py_aep Documentation¶

Welcome to the py_aep documentation! This library provides a Python interface for parsing Adobe After Effects project files (.aep).

About¶

py_aep is a Python library that parses Adobe After Effects project files (.aep), which are binary files encoded in RIFX format. The library uses Kaitai Struct to parse the binary format and provides a clean, typed Python API to access project data.

Installation¶

uv add py-aep

pip install py-aep

Quick Start¶

import py_aep

app = py_aep.parse("myproject.aep")
project = app.project
comp = project.compositions[0]

# Modify composition settings
comp.frame_rate = 30

# Modify a layer property
opacity = comp.layers[0].transform.opacity
opacity.value = 50

# Save to a new file
project.save("modified.aep")

See the Quick Start guide for examples.

Key Concepts¶

Project Structure¶

An After Effects project has a hierarchical structure:

Application
└── Project
    ├── FolderItem
    │   ├── CompItem
    │   │   ├── AVLayer ──────────┐
    │   │   ├── TextLayer ────────┤
    │   │   ├── ShapeLayer ───────┤
    │   │   ├── ThreeDModelLayer ─┤
    │   │   ├── CameraLayer ──────┤
    │   │   ├── LightLayer ───────┘──▶ PropertyGroup
    │   │   ├── Guide                  ├── Property
    │   │   └── Viewer                 │   ├── Keyframe
    │   │       └── View               │   │   └── KeyframeEase
    │   │           └── ViewOptions    │   ├── MarkerValue
    │   └── FootageItem                │   └── Shape
    │       ├── Viewer                 │       └── FeatherPoint
    │       │   └── View               ├── MaskPropertyGroup
    │       │       └── ViewOptions    └── PropertyGroup (nested)
    │       ├── FileSource                 └── ...
    │       ├── SolidSource
    │       └── PlaceholderSource
    ├── TextDocument
    │   └── FontObject
    │
    └── RenderQueue
        └── RenderQueueItem
            └── OutputModule

Data Model¶

The library provides classes that mirror After Effects' object model:

• Application: Application-level object (version, build number, active viewer)
• Viewer, View, ViewOptions: Viewer panels and view settings
• Project: Root project object
• Item, AVItem, FolderItem, CompItem, FootageItem: Project items
• AVLayer, TextLayer, ShapeLayer, ThreeDModelLayer, CameraLayer, LightLayer: Layer types
• PropertyBase, Property, PropertyGroup, MaskPropertyGroup: Layer properties
• Keyframe, KeyframeEase, MarkerValue, Shape, FeatherPoint: Animation and property value data
• Guide: Composition ruler guide
• FootageSource, FileSource, SolidSource, PlaceholderSource: Footage sources
• TextDocument, FontObject: Text layer data
• RenderQueue, RenderQueueItem, OutputModule: Render queue

API Reference¶

Browse the API Reference for detailed documentation of all classes and methods.

Contributing¶

Contributions are welcome! See the Contributing Guide to get started, or visit the GitHub repository for more information.

License¶

This project is licensed under the MIT License.