[opensourcedex]

nexrender is a free, open source scheduling & event management project written in JavaScript and released under MIT. It has 1,853 GitHub stars, 348 forks and 0 open issues, and was last pushed 4 months ago. On this registry it ranks #12 of 23 tracked projects in Scheduling & Event Management, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available.

What is nexrender?

What it is

nexrender is an open-source JavaScript project for automating Adobe After Effects rendering workflows and creating data-driven, template-based videos. It lives in the Adobe After Effects and video-production ecosystem, is built with Node.js, and is released under the MIT license.

The concrete problem it solves is the need to repeat After Effects rendering with changing data instead of running each render manually. The project expresses that work as jobs, assets, actions, and dynamic parameters, then uses server and worker processes that can operate across a network.

Key capabilities

  • Automates Adobe After Effects rendering through jobs, assets, actions, and job states, so repeated render tasks can be defined and tracked programmatically.
  • Creates data-driven and template-based videos by replacing or supplying dynamic parameters in JSX scripts, with supported parameter types including string, number, array, object, and null.
  • Supports static assets, data assets, and script assets, allowing files, JSON data, and scripts to be attached to a render job.
  • Provides network rendering through nexrender-server and nexrender-worker binaries, plus an API for coordinating jobs across machines.
  • Runs as a JavaScript and Node.js toolchain with command-line, programmatic, and server or worker usage patterns described in the README.
  • Documents platform and environment considerations for Windows, Linux, WSL, path mapping, workpaths, and memory.

Who uses it and how

  • Users comfortable with scripting or development use it to turn After Effects templates into repeatable jobs that receive changing data such as JSON values, files, or script parameters.
  • Studios or render farms use nexrender-server and nexrender-worker to distribute rendering across machines, with the API or binaries coordinating work.
  • Developers integrate it into application workflows by building jobs programmatically, defining assets and actions, and reading job states to monitor rendering.
  • Users who need a managed option can use Nexrender Cloud, while users who need custom infrastructure can build on the open-source project.

Getting started

The README describes installation and usage through nexrender-server and nexrender-worker binaries, an API, and hosted Nexrender Cloud, with supported platforms and requirements documented for each binary.

When to use it — and when not to

Use it when you need self-hosted, scriptable automation for Adobe After Effects and can operate server and worker processes, path mapping, memory settings, and API integration. Avoid it when the workflow is not based on After Effects, when JavaScript and JSON are too technical for the team, or when a managed service is preferable; Nexrender Cloud is the hosted option. Self-hosting requires infrastructure decisions, and the provided README does not describe database, storage, or SMTP requirements.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

GitHub Release Date Made in Ukraine Discord server


Automate your <a href="https://github.com/inlife/awesome-ae">Adobe After Effects</a> rendering workflows. Create data-driven and template based videos.
Built with love using nodejs • Brought to you by @inlife and other contributors

Table of contents

Introduction

nexrender is a simple, small, carefully designed application with the main goal of rendering automation for Adobe After Effects based rendering workflows.

The information in this document is targeted at people at least somewhat comfortable with scripting or development, and who have basic knowledge of javascript language and json formats.

If coding isn’t your thing or you want a quick managed solution, we got you! We offer a range of services to help you get started much faster and hassle-free.

  • Nexrender Cloud is a ready-to-use SaaS rendering platform created with ease in mind and supplemented with additional features.
  • If you’re looking for something super flexible, tailored specifically to your unique needs, we also build custom infrastructures based on your requirements and integrated with your existing setup.
  • In case, you just need to render something very quickly, let us know too! We offer batch rendering just for such cases.

Features

  • data-driven, dynamic, personalized video rendering
  • automated video management, processing, and delivery
  • network-oriented project structure, render farm
  • highly modular nature, extensive plugin support
  • works only in cli mode, never launches After Effects GUI application
  • does not require licenses for Adobe After Effects on any worker machine
  • free to use and open source

How it works

  • rendering: It uses Adobe After Effects' aerender command-line interface application.
  • compositing: It creates a temporary folder, copies project and replaces assets with provided ones.
  • personalization: It uses AE's expressions, scripting, and compositing (noted above).
  • scheduling: It stores projects in a local database, managed from anywhere using http api.
  • network: It renders project per machine, and can be used to render several projects simultaneously.
  • farm: Can be used to render a single project on several machines via Multi-Machine Sequence.

Alternatives

The main alternative to our open-source project is Nexrender Cloud - our hosted SaaS platform with easy setup, additional features and best price on the market.

Among more expensive and less flexible alternatives, there is Plainly, a tool built on Nexrender infrastructure that offers cloud rendering. Another noteworthy option currently available is Dataclay's Templater bot edition.

Installation

You can download binaries directly from the releases section, or install them using npm, whichever option works better for you.

However, please note: the npm version of the binaries doesn't include all optional plugin packages that are covered in the usage section. If you wish to install them as well, please do so by providing each one individually:

npm i -g @nexrender/cli @nexrender/action-copy @nexrender/action-encode ...

Usage

We will be using nexrender-cli binary for this example. It's recommended to download/install it if you haven't already.

⚠ If using WSL check out wsl support

Job

A job is a single working unit in the nexrender ecosystem. It is a json document, that describes what should be done, and how it should be done. Minimal job description always should contain a pointer onto Adobe After Effects project, which is needed to be rendered, and a composition that will be used to render.

The pointer is src (string) field containing a URI pointing towards specified file, followed by composition (string) field, containing the name of the composition that needs to be rendered.

Note: check out supported protocols for src field.

readme truncated — read the full docs on github

Frequently asked questions

Is nexrender free to use?

nexrender is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does nexrender do?

📹 Data-driven render automation for After Effects

What is nexrender written in?

nexrender is primarily written in JavaScript. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/inlife/nexrender, and it has 1,853 GitHub stars.