PSD2Live – Open‑Source 2D Character Rigging & Animation Suite

What it does (in plain language)

• Turns layered Photoshop files (PSD) into animated 2‑D characters – the tool reads the layer hierarchy, builds a mesh, creates bones, physics and a set of default motions (idle, blink, nod, hair‑swing, etc.).
• All of this happens inside a desktop editor where you can fine‑tune the mesh, edit bones, paint, set up physics, and animate on a timeline.
• When you are happy, the project can be exported to many formats:
  • Live2D Cubism files (.moc3/.cmo3) for use in Cubism Editor, VTube Studio, games, etc.
  • An open‑source Rust runtime (p2lrt) that can be called from C/C++, .NET, Unity, Godot, Android, or run directly in a browser via WebAssembly.
  • Video or image sequences, Spine/DragonBones/glTF (experimental), and plain PSD snapshots.

Who it is for

User type	What PSD2Live gives you
Complete beginner	Follow a naming convention for your PSD layers, click Import → Preset, and in minutes you have a character that can idle, blink, nod and has hair physics – ready for VTube Studio or a web page.
AI‑assisted workflow fan	A local MCP service exposes >180 commands that AI agents (Claude, Codex, etc.) can call to read or modify the project, with full undo history.
Experienced riggers	Automatic mesh, bone chain, facial parameters and physics are generated, then you can edit them manually; all edits are stored as replayable commands so regeneration never loses your work.
Open‑source‑only seekers	Both the editor and the Rust runtime are GPL‑3.0 / MIT licensed, no dependence on Live2D’s proprietary SDK for editing or preview.
Need features beyond Cubism	Built‑in 2‑D cloth & hair simulation, IK, automatic skeleton generation – these are baked into Cubism‑compatible files when exported.
Integrating into your own app	Use the p2lrt runtime (C ABI, .NET, Android, WebAssembly, Godot 4 node) to load the exported .p2lrt model directly.

Main components

Module	Key capabilities
Auto‑generation	Detects Chinese/English/Japanese/Korean layer names, creates adaptive mesh, head‑body deformation chain, facial parameters, default actions, hair/cloth physics.
Canvas editor	Seven interaction modes (select, deform, edit, simulate, bone, paint, preview). Tools include warp/rotation brushes, mesh topology editing, layer split/merge, glue.
Skeleton & simulation	Auto‑generated skeleton with FK/IK, XPBD cloth & hair simulation, all baked into native Cubism structures on export.
Animation & physics	Timeline, key‑frames, curves, visual pendulum editor, evaluation matches Cubism Native Framework.
Texture handling	Texture atlas packing, per‑layer density, optional 2×/4× up‑scaling.
Compilation & export	One neutral IR is compiled to every target; loss reports show what had to be baked or dropped.
p2lrt runtime	Open‑source Rust engine: C ABI, software renderer, WebAssembly player, Godot 4 node, .NET/Android bindings. Guarantees per‑pose evaluation identical to the editor.
Agent (MCP) service	Local HTTP service (http://127.0.0.1:23871/mcp) exposing a rich API for agents to query the workspace, list operations, and apply atomic edits.

How it fits with Live2D Cubism

• No dependency – the editor works without the Cubism SDK.
• Compatibility tiers:
  1. Lossless – features Cubism already supports (meshes, parameters, physics, actions).
  2. Baked – features Cubism lacks (IK, cloth simulation, swing generation) are baked into key‑shapes or parameters.
  3. Runtime‑only – future features (dynamic lighting, stylized rendering) that only the open‑source runtime can use.
• Exported .moc3/.cmo3 files contain the baked data, so the resulting model works in Cubism Editor, VTube Studio, etc.

Getting started (quick steps)

1. Import a PSD via File → Import → From PSD (or drag‑drop). Choose a preset (minimal / default / full) and optionally split layers that share a grid.
2. Check the auto‑detected layer types in the table and correct any mistakes.
3. Preview the generated actions and physics; switch to other workspaces to fine‑tune mesh, bones, animation, or textures.
4. Save the project as .psd2live (captures original PSD, settings, and full edit history).
5. Export with Ctrl+G to Cubism (.moc3/.cmo3) or use File → Export As for other formats (Web, Godot, video, etc.).

Platforms & Installation

• Windows 10/11 (x64 & ARM64) – portable ZIP or installer, bundles a Java runtime and optional ffmpeg.
• Linux (x86_64 & arm64) – .deb or tar.gz, requires X11/GLX (XWayland works). No native package for macOS yet – run from source after installing JDK 21.
• Runtime – the Rust p2lrt library is built automatically if a recent Rust toolchain is present; otherwise a pre‑built binary is downloaded.

Building from source

# Run the GUI (Gradle wrapper)
./gradlew run
# CLI: generate a model directly from a PSD
./gradlew run --args="--input examples/tml/psd-input/tml.psd --output build/example-output"
# Export to another format, e.g. GIF
./gradlew run --args="export model.psd2live --target gif --set clip=Nod"
# Tests & packaging
./gradlew test
./gradlew packageDistributionForCurrentOS

Requires JDK 21; Rust is optional but needed to build the native runtime.

License

• Application & Cubism‑related export code – GPL‑3.0.
• Neutral IR, compilation framework, and the Rust runtime – MIT, so they can be reused independently.

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PSD2Live is an independent project and is not affiliated with Live2D Inc.