storytold/effectcraft

This page introduces an external open-source repository. It is not an HDATF product.

What it does

EffectCraft is an open-source motion graphics app that reimplements the After Effects way of working in Rust, and its repository was created on 1 October 2026. It runs as a desktop app and in the browser, and it is meant for people who make animated titles, explainer videos and visual effects. It offers layers, keyframes, a Graph Editor, expressions, puppet tools and 3D cameras and lights, and the README says its 306 effects include every one of the 298 effects in After Effects. Projects are saved as versioned JSON files (.ecproj), Lottie files can be imported and exported, and built-in Rust encoders produce H.264, ProRes, HEVC, AV1, WebM, EXR and GIF without FFmpeg. Actions are collected in one command registry, so the same action can be called from the interface, the CLI, a JSON control channel and an MCP server for AI agents. The control channel is a TCP port on 127.0.0.1 with no authentication, and the documentation says to enable it only while it is in use. Scripts work only inside the project folder, writing files and using the network need a separate preference, and the README states that there is no telemetry and no network access unless requested. Installers are on the releases page, building from source needs Rust 1.95 or later, and the optional MobileSAM model of about 40 MB is downloaded separately. It cannot open .aep or .aepx files or run After Effects plug-ins, macOS is the most tested platform, and basic interaction bugs remain on Linux and Windows. The authors' gaps document puts feature coverage at about 99 percent on a checklist they wrote and graded themselves, while coverage for real professional work is still unmeasured and estimated at about 30 to 50 percent.

License

Apache-2.0 Permissive, with a patent grant. Commercial use is allowed; keep the notices and state your changes.

More in this category

• storytold/lightcraft
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• storytold/filmcraft
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• invoke-ai/InvokeAI
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• storytold/artcraft
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• storytold/photocraft
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Only repositories in the ranked Trendshift lists are included, and the lists are used only to find candidates. We do not copy their ranks. Descriptions, licenses and star counts come from each GitHub repository. The notes are our own reading. We have not tested these projects, and a place on a trending list does not prove quality.