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If using another version of After Effects, change “2025” to your version. Table of Contents

Windows

Presets

User Presets: \Documents\Adobe\After Effects 2025\User Presets All user presets (presets which you made yourself or downloaded online) should be saved to and imported here. Default Presets: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects 2025\Support Files\Presets This location is reserved for default presets. Adding or removing items in this location is not recommended. Extention: .ffx

Plugins

Local: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects 2025\Support Files\Plug-ins Plug-ins installed here are unique to that specific version of After Effects (ex: 2025) and are usually manually installed here by the user.
Some plugins may also be installed to the sub-folder \Effects
Common: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Common\Plug-ins\7.0\MediaCore Plug-ins installed here are often (not always) compatible with both After Effects and Premiere Pro, visible in all versions, and are typically installed via an installer. Extension: .aex

Extensions

System: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions or C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions User: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CEP\extensions (if you don’t have administrator). Extension: Folder, typically consist of many sub-folders such as CSXS, META-INF, etc.

Scripts

Dockable scripts: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects 2025\Support Files\Scripts\ScriptUI Panels Non-dockable scripts: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects 2025\Support Files\Scripts Most scripts are dockable, it’s unlikely that you’ll install an undockable script unless you’re a developer. Extension: .jsx or .jsxbin

MacOS

Presets

User Presets: ~/Documents/Adobe/After Effects 2025/User Presets All user presets (presets which you made yourself or downloaded online) should be saved to and imported here. Default Presets: /Applications/Adobe After Effects 2025/Presets This location is reserved for default presets. Adding or removing items in this location is not recommended. Extension: .ffx

Plugins

Local: /Applications/Adobe After Effects 2025/Plug-ins/ Plug-ins installed here are unique to that specific version of After Effects (ex: 2025) and are usually manually installed here by the user.
Some plugins may also be installed to the sub-folder /Effects
Common: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/Plug-ins/7.0/MediaCore Plug-ins installed here are often (not always) compatible with both After Effects and Premiere Pro, visible in all versions, and are typically installed via an installer. Extension: .plugin

Extensions

System: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions User: /Users/<user>/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions Extension: Folder, typically consist of many sub-folders such as CSXS, META-INF, etc.

Scripts

Dockable scripts: /Applications/Adobe After Effects 2025/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels Nnon-dockable scripts: /Applications/Adobe After Effects 2025/Scripts Most scripts are dockable, it’s unlikely that you’ll install an undockable script unless you’re a developer. Extension: .jsx or .jsxbin