1.0 Panel for Photoshop

Your PSD, ready for AE.

A PSD that looks perfect in Photoshop can fall apart in After Effects: clipping masks with nothing to clip to, adjustment layers that vanish, Pass Through groups that turn Normal, forty layers called Layer 14 copy. PixelForge finds all of it, fixes what it can on a copy, and exports what you need.

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v1.0.0 · macOS & Windows · Photoshop 2024 or later · Signed .zxp

This is the real panel. Run the audit, preview a rename, press Export — it works on a sample PSD. Inside Photoshop it reads your document.
4tabs
21audit checks
1undo per rename
0originals touched

How it works

Audit. Rename. Prep. Export.

PixelForge docks next to your Layers panel. The audit only reads, so start there. Everything that changes the file happens on a copy.

  1. Audit

    Read-only. Every blocker and warning, with the layers it applies to — click one to select it.

  2. Fix

    Rename in bulk with a preview first. Prep a clean copy: styles rasterized, leftovers gone.

  3. Import

    Bring the PSD into After Effects — or export one file per layer, group or artboard.

Report
Summary
0Blockers
0Warnings
0Notes

Read-only — nothing was changed

Run the audit
Before
After 7 renamed · one undo
Apply
Canvas — on a copy

Leftovers deleted, canvas trimmed — your PSD is untouched

Layers
/exports

PNG, JPG or WebP · 0.5× to 3×

Everything inside

Four tabs. The whole handoff.

Audit

Read-only. Start here — nothing on this tab changes your document.

  • Blockers: not RGB, clipping masks, adjustment layers, Pass Through and Dissolve, Pattern Overlay, linked smart objects
  • Warnings: 32 bit, duplicate and default names, deep nesting, embedded smart objects, vector masks, warped text
  • Notes: hidden, empty and off-canvas layers, faux styles, layer styles in use
  • Click a layer in the report to select it · copy the report as text

Rename

Names that still make sense once the PSD is a comp.

  • Clean leftovers: copy, copy 2, and Layer 14 becomes its type
  • Find & replace, with regular expressions if you want them
  • Prefix by type — TXT_, IMG_, SH_, GRP_ — and number from the top or bottom
  • Case: lower, UPPER, snake, kebab, camel · preview first, one undo

Prep

The destructive fixes, always on a duplicate of your document.

  • Rasterize layer styles — the only way Pattern Overlay survives
  • Rasterize smart objects at their current size
  • Delete hidden layers and empty layers and groups
  • Open up groups nested too deep · trim the canvas · split artboards

Export

One file per item, on a throwaway copy that closes itself.

  • Top-level, selected, every group, every layer or every artboard
  • PNG with transparency, JPG or WebP with quality
  • 0.5×, 1×, 2×, 3× in one go · trim with padding · name prefix
  • Progress as it goes, and a Stop button

The details

Made for the file someone else sent you.

Your PSD is never touched

The audit only reads. Prep and Export duplicate the document first and work on the copy — Export even closes its copy without saving when it's done.

Every rename is one undo

Preview shows old and new names side by side. Apply renames the whole batch as a single history step, so Ctrl/Cmd + Z puts everything back.

It explains, not just flags

Each finding says what will happen on import and what to do about it — in words a motion designer would use, not Photoshop's.

Click to find it

Every layer in the report is a link. Click it and it's selected in Photoshop, even three groups deep.

Works in any language

Layers are read by ID and by Photoshop's own descriptors, not by English names — localised versions of Photoshop are fine.

Same family, same feel

PixelForge sits next to MotionKit and FrameSmith: the same panel design, the same status bar, the same way of working.

Install

Three steps, one minute.

PixelForge is a signed extension, like MotionKit and FrameSmith. No Terminal, no developer tools. Same steps on macOS and Windows.

  1. Download PixelForge

    One signed .zxp file.

    Download v1.0.0

  2. Install it with one drag

    Get the free ZXP Installer from aescripts, open it and drag the .zxp onto the window.

  3. Open it

    Restart Photoshop, then Window → Extensions (Legacy) → PixelForge. Dock it next to your Layers panel.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is it really free?

Yes. On Gumroad you can enter $0 and download it, or pay what you think it's worth if it saves you an afternoon. There's no account to create and no trial — it's the full panel.

Which versions of Photoshop does it work with?

Photoshop 2024 and later, on macOS and Windows. It lives under Window → Extensions (Legacy), which is where Photoshop lists signed panels like this one.

Will it change my file?

The Audit tab cannot — it only reads. Rename changes layer names, as one undo. Prep and Export work on a duplicate of your document, so the file you have open is never changed.

Do I still need to fix things by hand?

Some, yes. Clipping masks and adjustment layers need a decision about how you want them in After Effects, so PixelForge points you straight at them rather than guessing. Everything that can be fixed safely, Prep fixes.

Does it work with MotionKit and FrameSmith?

They're a family: FrameSmith for Illustrator, PixelForge for Photoshop, MotionKit for After Effects — the same naming conventions and the same way of working, so the handoff between them is clean.

Stop renaming layers by hand.

Download the panel

v1.0.0 · Photoshop 2024+ · macOS & Windows