storytold/effectcraft

EffectCraft: An open-source motion graphics and compositing tool written by scratch in pure Rust

What it solves

EffectCraft is an open-source, clean-room reimplementation of Adobe After Effects. It provides a free alternative for motion graphics, animated titles, and visual effects compositing, removing the dependency on proprietary software and FFmpeg.

How it works

Built entirely in Rust, the software uses a layer-based composition system where users can animate properties using keyframes, apply effects, and render the result. It mirrors the After Effects workflow—including the Project, Composition, and Timeline panels—while introducing features like native Lottie import/export and versioned JSON project files (.ecproj) for better version control.

Who it’s for

Motion designers, visual effects artists, and developers who need a professional-grade compositor that is open-source, cross-platform (macOS, Windows, Linux, browser), and scriptable.

Highlights

  • Comprehensive Toolset: Includes 306 effects, 3D cameras and lights, puppet tools, and a Graph Editor for precise animation curves.
  • Agent-Ready: Features a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, a command-line interface, and a JSON control channel, allowing AI agents to programmatically control every menu item and property.
  • Pure Rust Pipeline: Implements its own video and audio codecs (VP9, AV1, HEVC, Opus) without relying on FFmpeg.
  • AI-Enhanced Tools: Integrates MobileSAM for Roto Brush and Google's MediaPipe Face Landmarker for face tracking.
  • Lottie Support: Built-in import and export of Lottie JSON/.lottie files for web and app animations.

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