EffectCraft: what it does, how to install it, and what its own README warns about

EffectCraft is a motion-graphics and visual-effects compositor: animation, effects, 3D and export, with projects saved as readable versioned JSON (.ecproj). It runs natively on desktop and in the browser.

Official status: In development, per the official Crafting Apps directory (checked October 12, 2026). Category: Motion graphics & VFX.

• Easiest route per the README: grab an installer from the GitHub releases page — universal macOS app, Windows MSI or portable zip (x64, x86, ARM64), Linux AppImage/Flatpak/deb/rpm/tarball, FreeBSD, and the web build.
• From source: clone the repository and run `cargo run --release -p effectcraft` (requires Rust 1.95 or newer; `-- --demo` opens the demo project).

The official directory says: “Recommended: ArtCraft Launcher installs every app below and keeps them all up to date. Each app also has its own installers on its page.” View the official ArtCraft Launcher repository ↗

Source: EffectCraft README ↗ (Get started / Downloads sections) and the official product page ↗.

Official directory: macOS · Windows · Linux · Web. The README additionally lists FreeBSD builds in its release assets.

Latest GitHub release: v0.8.0, published 2026-10-11 · 5,450 stars (GitHub API snapshot, October 12, 2026 at 2026-10-12T12:11:36Z).

• The README is explicit: it "isn't yet a replacement for After Effects on client work" — about 91% of After Effects features exist, but existence is not identical behavior, and that has not been measured yet (README, Where it stands).
• It cannot open After Effects projects (.aep / .aepx), and After Effects plug-ins do not run (README, Where it stands).
• macOS is the most tested platform; Linux and Windows users have hit basic interaction bugs the team is fixing first (README, Where it stands).

Source: EffectCraft README ↗, read October 12, 2026.