Adobe After Effects - AWS Deadline Cloud
Support overviewAfter Effects version compatibilityDeadline Cloud Conda ChannelGetting startedUsing the After Effects submitterAdvanced configurationsOpen source resources

Adobe After Effects

Note

For more information about installing, configuring, and using this integration on your workstation, see the After Effects integration user guide on GitHub.

Adobe After Effects is a professional digital visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing application. After Effects is fully supported by Deadline Cloud with comprehensive integration including submitters and conda packages for increased rendering performance.

Support overview

After Effects is supported by the following components:

  • Submitter: Integrated submitter for direct job submission from After Effects with automatic scene and asset detection.

  • Conda packages: Deadline Cloud for automatic installation on service-managed fleets.

  • Cross-platform compatibility: Submitter support for Windows and macOS with worker support for Windows.

After Effects version compatibility

The following table shows current support levels for After Effects versions:

Major Version Submitter Support Conda Support
2024 Windows, macOS Windows
2025 Windows, macOS Windows
2026 Windows, macOS Windows

Deadline Cloud Conda Channel

The following table lists all conda packages applicable to After Effects available to Service-managed fleets in the deadline-cloud conda channel:

OS Package Version
Windows aftereffects 24.6
Windows aftereffects 25.1
Windows aftereffects 25.2
Windows aftereffects 25.6
Windows aftereffects 26.0

Getting started

Complete the following steps to set up After Effects with Deadline Cloud. You will install the required submitter and monitor on your workstation and begin submitting render jobs to your queue.

  1. Create a service-managed fleet and associate it with a queue. Your queue must be set up with a queue environment that supports the deadline-cloud conda channel. For more information, see Creating a queue environment.

  2. Install the Deadline Cloud monitor on your artist workstation using the Deadline Cloud monitor Installers. For more information, see Set up your workstation.

  3. Install the Deadline Cloud After Effects submitter on your artist workstation using the Deadline Cloud Submitter Installers. When you install the submitter, you can choose between User Install (no admin required) or System Install (Windows only, requires admin). macOS users must use User Install.

    • User Install: Installs to user directory without admin privileges. The submitter will be a standalone window rather than a dockable panel.

      • Windows: C:\Users\<user>\DeadlineCloudSubmitter\Submitters\AfterEffects\AE<version>

      • macOS: /Users/<user>/DeadlineCloudSubmitter/Submitters/AfterEffects/AE<version>

    • System Install (Windows only): Installs to Adobe After Effects installation directory as a dockable panel.

      • Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects <version>\Support Files\Scripts\Script UI Panels

Using the After Effects submitter

Launching the submitter

To launch the After Effects submitter

  1. Launch Adobe After Effects.

  2. Update the following settings within After Effects to allow scripts to write files and send communication over a network:

    • For Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Scripting & Expressions, and then choose Allow scripts to write files and access networks.

    • For macOS, choose After Effects > Settings > Scripting & Expressions, and then choose Allow scripts to write files and access networks.

  3. Restart After Effects.

  4. Open the Deadline Cloud submitter based on your install type:

    • For a system install, select Window, then choose DeadlineCloudSubmitter.jsx.

    • For a user install, choose File > Scripts > Run Script File, and then locate and select DeadlineCloudSubmitter.jsx .

  5. (Optional) If the submitter is closed and you used a user install, reopen it by choosing File > Scripts > Recent Script Files and selecting DeadlineCloudSubmitter.jsx.

Submitting a render job

To submit a render job from After Effects

  1. Choose Open Render Queue on the submitter.

  2. Add a composition to your render queue and set up your render settings, output module, and output path.

  3. Choose Refresh on the submitter to see your composition in the composition list.

  4. Select the composition to render and choose Submit to submit a render job.

  5. If you see a warning about running a script file, suppress the warning messages by following the instructions in the popup.

  6. Install any Python libraries if prompted.

  7. Choose Submit to send your job to Deadline Cloud.

  8. Monitor the job and download the output using the Deadline Cloud monitor.

Advanced configurations

Using unsupported versions

Deadline Cloud only supports and tests the workstation and worker software versions in the table above. When using the submitter, the worker will attempt to install the same version as used on the workstation. This will fail if the workstation version of After Effects does not appear in the version table above.

If you require an unsupported version of After Effects, you have the following options:

  • When submitting the job from After Effects, you may override the CondaPackages queue parameter to specify a supported version to use on the worker (for example, aftereffects=2025). This may or may not work, depending on the features used by your scene and how After Effects works with scenes from your workstation version.

  • You may build a custom conda recipe and channel for your desired version to be installed on the worker. Use the conda recipe for a supported version linked below as a starting point, and package your desired version in a custom conda channel. For more information about creating custom conda channels, see Creating custom conda channels.

Open source resources

The submitter is open source and available on GitHub: