Every release.

Improved

• Prism Lens now has a 16:9 build. Landscape compositions get a version made for them instead of the vertical one with a mismatch warning, and only the build you need is downloaded.

Added

• Fast Shutter, a snappy shutter-style transition, built for both 9:16 and 16:9 compositions.
• Prism Lens, a prismatic dispersion transition, for 9:16 compositions.

Improved

• Complex transition cards now show a still frame from the transition instead of a flat black thumbnail, so you can tell them apart before hovering.

Fixed

• Applying a Complex transition into a project that already contained another one could fail to find its media. Each transition's compositions are now named distinctly, which also makes the Project panel far easier to read once several are applied.

Added

• A search box in the Sounds library. Filters your favorites and folders by name as you type, showing matches from every folder in one list with the folder each came from. Broad searches show the first 200 matches so large libraries stay responsive.
• Sounds search now tells you when a folder can't be reached, rather than quietly returning nothing — useful if your library lives on an external drive.

Fixed

• The play button and time in the Sounds player now line up with the waveform, and the track name reads from the left instead of being centered.

Added

• A horizontal build of Distorted Lens. MotionLab now picks the right one from your composition — 16:9 comps get the horizontal version, 9:16 the vertical — and only downloads the one it needs.

Improved

• Complex transitions now sit at the top of the Transitions tab, with a note explaining which aspect ratios they're built for and that they need two adjoining clips selected.
• Basic transitions read as a list matching the Shakes tab, with previews playing in the side panel instead of cropped into a thumbnail.
• The Transitions preview panel resizes with the panel like every other tab, rather than staying oversized when the panel is short.

Fixed

• Distorted Lens referenced a film grain clip that wasn't bundled with it, so it imported with missing footage. The grain layer has been removed and the transition applies cleanly.
• Removed a Save Transition button that wasn't connected to anything yet.

Added

• Distorted Lens, the first Complex transition. Select two adjoining clips and it applies across the cut, overlaying the transition without disturbing your original layers.
• Complex transitions download the first time you use one, then apply instantly from then on — so new transitions can ship without growing the extension.

Improved

• Complex transitions check your composition's aspect ratio first and warn before applying when a transition was built for a different shape.

Fixed

• Preview thumbnails could stay blank if the panel was opened while a new preview was still publishing. They now recover on their own.

Added

• New Transitions tab in the sidebar, with Basic and Complex groupings and a hover preview rail.

Improved

• Transitions now live in their own tab instead of the Main tab, leaving Main focused on General, Trimming, Speed and Effects.
• Much smaller, faster install. The installer drops from about 50 MB to under 1 MB now that preview videos stream from motionlab.tools instead of shipping inside the extension.

Added

• Flash thumbnails now play a live video preview on hover, with a gradient fallback for flashes that don't yet have a video asset.

Improved

• Contact form submissions now send through MotionLab's own servers for more reliable delivery

Security Fixes

• Removed a third-party dependency from the contact form; messages now send securely through MotionLab's own servers
• Hardened license sign-in against repeated code-guessing attempts
• Added validation to update links and tightened error handling in account services
• Replaced the license-key copy action with a safer clipboard method

Fixed

• Shakes, Flashes, Transitions (Fade In, Slide, Scale In, Spin In), and Workflow Adjustment Layers no longer apply to the end of reversed (negative-stretch) layers. AE swaps `inPoint`/`outPoint` for reversed layers; the apply functions now use min/max to anchor to the real visible-start of the clip.

Improved

• Pre-Compose button now opens a MotionLab dialog that mirrors After Effects' native Pre-Compose dialog (name input, Leave / Move all attributes radios, Open New Composition checkbox), and applies your chosen Pre-Comp label color to both the timeline layer and the project panel item

Fixed

• Pre-Compose now correctly sizes the new precomp layer when any of the selected layers has reversed time stretch (negative speed)

Added

• Layer Label Colors in Settings > Appearance — pick a custom timeline label color for Null, Solid, Adjustment, Text, and Pre-Comp layers created from MotionLab (or choose "None" to use After Effects' own default)

Improved

• Pre-Compose button now opens After Effects' native Pre-Compose dialog, allowing you to rename the precomp and choose attribute options exactly like the menu command

Added

• New "Sidebar Hover Expand" toggle in Settings → Appearance — when enabled, hovering the condensed sidebar on small panels expands it to reveal tab labels (overlays content rather than reflowing).

Added

• New unified **Library** tab combining Presets and Sounds with a segmented switcher to toggle between the two.
• Favorite sounds in the Sounds library now display a play icon for consistency with the rest of the list.
• Soft fade gradient behind the sticky Sounds preview so list items dissolve into the panel background as you scroll.

Added

• Waveform timeline visualization on the Sounds preview player.
• Click a sound's play icon to lock playback so you can scrub the waveform without moving the mouse away. Click the stop icon to release.
• Pause and resume the locked sound from the sticky preview player's play/pause button.

Improved

• Sounds preview is now sticky to the header so it stays visible while browsing the library.
• Hovering other sounds while a track is locked no longer interrupts playback.
• Simplified the Kinetic > Solids step by removing the Change Color button.
• Streamlined the Workflows picker to focus on Kinetic.
• Removed Dynamic Zoom from the Styling > Kinetic panel.
• Workflow accordion now adapts better to short viewport heights and keeps the Close button visible.

Fixed

• Adding a solid on the Kinetic panel now respects the Frames slider instead of spanning the full composition.
• Enable Time Remap no longer adds a duplicate keyframe at the end of the layer.
• Adding a sound to favorites no longer collapses all folders in the library.
• Sound row icons and the sticky player now reset to the default state when playback stops.

Added

• Params indicator dot on Flashes buttons, matching the Main panel pattern
• Secondary-button style for Close actions in workflow accordion steps
• Short-viewport media queries so all 9 Kinetic workflow steps fit in smaller panels

Improved

• Glass theme extended to all panel dialogs (effect picker, preset picker, param modal, contact, confirm, upgrade)
• Built-in Shakes redesigned as rows to match the User Saved shakes layout (removed redundant squiggle SVGs)
• Params pills replaced with a solid blue dot indicator across all panels
• Contact form restyled with the Glass theme
• Landing site (shared, home, pricing, releases, success) ported to the Glass design language
• Workflow accordion spacing unified — consistent vertical rhythm between description, action buttons, and Close
• User Shakes no longer hijack the preview panel on hover
• Workflow picker simplified to the Kinetic style (coming-soon placeholders removed)

Fixed

• Shake Flash layer now renders exactly 10 frames (was inheriting the comp duration)
• Workflow accordion steps no longer clip the Close button when many steps are expanded
• Removed orphan "Params" text and unused `--accent-glow` token during code cleanup

Added

• Overflow "More" menu in the sidebar consolidating Contact, Clear Clip, and Purge Cache
• Compact button layout toggle in Settings > Appearance (icon-only main actions)

Improved

• Speed section redesigned as a single segmented control (25/50/75 | 150/300/500)
• Ambient animation on preview panel placeholders for a less static idle state
• Unified modal chrome across param, confirm, upgrade, and trial overlays (matching backdrop blur, radius, borders, and shadow)
• Refreshed AI tab icon to a twin-sparkle mark

Fixed

• Main action button icons now inherit the green/red flash color on apply (previously pinned to accent)
• More menu now positions correctly next to its trigger instead of being clipped by the sidebar
• Removed dead CSS left behind by the sidebar restructure

Added

• Add Keyframe button on the Curves tab now works on any keyframeable property, not just Time Remap
• Enable Time Remap button only shows on layers eligible for time remapping

Improved

• Curve easing applies across all consecutive selected keyframes on a property in a single click
• Add Keyframe button only appears when the selected layer has a property ready to receive a keyframe

Fixed

• Easing math now uses signed speed throughout, so reversed (decreasing-value) segments round-trip correctly between the curve editor and AE's graph editor
• Multi-keyframe selections in the AE timeline no longer collapse to a single keyframe when the Curves panel polls

Added

Improved

• License key inputs (Settings tab and trial overlay) now mask characters as the user types
• Combined Sounds and Beats into a single tab

Fixed

• License activation and email verification failing due to Stripe API change

Added

• Direction indicator (Forward/Reverse) between Start and End time inputs on the Curves tab
• Multi-keyframe segment navigator with prev/next buttons, clickable strip, and segment label
• Editable time remap value inputs (Start/End) with AE-style timecode format and click-drag scrub

Improved

• Combined Sounds and Beats into a single tab
• Easing now applies correctly to reversed (decreasing value) time remap segments

Fixed

• Curve editor handles now match AE's graph editor for reversed segments
• Time remap display uses AE-style semicolon format (MM;SS;FF)

Added

• Segment navigator strip on Curves tab showing all keyframes with prev/next navigation and click-to-select
• Time remap value inputs (Start/End) with click-drag scrub to adjust keyframe values

Added

• Add Keyframe button on Curves tab to insert a time remap keyframe at the playhead

Improved

• Panel now fades in after settings are loaded, preventing flash of default blue theme on startup

Added

• Log to Rec 709 color conversion in Styling tab (Sony S-Log3, Canon C-Log2, Canon C-Log3, Panasonic V-Log)

Improved

• Style tab renamed to Styling
• Color section moved above Editing Styles

Fixed

• Update banner no longer pushes panel content sideways
• "What's new" and "Update" links now open in default browser
• Update button click now works correctly in CEP

Added

• Reset button to Settings > Project Timer

Improved

• Project Timer
• Security Audit

Added

• Email sign-in: activate your license by entering your purchase email instead of pasting an activation key. Subscription over One-time purchase
• Verification code flow: 6-digit code sent to your email, expires in 10 minutes
• Activation key displayed in Account section (truncated, click to copy)

Added

• Yearly subscription billing option (Starter, Pro, Full)
• Billing toggle on pricing page (one-time / yearly)
• In-panel update checker with dismissible banner
• Manage Subscription button in Settings for yearly subscribers
• Stripe Customer Portal link for subscription management
• Upgrade credit email input on pricing page for returning users

Improved

• Upgrade credits now apply to first yearly payment
• Purchase confirmation email includes subscription management link for yearly plans
• Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy updated for yearly subscriptions
• FAQ section expanded with subscription and billing questions
• Coupons now expire after 6 months

Fixed

• Upgrade credit display now persists when toggling between one-time and yearly pricing

Improved

• Device count now refreshes on every panel load instead of only on activation

Added

• Device count display in Account section (e.g. "MacBook-Pro (1 of 2)")
• Auto-verify license on panel load when settings are incomplete
• Purchase date now synced from Stripe across all devices
• Billing name collection at checkout
• AI function name validation for security
• Version number auto-read from manifest

Improved

• CORS restricted to motionlab.tools on all server functions
• Price ID validation on checkout
• HTML-escaped customer data in purchase emails
• Generic error messages on server responses (no internal details leaked)
• Consolidated duplicate settings loader

Fixed

• Panel crash when Debug button was hidden (null element error)
• Account section not loading on panel reopen
• Settings not recognized after reopening panel
• Releases link missing from Terms and Privacy page navigation

Added

• Main panel with General tools: Pre-Compose, Adjustment Layer, Solid, Null, Text, Fit to Comp, Freeze Frame, Duplicate, Split
• Speed controls: Default, Reverse, percentage buttons (25%–500%) with timeline position preservation
• Transitions with customizable parameters and live preview: Fade In/Out, Slide (4 directions), Scale In/Out, Spin In
• Effects section: Warp Stabilizer, 3D Camera Tracker, Track Motion, Warp In/Out, Wide In/Out
• Trimming tools: Trim In/Out and Snap In/Out to playhead
• Pixel Motion and Motion Blur toggles
• Stagger Layers with configurable frame offset and direction
• Presets tab: Save individual effects, full layer effect stacks, and import .ffx animation presets from AE's Presets folder
• Searchable effect picker with every After Effects effect
• Curve Editor tab: Interactive bezier curve editor with draggable control points, save/load curve presets, read and write keyframe easing
• Shakes tab with live video preview: Light Shake, Heavy Shake, Zoom Shake, Warp, Glitch, Flicker
• Custom shake presets: Save and reuse your own camera shakes
• Flashes tab with live video preview: White, Black, Strobe, Pulse, Color, Screen, Film Burn, Invert, Desaturate, Light Leak, Camera Flash, Flash + Blur
• Custom flash presets: Save flash configurations with colors and effects
• Sounds tab: Import folders from local drives, expandable subfolder tree, hover to preview audio, click to add to composition
• Sound favorites with persistent storage
• Beats tab: Automatic beat detection with adjustable threshold and minimum spacing, comp marker placement and clearing
• Editing Styles tab: Guided multi-step workflows with collapsible accordion steps (Kinetic style included, more styles coming soon)
• AI Assistant tab: Natural-language commands powered by Claude — describe what you want and let AI apply effects, transitions, and adjustments (requires API key)
• Tiered licensing: Starter, Pro, and Full plans with feature gating per tier
• 30-day free trial with activation key
• In-panel upgrade flow: View Plans button opens pricing page with upgrade credit applied
• Device management: Activation limited to 2 devices per license with in-panel deactivation
• Account section in Settings: Name, email, plan, status, purchase date, and active device
• Appearance customization: Accent color hue, background hue/saturation, glow intensity, font size
• Built-in contact form with file attachment support