• New

InstantRecipe

Capture a layer's whole look: effects, keyframes, expressions, masks, even camera & light rigs, and apply it to another layer in one click. Recipes auto-scale to any comp size and save as single, shareable files. It's .ffx, evolved.

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Description
After Effects Panel - v1.0

InstantRecipeSave the whole treatment. Reapply in one click.

Capture a layer's entire treatment - every effect, keyframe, and expression, plus its masks, text styling, layer styles, even its camera or light - into one portable recipe you drop onto another layer, in any project.

Why InstantRecipe

Capture. Reapply. Share.

📋

Capture

One click snapshots a layer's whole treatment - effects, keyframes, expressions, masks, styles, switches, even a camera or light.

🍴

Reapply

Drop it onto another layer - Flat, Add, or Merge - and it scales to the target comp size.

📤

Share

Every recipe is one plain JSON file. No cloud account, no sync server, no telemetry.

More than a preset

Stack the plugins. Save once. One-click the look.

Stack AE built-ins, several .aex plugins - Noige, MeltBlur, LightSweep Pro - and third-party effects on one layer, then capture the whole chain as a single JSON recipe, in order, with the layer's blending mode and switches. The combination you spent an afternoon dialing in becomes a one-click look.

Multi-Plugin Whole Chain One Click
The same recipe applied on 16:9, 1:1 and 9:16 comps - centered, aspect kept

Feature 01

Built one size. Fits another.

Apply a recipe to a different comp size and positions, mask shapes, and layer-style sizes follow the new canvas - aspect preserved, so circles stay circles. Prefer a verbatim copy? Turn scaling off.

Comp-Size AwareAspect-SafeFit to Layer SizeAbsolute or Relative

Feature 02

The whole stack, in one file.

Select a layer, hit Capture - effect parameters, keyframes with their bezier handles, and expressions, verbatim. Even values After Effects hides from scripting - a Curves curve, gradient colors, text animators - ride along, saved through AE's own preset mechanism inside one plain JSON file.

EffectsKeyframesExpressionsHidden ValuesPlain JSON
A recipe's detail view - effects, keyframes, expressions and layer settings captured in one file
The Apply Recipe dialog - Flat, Add or Merge, with per-item include checkboxes

Feature 03

Choose what lands, and how.

Drop the treatment three ways - Flat replaces, Add stacks on top, Merge updates matching effects in place. Then narrow it with per-effect, per-keyframe, per-mask, and per-style checkboxes, so only the pieces you pick come across.

FlatAddMergeSelective Paste

Feature 04

Your recipes, at a glance.

A panel beside your timeline. Each recipe plays an animated preview on hover, so you know a look before you read its name - then search, star favorites, and filter by auto-derived tags.

GIF PreviewSearchTagsFavorites

Technical

Built for your pipeline.

🎯

AE 2024–2026

Win: AE 2024+ / Mac: AE 2025+

💻

Windows & macOS

Win 10/11 64-bit / macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon)

🌐

4 Languages

EN / JA / KO / ZH

📦

CEP Extension

Panel-based

📄

Plain JSON

Local recipes

🔑

Single User

aescripts license

Pairs with MotionSpice in the Recipe Suite bundle - build the look in MotionSpice, save and restyle anywhere with InstantRecipe.

⚠ Good to know

A few things worth knowing.

Plugins render locally A recipe saves an effect's parameters, not the plugin. Third-party and .aex effects must be installed and licensed on the receiving machine; missing effects are listed and skipped on apply, and the rest lands cleanly.
Hidden values & AE versions Curves curves, gradient/pattern colors, text animators, shape contents, and 3D-mesh material ride along through After Effects' own preset format. They restore best in the same AE version - applying a recipe in an older AE than it was captured in can reset those parts (with a warning); everything else still applies.
AE 2024: 3D rotation keyframes On AE 2024, animated 3D Orientation, X-rotation, and Y-rotation don't transfer on apply (Z-rotation and static 3D are fine). This is an After Effects apply-side bug that Adobe fixed in AE 2025+.
Supported versions Windows: After Effects 2024+. macOS: After Effects 2025+ (or 24.6+). CC 2022 / 2023 are not supported.
Recipes restyle existing layers InstantRecipe transfers a treatment onto layers you already have. It's not a content library that inserts new artwork; it reproduces how a layer was treated, on a layer of your choosing.
Text formatting, not the words A recipe carries a text layer's formatting - font, size, tracking, animators - not the text string. To reuse a whole styled title, save the layer itself with MotionSpice's LayerToAsset.
Parent & track matte These connect two layers to each other, so a single-layer recipe doesn't capture them. Recreate the relationship after you apply - everything else on the layer still lands.
Your files stay yours Recipes are plain .json files in your Documents folder - no cloud, no account, no telemetry. (The optional GIF-preview engine downloads once, on demand.)

FAQ

Questions, answered.

How is a recipe different from a normal preset (FFX)?

A native preset (FFX) pastes an effect stack verbatim - no rescaling to a new comp size, no blending mode or switches. A recipe captures the whole treatment in one click, auto-scales to the target comp, lives in a visual library as plain JSON, and pastes selectively.

Does it work with .aex plugins like LightSweep Pro or MeltBlur?

Yes - .aex effects are first-class. Their parameters, keyframes, and expressions are captured like AE built-ins, and you can stack several on one layer and save the whole chain as a single recipe.

Does it work with third-party plugins like Trapcode or Sapphire?

Parameters are captured and restored like native effects. The plugin itself isn't bundled into the recipe, so the receiving machine still needs it installed and licensed for the effect to render.

What are the three apply modes - Flat, Add, and Merge?

Flat replaces the target's existing effects with the recipe. Add appends the recipe on top, leaving existing effects untouched. Merge updates matching effects in place, keeps the rest, and adds what's missing. Combine any mode with selective paste.

What if the source and target layers are different sizes?

Turn on "Fit to source layer size" and InstantRecipe scales the treatment's footprint to match - so a look built on a 3840px solid sits the same way on a 1920px one. Leave it off to paste at the original scale.

What happens if a plugin isn't installed when I apply a recipe?

You get a warning listing the missing effects, and InstantRecipe skips them while applying everything else. The rest of the stack lands cleanly, so you can install the plugin and re-apply later.

Does it really capture masks, text, and cameras - not just effects?

Yes. A recipe can include mask shapes (static and animated), text formatting and animators, shape contents, layer styles with Advanced Blending, switches, 3D material, Time Remap, a camera or light setup, and - on AE 2026 - native Advanced 3D mesh. You pick what to include.

Does a recipe carry the actual text, or just the styling?

Just the styling - font, size, fill, stroke, tracking, caps, and animators - onto the target's own text. It won't overwrite the words. For a whole styled title with a per-character design, save the layer with MotionSpice's LayerToAsset instead.

What about parent links and track mattes?

Those are relationships between two layers, not settings on one, so a recipe doesn't capture them. Everything else on the layer applies cleanly - just reconnect the parent or track matte afterward.

Do the "hidden value" recipes (Curves, gradient colors, text animators, 3D mesh) work across After Effects versions?

They ride along through After Effects' own preset format, which restores best in the same AE version they were captured in. Applying in an older AE than capture can skip that piece - InstantRecipe falls back gracefully and flags it; everything else applies.

Can I share recipes with my team? What do I actually send?

Use Export for one self-contained .json file - Slack, email, Dropbox, or git. The preview (still and animated GIF) is embedded, so there's nothing else to send. One caveat: any third-party or .aex effects, and any fonts, must also be installed on the receiving machine to render.

Where are recipes stored, and is anything sent to the cloud?

On your local disk, in your Documents folder. There is no cloud, no account, and no telemetry. Point your own backup or sync tool at the folder if you want it synced.

Is there a trial?

Yes - a trial is available from this aescripts product page. See the page for current trial details.

Get Started

Stop rebuilding the same stack. Save it once, reuse it forever.

Discussions

Want to talk about it?

Head over to r/aescripts to chat with fellow users about this product.

Need Support?

Please open a support ticket to be connected directly with the author of this product

Version History

1.0.0 -

Jul 28, 2026

Initial release

Compatibility

After Effects

2026, 2025, 2024, 2023

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Updated: Oct 21, 2025 1:35 AM

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