Project Compass
See what an After Effects project really uses before you clean it up.
Working Available to download. Below, a browser demo on sample data.
The problem
Cleaning up an After Effects project you inherited is risky. Delete the wrong file and something breaks without warning.
What I built
A script that checks which items the main composition really uses, marks the unclear ones for review, and suggests a folder plan you can undo.
- Used, unsure or unused, with a reason
- Reads references inside expressions
- Never deletes anything
Download for After EffectsTry the browser demo
Features and limits
Built and tested
- Follows everything the main comp reaches: layers, nested comps, mattes, and comps or footage named inside expressions.
- Three verdicts, each with a reason: Used, Check and Unused.
- Anything uncertain goes to Check, never to Unused: switched-off layers, guide layers and names that could mean two things.
- If an expression builds a name in code, everything counts as possibly used, because a script cannot prove otherwise.
- Points out expressions that refer to items missing from the project.
- Moves items into _Compass folders, with an undo plan that puts every item back.
Limits
- Organizes items into folders. It does not delete project items.
- Tested in After Effects 26.5.0 on macOS 27.0.1 on a sample project. Not tested on Windows or on very large projects yet.
- Expressions are read by pattern: comp("Name") and footage("Name"). Other ways of reaching an item are not detected yet.
- Effects that point to other layers, such as a Displacement Map source, are not traced yet.
- The empty _Compass folders stay in the project after an undo.
Planned
Effects that point to other layers, more expression patterns, and testing on Windows.
How to use
- Pick the main comp, or load a project model exported from After Effects.
- Read the verdict and the reason for each item.
- Decide whether switched-off and guide layers count as used for this cleanup.
- Export the move plan, and keep the undo plan next to it.
How it works
- Builds a graph from the main comp through layers, nested comps, mattes and expression references.
- An item reached only through a switched-off or guide layer is marked Check, never Unused.
- The move plan and the undo plan are generated together, so every move can be reversed.
Tested versions & limits
- Pass Unit: layers, precomps, mattes, expressions followed Node 22, Linux
- Pass Unit: disabled and guide layers are Check, never Unused Node 22, Linux
- Pass Unit: ambiguous names, computed expressions, missing references Node 22, Linux
- Pass Unit: plan only moves; undo restores every folder Node 22, Linux
- Pass Browser: audit, toggle, main-comp switch Chromium (Playwright)
- Pass Host script on a mock After Effects project: export, plan, undo plan; every item back, layers unchanged; backups never overwritten Node 22, Linux
- Pass Browser: loads a model exported by the host script; rejects an invalid one Chromium (Playwright), Linux
- Pass Host: export, apply the move plan and the undo plan inside After Effects After Effects 26.5.0, macOS 27.0.1
Last verified 2026-11-01.
The audit logic is built and tested, and the page loads a model exported from After Effects. The host script ran in After Effects 26.5.0 on macOS 27.0.1 on a fictional project: the exported model audited to the expected verdicts, the move plan and the undo plan were applied with backups first, and layers, sources, mattes and expressions stayed identical. Evidence: labs/host-tests/results/2026-10-31-mac-t03.
Details
- Input
- An After Effects project and its main comp
- Output
- A report of what is used, and a reversible folder cleanup
- Runs in
- An After Effects script that exports the project and applies the folder plan, tested in After Effects 26.5.0 on macOS 27.0.1. The audit on this page runs in your browser.
- Source
- Original, rebuilt from scratch