from https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft - grab the installer for my system (Mac, Windows or Linux) from the Releases page, or just open it in the browser. Launch the demo project (the --demo flag), render a short clip and show me the result.
A regular laptop - ready installers for Mac, Windows and Linux, or just open it in the browser without installing anything.
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