EffectCraft
ArtCraft · Motion graphics and visual effects compositor with layers, keyframes, expressions, 3D cameras and Lottie exchange.
About
What it does
EffectCraft is ArtCraft's free, open-source motion graphics and visual effects compositor, written in Rust and licensed under MIT OR Apache-2.0. Build animated titles and composites from text, shape, solid, footage and nested composition layers. Animate properties with keyframes and a Graph Editor, apply effects and layer styles, use JavaScript expressions, and work with 3D cameras and lights. Projects use readable, versioned .ecproj JSON. Lottie import/export connects animations to web and app workflows; the Render Queue exports video and image sequences. A separate command-line tool and MCP interface support automation.
Install and start on macOS
With Homebrew already installed, run:
brew install --cask effectcraft
open -a EffectCraft
Alternatively, download the official universal DMG, open it and copy EffectCraft.app to Applications. The universal build supports Apple silicon and Intel; upstream describes macOS downloads as signed and notarized. Start a composition, add layers, animate properties and render through the Render Queue. Installing the GUI cask does not establish that effectcraft-cli is on PATH: upstream distributes the CLI separately.
Requirements and limitations
The cask declares no explicit minimum macOS version; upstream's README does not give minimum RAM or GPU requirements. Do not interpret that as compatibility with every Mac. Rust is not needed for the prebuilt app; building from source requires Rust 1.95 or newer:
git clone https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft
cd effectcraft
cargo run --release -p effectcraft
EffectCraft is a young project, not yet recommended by upstream as an After Effects replacement for client work. It cannot open .aep/.aepx projects or run After Effects plug-ins, and rendering behaviour can differ. Optional Roto Brush and face-tracking models require separate downloads in Settings. macOS is the most tested platform; Windows, Linux and browser builds are also available.
New What’s new in 0.7.0 OpenNavo editorial
- FeaturesAdds ScriptUI panels, Ease Presets, and AE snapping options.
- FixesFixes audio stutter, EXR values, AIFF float output, and EXR layers.