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Romain Cousin

Keystone 3

Align, stagger, order, stretch, color labels and more! Professional tools for serious animators in After Effects. NEW: Keyframe Values and Layer Order sections, Section shortcuts, New Bezier controllers for Stagger, 3 New methods for calculating Stagger, Cumulative mode for Stagger

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  $59.00
  • Free Trial
Description
The ultimate toolbox for the After Effects timeline
Dozens of features, no gimmicks
Animation in After Effects is all about keyframes and layers, and handling them manually is tedious. Keystone has been carefully designed to tackle all the most common challenges in the After Effects timeline and save you countless hours!
Keystone 3 - Demo
NEW in v3.1 - Anchor section
You can finally move anchor points and create null layers (💡 CTRL/CMD + click) directly from Keystone! This classic feature comes with multiple options to target individual layers, layer groups, the composition, and even precise coordinates! You can even manipulate the internal anchor points of shape layers and text layers.
Keystone 3 - move anchor point
What's new in Keystone 3?
Already familiar with Keystone?
Here's a summary of what's new in this major release.
Keyframe Values
Add, multiply, round… Works on all selected keyframes.
New in Keystone 3 - Keyframe values
Layer Order
Keep your layers organized with a wide range of sorting methods.
New in Keystone 3 - Layer order
Section shortcuts
Toggle sections on and off only when you need them.
💡 CTRL/⌘ + click to close them all
New in Keystone 3 - Section shortcuts
New Stagger options
A Bezier controller to bring life to your staggers, along with three options for even easier use.
💡 ALT + click to activate the cumulative mode
New in Keystone 3 - Revamped Stagger features
Simple. Clear. Customizable.
Keystone’s interface is built for speed and simplicity, with most actions just one click away. The new section shortcuts let you show or hide sections instantly, so you can keep your screen uncluttered and focused on your work.
Keystone 3 - Modular interface and new section shortcuts
Save a LOT of time
Manipulating keyframes and layers takes a lot of time when done natively in After Effects. By using Keystone just a few times a day, you will easily save several minutes per day, an hour per week, and several hours per month.
The more keyframes and layers you use, the more time Keystone saves you!
Keystone 3 - Save a lot of time with Keystone extension
Complete overhaul of the Stagger and Distribute functions
Staggering is one of the most widely used techniques in motion design.
With the new Bezier controllers of Keystone 3, say goodbye to boring linear staggers and distributions and take your animations to the next level. On top of that, 3 new modes make it more intuitive than ever.
Keystone 3 - Keyframe and layer Stagger
Other tools can’t. Keystone can.
After Effects is notoriously known for breaking easings when you move keyframes, and other third-party tools on the market don’t do any better.
Keystone is the only tool that performs the necessary calculations to preserve your carefully crafted motion curves.
Keystone 3 - Easing preservation
Align your tangents and keep them aligned effortlessly
A user favorite since Keystone 1, the "Constant Speed" feature takes away the struggle of aligning tangents by hand. Best of all, these constant speeds are preserved when using any other Keystone 3 function.
Keystone 3 - Constant speed
Link / unlink keyframes and layers
The "Link" options are arguably the most underrated feature of Keystone 3! They unlock a whole new level of keyframe and layer manipulation, enabling you to link or unlink them in ways that are impossible natively in After Effects.
Keystone 3 - Link or unlink keyframes and layers
Up to 3 modes per function
Easily accessible with shared hotkeys, modes let you control how keyframes or layers are grouped together.
Default:
Layer mode
Each layer's keyframes move independently.
Keystone 3 - Layer mode
ALT + click:
Property mode
Keyframes are grouped by property across layers.
Keystone 3 - Property mode
SHIFT + click:
Global mode
All selected keyframes move as one.
Keystone 3 - Global mode
Users talk about Keystone
Join the thousands of users who have chosen to simplify their animation workflow.

Keystone by @romaincousin.bsky.social is rapidly replacing most of my other After Effects extensions. Today's new tools mean the final goodbye to Motion 4. Highly recommended! aescripts.com/keystone/

[image or embed]

— Jesper Frydenlund (@jesperfrydenlund.com) 1 avril 2026 à 20:13

Shout-out to the Keystone 3 plugin for After Effects by @romaincousin.bsky.social. 🎉 Saves me a bunch of time. Available at @aescripts.bsky.social.

[image or embed]

— Craig Roblewsky (@pointc.bsky.social) 23 mars 2026 à 23:00
Tutorial
Learn everything about Keystone 3 in this complete tutorial.
Upgrade notice
If you already own a previous version of Keystone, you get a special price!
Be sure to log in with the same aescripts account and discount will be added in the cart.
If you need assistance, please open a support ticket and we will be happy to help :)
Version Purchase date Upgrade price
Keystone 2 After August 1st, 2025 $9.50
Before August 1st, 2025 $29.50
Keystone 1 After August 1st, 2025 $49.50
*Floating licences Extra
KBar notice
With section shortcuts, Keystone 3 now natively integrates a solution to significantly reduce the space it uses in After Effects.
Priority has been given to this native solution accessible to all users, and for this reason, KBar support has been discontinued.

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

3.1.4 -

Apr 29, 2026

- Null layers created using the Anchor functions are now placed directly above the selected layers, rather than at the top of the timeline
- Null layers created using the Anchor functions are automatically trimmed to match the length of their children
- Various code optimizations

3.1.3 -

Apr 14, 2026

- Fixed a bug introduced in version 3.1.2 that was blocking radio buttons
- Fixed the scale in the "preferences" menu which had an "undefined" value

3.1.2 -

Apr 14, 2026

- New checkbox appearance in the "Values" and "Anchor" sections
- New default animation for section appearance when using shortcuts
- Fixed a display bug with the "Fluid" layout
- Licensing framework update - 4.1.17

3.1.1 -

Apr 2, 2026

- Performance optimization
- UI bug fixes
- Licensing framework update - 4.1.16

3.1.0 -

Mar 31, 2026

- NEW "Anchor" section to reposition anchor points or create null objects (CTRL/CMD + click).
- Ability to target individual layers, layer groups, composition, custom coordinates and internal anchor points of shape layers and text layers.
- Licensing framework update - 4.1.14

3.0.7 -

Mar 10, 2026

- Fixed an issue with detecting "Separate Dimensions" position properties that could prevent the extension from working

3.0.6 -

Feb 10, 2026

- Fixed a bug that prevented keyframes of certain multidimensional properties from being properly updated when using the “Values” functions

3.0.5 -

Jan 28, 2026

- Licensing framework update - 4.1.13
- Change trial duration from 7 days to 10 days
- Fixed a bug that could prevent the license code from being entered in the “About & License” menu

3.0.4 -

Jan 12, 2026

- NEW: The “Key Values” features preserve keyframe easing

3.0.3 -

Nov 24, 2025

- New option in the preferences menu to disable animation when opening/closing sections with section shortcuts
- New option in the preferences menu to change the UI scale
- Fixed the display of certain UI elements

3.0.2 -

Nov 17, 2025

- Licensing framework update - 4.1.12
- New URL for updates check
- Changelog and Update tab fixed again. Addressed the issue with linebreaks
- Added the Continuous Bezier feature via CTRL/CMD + click on the Auto Bezier function
- New versioning scheme

1.00.01 -

Nov 7, 2025

- Licensing framework update - 4.1.11
- Fixes for the license activation issues and Update tab

1.00.00 -

Nov 6, 2025

What's new in this major new version of Keystone?

- Keyframe Values section: Add, multiply, round… with the option to choose which dimensions to apply them to.
- Layer Order section: Keep your layers organized with a wide range of sorting methods.
- Section shortcuts: Toggle sections on and off to keep your workspace uncluttered.
- New Bezier controllers for Stagger functions. Say goodbye to boring linear offsets!
- 3 New methods for calculating Stagger.
- Cumulative mode for Stagger functions.

Compatibility

After Effects

2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022

FAQ

EULA

END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

This software ("the Software Product") and accompanying documentation is licensed and not sold. This Software Product is protected by copyright laws and treaties, as well as laws and treaties related to other forms of intellectual property. The author owns intellectual property rights in the Software Product. The Licensee's ("you" or "your") license to download, use, copy, or change the Software Product is subject to these rights and to all the terms and conditions of this End User License Agreement ("Agreement").

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This Agreement entitles you to install and use one copy of the Software Product. In addition, you may make one archival copy of the Software Product. The archival copy must be on a storage medium other than a hard drive, and may only be used for the reinstallation of the Software Product. This Agreement does not permit the installation or use of multiple copies of the Software Product, or the installation of the Software Product on more than one computer at any given time, on a system that allows shared used of applications, on a multi-user network, or on any configuration or system of computers that allows multiple users. Multiple copy use or installation is only allowed if you obtain an appropriate licensing agreement for each user and each copy of the Software Product.

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Any claim must be made within the applicable warranty period. All warranties cover only defects arising under normal use and do not include malfunctions or failure resulting from misuse, abuse, neglect, alteration, problems with electrical power, acts of nature, unusual temperatures or humidity, improper installation, or damage determined by the author to have been caused by you. All limited warranties on the Software Product are granted only to you and are non-transferable. You agree to indemnify and hold the author harmless from all claims, judgments, liabilities, expenses, or costs arising from your breach of this Agreement and/or acts or omissions.

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If any provision of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. To the extent any express or implied restrictions are not permitted by applicable laws, these express or implied restrictions shall remain in force and effect to the maximum extent permitted by such applicable laws.

Updated: Oct 21, 2025 1:35 AM

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