ArbiFX User Guide

🔥New feature

Code video to AE project

ArbiFX now supports working with Code2AE Skill to rebuild AI-generated HTML, Remotion, Hyperframe and other code-based videos as editable After Effects projects, faithfully reproducing their visuals and motion.

Tell your AI

Please install https://github.com/Oxoxxidane/Code2AE_skill

1. Follow the five-minute start to install ArbiFX and configure your API Key. Keep AE open and make sure ArbiFX → AFX has been applied to any layer.
2. Give your AI assistant the complete original code-based video project and required assets, then ask: “Use code2ae to rebuild this code-based video as an editable AE project. Faithfully reproduce the visuals and motion, check and correct any differences in AE, then save the project.”

Meet ArbiFX

ArbiFX has two parts: an After Effects plugin and the arbifx.com website.

ArbiFX is a highly controllable AI visual effects tool. Describe the effect you want in natural language, and ArbiFX generates a renderable, adjustable effect directly in After Effects. The parameters you care about appear in the Effect Controls panel, so you can keyframe them and link expressions just like any other AE effect.

Plugin: create in After Effects

• Use the AFX effect and its Start window to generate filters, particles, models, scenes and more from a text description.
• Attach an image, document or 3D model as a reference, and bring in your own OBJ models and SVG graphics.
• Results are applied straight to the layer and can respond to the comp camera and comp lights.
• Save effects as .afx files to reuse them later or share them with others.

Website: manage and share

• Browse public works from the community in the Gallery, preview them interactively and download their .afx files.
• Use the Dashboard to see everything you have generated with the plugin, choose what to make public, and manage API Keys, credits, plans and your account.
• Connect with other creators through likes, favorites and comments.

Five-minute start

Follow these steps in order to complete your first generation.

1. Go to arbifx.com, click Log in in the top-right corner, then create an account and verify your email. New accounts receive 1200 credits.
2. Back on the home page, choose Windows X64 in the Download section, then download and run the installer.
3. On the website, open Dashboard → API Keys, click Create New Key and copy the key.
4. Open After Effects and select a layer (a new adjustment layer is a good choice). In the Effects & Presets panel, find ArbiFX → AFX and apply it to the layer.
5. In the Effect Controls panel, click the Start button on the AFX row to open the Start window.
6. Click API Setting in the top-right corner of the Start window, paste your key and click Verify and Save.
7. In Effect description, write what you want, for example “a black hole accretion disk with hot orange gas swirling around the center”, then click Send.
8. Wait a moment. When you see Applied., the effect is on your layer. Adjust its parameters in Effect Controls, or keep describing changes in the Start window.

Sign up and log in

Create an account, log in, recover your password and link external accounts.

Create an account

1. Click Log in in the top-right corner of the website, then click Create account at the bottom of the sign-in page.
2. Enter your Display name, Email, Username and Password, then confirm the password.
3. If a human verification check appears, complete it, then click Create account.
4. Open the verification email and verify your address, then return to the website and sign in.

• Passwords must be 12–128 characters long.
• Usernames must be 1–128 letters, numbers or underscores and cannot start with a number. You can leave the username empty and set it later in the Dashboard.
• You can also click Continue with Google or Continue with X to sign up or sign in with an external account.

Sign in

Enter your Email or username and Password on the sign-in page. If your email has not been verified yet, we send another verification email. Verify it, then sign in again.

Recover your password

1. On the sign-in page, click Recover password, enter your registered email and click Next.
2. Complete the human verification check, then click Send verification email.
3. Open the link in the email, set a new password and return to sign in.

Install the plugin

Install and update the ArbiFX plugin on Windows.

Before you install

• You need 64-bit Windows with Adobe After Effects installed.
• Installation requires administrator rights.
• We recommend closing After Effects before installing.

Installation steps

1. On the website home page, scroll to the Download section, choose Windows X64 as the platform and click the download button.
2. Extract the downloaded archive and double-click the installer inside it.
3. Allow the installer to run as administrator when prompted, then read and accept the license agreement.
4. The installer finds the After Effects plug-in folder and installs there automatically. You don't need to choose a path.
5. When installation finishes, start After Effects. ArbiFX now appears in the effects list.

Update

When a new version is released, the Start window shows an “ArbiFX … is available” notice. Click Visit website to download the new installer and install it over the current version. Please update promptly: credits cannot be refunded for generation failures caused by not updating in time.

Add the AFX effect in After Effects

Apply AFX to a layer and learn the status and buttons in Effect Controls.

Add the effect

1. Select a layer in your composition. For filter-style effects, select the footage layer itself. For standalone particle or scene effects, we recommend creating a new adjustment layer or solid.
2. In the Effects & Presets panel, search for or expand ArbiFX and drag AFX onto the layer. You can also use the Effect → ArbiFX → AFX menu.
3. In the Effect Controls panel you will see an AFX: status row with Start and Reset buttons on the right.

Status

Buttons

• Start: opens the Start window for this effect, where you describe, generate and manage it.
• Reset: restores every parameter in Effect Controls to its default value. The generated effect itself is kept.

The Start window and API setup

Get to know the Start window and set up your API Key.

Layout

• Top bar: the AFX button on the left opens arbifx.com. On the right are the language switch, Text and font, OBJ assets, SVG assets, API Setting and the current status (for example Idle).
• Message area: shows each of your requests and the progress messages during generation.
• Input area: contains Effect description and Control parameters, plus tools for references, mentions, color, thinking level, save, load and send.

Change the interface language

Click the language button in the top bar to switch between English, 中文 and 日本語. The setting applies to every AFX effect and is remembered the next time you open the window.

Set up your API Key

1. First, create a key in Dashboard → API Keys on the website and copy it (see “Website dashboard”).
2. Click API Setting at the top of the Start window.
3. Leave Server URL at its default value.
4. If your network needs a proxy to reach the internet, enter the proxy address in Proxy. Otherwise, leave it empty.
5. Paste your key into API Key and click Verify and Save.
6. When verification succeeds, you'll see “Verified.” along with your current credit usage in the form “used / total”.

Once setup is complete, the hint in the input box changes from “Configure your API Key first.” to “Ready. Describe any effect to generate it instantly...”, which means you can start generating.

Describe and generate

Write a clear description and make good use of scene options, control parameters, references and thinking levels.

Effect description

Describe the image you want in Effect description in natural language. The more specific you are, the closer the result will be. It helps to say what the subject is, how it looks and what colors it uses, how it moves and how fast, and how it relates to the original footage (for example, layered over it or as a standalone background).

• Example: “A blue-violet energy ring in the center of the frame that slowly expands outward and fades, with small electric arcs flickering along its edge.”
• Pressing Enter adds a new line and does not send. Click the Send button when you're done.

Control parameters

In Control parameters, list the things you want to adjust in the Effect Controls panel, separated by commas, for example: “Rotation Speed, Glow Intensity, Main Color, Particle Count”. After generation, each one appears in Effect Controls as a suitable control, such as a slider, checkbox, color, angle or position.

Use Comp Camera

Check Use Comp Camera to make the generated effect follow the active camera in your composition. Camera movement, rotation and zoom are all reflected in the effect, which is ideal for work that has to match a 3D camera move.

Scene options

Click the + button in the input area to open Scene options and combine these switches:

Attach a reference

Click the paperclip Attach reference button, or drag a file onto the input box or paste it in, to attach a reference file that helps ArbiFX understand the style or content you want.

• Supported files are images (png, jpg, jpeg, webp, gif, bmp), documents (txt, md, json, pdf) and 3D models (obj, glb, gltf).
• Each file can be up to 20 MB. Only one reference is used at a time; if you pick several, only the first is used.
• Click the remove button on the reference to take it off.

Insert references

Click the @ button, or type @ in the description, to open the mention menu and insert the text and assets you have prepared:

• @TXT: the display text set in “Text and font”.
• @OBJ0 – @OBJ7: the OBJ model in the matching slot.
• @SVG0 – @SVG7: the SVG graphic in the matching slot.
• Use ↑ ↓ to choose, Tab or Enter to confirm and Esc to close the menu.

Example: “Form the text @TXT from converging particles while @OBJ0 slowly rotates behind it.”

Pick color

Click the palette Pick color button, choose a color and click Insert. The color value is inserted into your description so you can specify colors precisely.

Thinking level

The Thinking level sets how much thought ArbiFX puts into a generation. Choose Low, Medium (default), High or Extra High. Higher levels suit complex, detailed effects but take longer and use more credits. The thinking level applies to every AFX effect and is remembered.

Sending and generation

1. After you click Send, your request appears in the message area, followed by progress messages such as “Thinking...” and “Generating effect...”.
2. The input area is locked during generation. Only one generation task can run at a time.
3. When it finishes, you'll see Applied., and the status in Effect Controls changes to Applied Successfully.

• Your draft, conversation and any task in progress are kept even if you close the Start window or the project. Reopen it to pick up where you left off.
• Sending another description on the same AFX effect refines the current effect, for example “switch to cool colors and slow it down by half”.
• To start a completely new effect, add a new AFX effect.

Text, OBJ and SVG assets

Prepare text, 3D models and vector graphics to reference in your descriptions.

Text and font

1. Click Text and font in the top bar.
2. Enter the text you want to appear in the effect in Display text (up to 2048 characters).
3. Choose an installed font in Display font, or keep (Default Font).
4. Reference this text with @TXT in your effect description.

OBJ assets

Click OBJ assets in the top bar to load up to 8 OBJ models into slots 0–7. Reference them in your description as @OBJ0 – @OBJ7. The number on the button shows how many slots are in use.

1. Choose an OBJ file in a slot.
2. The material file (MTL) and up to 3 textures (png, jpg, jpeg, bmp, tga) in the same folder are loaded automatically. You can also choose or replace them manually.
3. A slot showing Ready can be used. If it shows Asset issue, check whether files are missing or damaged.
4. You can clear a single file or the whole slot.

SVG assets

Click SVG assets in the top bar to load up to 8 SVG graphics into slots 0–7, referenced as @SVG0 – @SVG7. They're ideal for logos, icons, paths and other vector graphics.

Adjust, save and load

Fine-tune effects in Effect Controls, and save or reuse them as .afx files.

Adjust in Effect Controls

After generation, the items you listed in Control parameters appear under the AFX effect. Like any AE parameter, you can drag them to adjust, set keyframes or link expressions to animate them.

Depending on the effect, Effect Controls may also show these fixed parameters:

Save an .afx file

Click Save in the Start window to save the current effect as an .afx file. The current parameter values in Effect Controls become the file's defaults, so you can reuse the look you've dialed in.

Load an .afx file

1. Add an AFX effect to a layer and click Start to open the Start window.
2. Click Load and choose an .afx file (for example, one downloaded from the Gallery).
3. The effect is applied to the layer right away. Keep adjusting its parameters, or send a new description to refine it.

Gallery and effect pages

Browse, preview, interact with and download community works.

Browse the Gallery

• Click Exploring on the home page to open the Gallery, which shows every work that creators have made public.
• Type keywords in the search box to find effects by title, summary or tag.
• Sort by Newest, Likes, Favorites, Views or Downloads, and click the arrow next to the sort option to switch between ascending and descending.
• Scroll to the bottom and click Load More to see more works.

Effect page

Click any card to open its effect page. Signed-out visitors see only the cover image; sign in to preview the effect interactively in your browser.

• Play / Pause preview: controls the animation.
• Reset: returns the animation and view to where they started.
• Controls: opens the parameter panel so you can adjust the work's parameters live and see how the effect changes.
• Preview image: switches the background image for filter-style effects.

Navigating the preview

Interact

• Click the like or favorite button to like a work or add it to your favorites. Favorited works appear under Favorites in the Dashboard.
• Post comments, Reply to other people's comments, or mark them Helpful.
• You can delete your own comments and replies. Deleting a comment also deletes the replies under it.

Download a work

Click Download on the effect page to get the work's .afx file, then load it in After Effects as described in “Adjust, save and load”.

• Free accounts can download 2 different works by other creators in any 24-hour period. Downloading the same work again in that period doesn't count twice, and your own works are not limited.
• With a Starter, Pro or Max plan, community downloads are unlimited.
• When you reach the limit, you'll see “You have reached today's download limit. Upgrade your plan to continue downloading.” Go to Credits & Plan to upgrade.

Website dashboard

After signing in, click your avatar or “Dashboard” in the top-right corner to manage everything.

History

Everything you generate with the plugin appears automatically in History. Works are private by default, so only you can see them.

• Click the switch under a work card (labeled Share Now) to Set Public and show the work in the Gallery. Click it again to Set Private.
• Click the gear Edit button to change the Cover (JPG, PNG or WebP, at least 480×480 pixels, up to 5MB) and to edit the Title and Summary.
• Write the title and summary as “English / Chinese / Japanese”, separating the three languages with slashes. The website shows each visitor the version in their language.
• Click the × button to Delete Work. The work and its files are permanently deleted and cannot be restored.
• Use the search box to find your own works.

Favorites

All the works you've favorited in the Gallery, in one place. Click one to return to its effect page.

Messages

You're notified here when someone replies to you, comments on your work, or likes your work or comments. System announcements are also posted here. The envelope icon in the website's top bar shows how many are unread, and Mark All Read clears them all at once.

API Keys

1. Click Create New Key, give it a name you'll recognize (for example “Studio PC”) and confirm.
2. The full key is shown only once. Copy it right away and keep it somewhere safe.
3. Paste the key into API Setting in the plugin's Start window to finish setup.

• Each account can keep up to 5 active API Keys.
• Once you delete a key, any plugin using it immediately stops being able to generate. If you forget or leak a key, delete the old one and create a new one.
• Don't share your key or post it publicly. Anything generated with your key uses your account's credits.

Credits & Plan

Shows your Total Credits and usage, and lets you subscribe to a plan, buy credit packs, redeem codes and manage your subscription. See the next chapter for details.

Account

• Avatar: upload a JPG, PNG or WebP image (up to 5MB), then drag and zoom to crop it.
• Nickname: edit it and click Save Changes.
• Change Username: change the username you sign in with.
• Password: change your sign-in password. Sessions on other devices are signed out afterwards.
• Email: change your registered email. You'll need to confirm the new address from your inbox.
• External accounts: link a Google or X account to sign in quickly with it.
• Log out: sign out on this device.

Credits and plans

How credits work, and how to buy plans and redeem codes.

What credits are

Every generation you start in the plugin uses credits. How many depends on the thinking level you choose. New accounts receive 1200 credits.

• Credits are deducted when a task is successfully created.
• If a generation fails on the server side, the deducted credits are restored automatically. Restoring credits is not a cash refund.
• Credits cannot be refunded for generation failures caused by not updating the plugin in time.
• Completed tasks are settled at the cost recorded when they were created; later price changes don't cause recalculation.

Plans and credit packs

• Your first month of a subscription is 20% off. After that, it renews automatically every month at the standard price.
• Credit packs are one-time purchases for topping up when you need to. They don't change your plan tier.
• Plan upgrades can be stacked. Your current plan shows Subscribed, and plans at the same or a lower tier can't be selected again.
• Available payment methods are shown on the checkout page.

Redeem a plan

1. Find Redeem a plan on the Credits & Plan page.
2. Enter your redemption code and click Redeem now.
3. When redemption succeeds, you'll see the plan length, monthly credits, the next credit refresh and when access ends.

If you don't have a code yet, click Get a code to go to the purchase page.

FAQ

If something isn't working, look for the answer here first.

Contact and policies

Get help and read the related agreements and policies.

For questions, suggestions or partnerships, email oxoxxidane@gmail.com. When reporting a problem, please include your account email, when it happened, screenshots and the steps you took, so we can help as quickly as possible.

Policies

• User Agreement
• Privacy Policy
• Disclaimer
• Pricing