System Scanner
One click inspects your OS, RAM, GPU, AE version, disk cache and preferences — then grades everything green, yellow or red, with a "since your last scan" diff.
For Adobe After Effects · CEP Panel + Native Windows Service
Your After Effects,
Your After Effects,
in perfect health.
AE Doctor scans your machine, your plugins and your projects — finds exactly what's slowing down or crashing After Effects, and shows you the exact fix. One click applies it with Pro.
The smartest way to diagnose optimize repair supercharge your After Effects.
Currently available for Windows only — macOS support is under evaluation for future releases.
Runs locally · No data leaves your machine · Free tier forever · Windows 10/11 only
0
Diagnostic modules
0 ms
Sensor refresh rate
0+
Known fixes in database
0
Bytes leave your machine
The problem
Sound familiar?
- Renders crash right before the final frame — and the error code doesn't tell you why.
- RAM preview stutters while Chrome quietly eats 9 GB in the background.
- You spend hours on forums guessing which of dozens of plugins is the culprit.
- Your disk cache lives on the wrong drive — and nobody ever told you.
Stop guessing. AE Doctor finds the exact cause — and shows you exactly how to fix it (Pro fixes it for you).
Live interactive demo
Don't watch a video. Use it.
An exact recreation of the real panel UI, running right here in your browser. Click around, run a scan, fix the issues, fire up ICU Mode — exactly like you would inside After Effects.
After Effects ▸ Window ▸ Extensions ▸ AE Doctor
Live demo
AE Doctor
System Health Scan · Live Demo
2 warnings
Welcome to AE Doctor
The smartest way to diagnose optimize repair supercharge your After Effects.
Ready to check your setup
Press Scan below to inspect your AE version, GPU, memory, disk cache, and installed plug-ins.
Knowledge Base
Paste an error message — get the exact fix.
Try a real error:
Match found · 98% confidence
Cached preview needs 2 or more frames
Your RAM reservation is too low for the current resolution…
No match in our 100+ documented issues
We haven't seen this one yet
One click sends this error — plus your hardware spec, if you've opted in — straight to our support Discord as a tracked thread. Most unknown issues get a documented fix within days.
Plugin Manager
8 plug-ins · 1 error · 1 warning · 1 duplicateLive Hardware Monitor
Streaming from the native C# companion · 1,000 ms refresh
Total System Power
312W
Live tracking · ws://localhost:8099
AI Diagnostics
System Stable
Temperatures, memory, and storage are optimal. Excellent environment for heavy rendering and caching.
Fan Control
CPU Fan
Noctua NH-D15
GPU Fan
RTX 4080
Case Fan
Front intake ×3
Thermal Zones
CPU
Ryzen 9 7950X
GPU
RTX 4080
VRM
Motherboard
NVMe
Samsung 990 Pro
Memory Modules
RAM Module 1
32 GB · DDR5-6000
RAM Module 2
32 GB · DDR5-6000
Storage Drives
C: — System Drive
39°C
Capacity Used84%
Read Speed
210.4 MB/s
Write Speed
96.1 MB/s
D: — NVMe Scratch (Samsung 990 Pro)
47°C
Capacity Used12%
Read Speed
3120.8 MB/s
Write Speed
2870.3 MB/s
Performance Boost
ICU Mode
Frees RAM from background apps (Chrome, Discord, Spotify…) and gives After Effects CPU priority. Fully reversible — nothing is closed.
ICU active — freed 6.4 GB from 17 background apps · After Effects now has CPU priority.
Background Processes
System Memory18.6 / 64.0 GB
After Effects.exe AE
4.8 GB
Chrome Background ×42
9.1 GB
Discord Background
960 MB
Spotify Background
410 MB
System Tools
Project Optimizer
Crash-risk & performance advisor for your open comp
Scanned MainComp_4K_v12.aep · 14 layers · 3 precomps · 2.1 GB footage
Optimize your current project
Press Scan Open Project to flag resolution, layer, codec and memory risks — with fixes tuned to your hardware.
Settings
Every switch is real — this is the exact settings page inside the plugin.Scanner & Engine
Deep Scan Mode
Scan subdirectories inside Scripts and Plugins folders (slower but more thorough).
Hardware & Session Monitoring
Poll live CPU, GPU and VRAM temperatures, and run the background watcher that detects After Effects errors.
Developer Debug Mode
Write verbose scan logs to a local file for IT and support diagnostics.
Interface & Behavior
Auto-Scan on Launch
Automatically run a system health scan when the panel opens.
Auto-Fix Safe Issues
Automatically apply safe local fixes (like clearing cache) when issues are found. Pro fixes always ask before running.
Intelligent Auto-Save
Automatically save your AE project periodically to prevent data loss.
Data & Privacy
Include Hardware Specs in Reports
Attach your OS, total RAM and GPU model to bug reports you choose to send. Nothing is collected in the background.
Your Discord Username
Optional — so we can @mention you in the bug report thread if we need more details.
Custom Support Webhook
Route "Report Issue" tickets to your own studio's Discord/Slack instead of AE Doctor's public server.
Clear Scan History
Permanently delete all saved scan reports from this machine.
Ignored Issues (Whitelist)
Clear the list of hidden issues so they appear in scans again.
Community & Resources
Join the Community
Get help, share renders, and chat with other AE Doctor users on Discord.
AE Doctor Website
Release notes, pricing, and the full Known Issues library.
Need Help?
Contact support directly — most tickets get a reply same day.
Tip: press Scan, then fix the two warnings. Or open Live Hardware and hit ICU Mode.
Eight modules. One panel.
Everything your AE setup needs
Everything your AE setup needs
to stay fast and stable.
From one-click diagnosis to ring-0 hardware telemetry — AE Doctor covers the whole stack, inside the app you already work in.
Smart Auto-Save
After Effects' native auto-save buries your SSD under dozens of bloated, redundant copies. AE Doctor saves your real project on a clean timer — or every N clicks — so you never lose a keyframe without suffocating your disk. One file, zero clutter.
Plugin Manager — 1-Click Isolator
Hit a cryptic Error 5027:12? AE Doctor inventories every script and plug-in on your machine — hundreds of them — and flags duplicate conflicts, 32-bit relics and version clashes instantly, free. Pro reveals the full install path and isolates the corrupt .aex or .jsx file with one click, so you never have to dig through hidden Program Files\Adobe folders yourself. 100% local.
Project Optimizer
Deep-scans your open comp for the real timeline-killers — 8K precomps, layer bombs, heavy motion-blur stacks and long-GOP codecs (raw MP4s, WhatsApp clips) that choke playback. Free shows you exactly what's wrong; Pro applies the exact fix — proxy, pre-render or transcode — tuned to your actual hardware, and every proxy or transcode can be undone in one click if you change your mind.
ICU Mode — Performance Boost Windows only
Don't let 50 Chrome tabs and Electron apps (Claude, Discord, Spotify) choke your preview. One switch force-flushes their bloated working-set memory into the Windows standby cache and parks them on your CPU's efficiency cores — nothing closed, everything reversible. Reclaim 3–8 GB+ of RAM instantly and raise After Effects' scheduling priority while exempting it from CPU throttling.
Built-in A/B benchmark: same comp, measurably faster renders
CPU share shown from one internal test comp — results vary by hardware and workload.
Live Hardware Telemetry Windows only
Real-time power draw and CPU/GPU temperature stream free for every tier — the same class of sensor data Fan Control and HWMonitor read, through the same native, low-level driver access those tools need. Pro unlocks the rest of the monitor (fan RPM, per-DIMM RAM, storage health, live per-app RAM view) plus AI Diagnostics, which translates all of it into a plain verdict for the render you're about to hit: "excellent environment for heavy rendering," or an early warning before it costs you one.
Power
312W
CPU
62°C
GPU
71°C
GPU Fan · Pro
1860RPM
Smart Knowledge Base
Paste any cryptic AE error — fuzzy search matches it against 100+ documented issues and shows the exact cause, free. You could paste the same error into ChatGPT and get a similar-sounding answer. What you won't get from ChatGPT: a watcher that catches the error popup automatically, before you've even alt-tabbed to look it up, and a "Fix it for me" button that applies the repair directly inside After Effects — no copy-pasting, no guessing which generic step actually applies to your AE version. Free for every user, no upgrade required.
One-Click Bug Reporting
Hit an error nobody has seen before? One button sends it — with a screenshot and your full hardware spec attached automatically — straight to the support Discord as a tracked forum thread. No forms, no log hunting, no "please attach your specs".
"Since your last scan"
AE Doctor remembers every scan and diffs them — so when something breaks, you know exactly what changed.
- GPU driver updated 551.86 → 552.12
- New plug-in installed: Old_Plugin_x32.aex
- Disk cache moved to D: (your fix)
One-click everything
Purge RAM + disk cache, raise memory reservation, relocate cache drives, disable a broken plugin — every fix is a single button, applied through AE's own scripting engine.
- aeDoctor.fix("memory.reservation") → done in 0.4s
- aeDoctor.fix("cache.relocate") → done in 1.1s
Under the hood
Three engines.
Three engines.
Zero compromises.
Most panels can only see what After Effects shows them. AE Doctor goes three layers deep.
ExtendScript Engine inside AE
Talks directly to After Effects' internal engine — versions, GPU acceleration state, disk-cache preferences, and the scripting hooks that apply one-click fixes.
Node.js Runtime CEP context
Sweeps your file system at native speed — inventories every plug-in and script, reads system specs, and keeps local scan history for the diff engine.
Native C# Companion .NET 8 service
A Windows service with sensor-level access reads your motherboard's raw diagnostic chip data (the same low-level readout a signed hardware driver needs — not something a normal app can just query) — watts, fans, VRM temps — and streams it over local WebSockets every second. Its OCR watcher catches AE error popups the instant they appear.
// broadcast every 1,000 ms — never leaves localhost { "power_w": 312.4, "cpu": { "temp_c": 62, "fan_rpm": 1240 }, "gpu": { "temp_c": 71, "fan_rpm": 1860, "name": "NVIDIA RTX 4080" }, "vrm_c": 54, "nvme_c": 47, "ram": { "free_gb": 41.2, "ae_gb": 18.6 }, "icu_mode": true, "source": "AEDoctorCompanion v2" }
Your projects never leave the building.
Every scan, every sensor read, every fix runs 100% on your machine. No cloud, no accounts required for scanning, no telemetry phoning home. Your client work stays yours.
Runs locally
No data leaves your machine
Scan history stored locally
Bug reports are opt-in, per report
Pricing
Free diagnoses. Pro fixes.
Scan and diagnose forever, free. Upgrade when you want AE Doctor to do the fixing — and the boosting — for you.
Crashed renders cost you hours — Pro's crash-risk advisor flags the problem before you hit render. One skipped all-nighter pays for a year of Pro many times over.
Checkup
Know exactly what's wrong. Forever free.
$0forever
No credit card. No account.
Requires Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
- Unlimited system health scans & OS configuration check
- Real-time crash & error popup diagnosis
- Plugin & script inventory with crash alerts
- Real-time power & temperature readout
- Project Optimizer scan — spot the bottlenecks
- Full Knowledge Base search & safe 1-click fixes
- One-click Discord bug reporting
- AI diagnostics, fan control, RAM/storage detail & ICU Mode boost
Windows 10/11 · Install in under a minute
Pro
The full doctor — fixes, telemetry, boost.
$7.42
/ month
Billed annually at $89/year (Save 38%)
Requires Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
- Everything in Checkup, plus:
- Full hardware monitor — fan speeds, RAM modules, storage health & live per-app RAM view
- Hardware AI Diagnostics — active thermal-throttle & memory-pressure alerts
- ICU Mode performance boost + A/B benchmark
- 1-click plugin actions — enable/disable, reveal in Explorer, quarantine & restore orphans
- Plugin Deep Test — isolated crash-testing across every renderer
- Project Optimizer fixes — full instructions applied, proxies & transcodes fully reversible
- "Disable This Plug-in" one-click, right from the crash banner
- Scan history & "since last scan" diff
- Priority Discord support
You already have an active Pro plan — log in to your account to manage it.
Secure checkout via Paddle · Cancel anytime · Instant activation
Windows 10/11 · 14-day money-back guarantee
14-day money-back guarantee
Secure checkout
Keyless 6-digit activation
Pro Exclusive
What exactly do you get in Pro?
AE Doctor isn't just a simple script. It's a deep system-level C# service that monitors your hardware and optimizes Windows for After Effects in real-time. (Windows 10/11 only — macOS support is under evaluation for future releases.)
ICU Mode (Force-Flush + EcoQoS Boost)
Not a RAM cleaner — Task Manager literally can't do this. Windows has no built-in way to hand back an app's memory without closing it; it takes direct calls to low-level OS memory and scheduling APIs (what Windows calls EcoQoS). ICU Mode forces background apps (Chrome, Discord, Spotify) to release memory they're hoarding and moves them onto your CPU's efficiency cores — reclaiming 3–8 GB+ and raising After Effects' scheduling priority while exempting it from CPU throttling, without closing a single window or touching system stability.
Project Optimizer (Codec Probe)
Reads your footage's actual file headers, not just its file extension. It opens the raw MP4/MOV data to catch Long-GOP codecs (H.264/HEVC — footage where every frame depends on the ones before it, which is why it stutters when you scrub) plus 8K precomps, layer bombs and heavy motion-blur stacks. Free tells you exactly which problem it found; Pro renders the fix — proxy, pre-render or transcode — for you, and if it's not what you wanted, one click removes the proxies or reverts the transcode. Nothing is a one-way door.
Live Hardware Telemetry
The same sensor data Fan Control shows you — plus the one thing it can't. Total power draw and CPU/GPU/VRM/NVMe temps are real and free for everyone. Pro unlocks the rest — fan RPMs, per-DIMM RAM, per-drive storage health, and exactly which background app is hogging your RAM right now — and AI Diagnostics watches all of it together (heat, RAM pressure, storage fill) to give you one plain-English verdict: "excellent environment for heavy rendering," or an early warning before it wrecks your render.
One-Click Auto Fixes
Free tells you what to change and where. Pro just changes it. The ExtendScript engine — After Effects' own internal scripting language, the same interface Adobe uses to build its own automation — opens the right preference, sets the right value, and confirms it, for memory reservations, cache paths, corrupt preferences and buggy plugins. No hunting through nested menus mid-deadline, no risk of a typo in a setting you rarely touch.
Wall of Love
Loved by Motion Designers.
Don't just take our word for it. See how AE Doctor is saving professionals countless hours of troubleshooting and frustration.
This amazing After Effects panel software really helps me handle errors and keep my computer running smoothly. The ICU feature is an absolute must-have it frees up so much RAM!
Reviewed Aug 3, 2026
really nice. i like it!
Reviewed Aug 2, 2026
This amazing After Effects panel software really helps me handle errors and keep my computer running smoothly. The ICU feature is an absolute must-have it frees up so much RAM!
Reviewed Aug 3, 2026
really nice. i like it!
Reviewed Aug 2, 2026
This amazing After Effects panel software really helps me handle errors and keep my computer running smoothly. The ICU feature is an absolute must-have it frees up so much RAM!
Reviewed Aug 3, 2026
really nice. i like it!
Reviewed Aug 2, 2026
This amazing After Effects panel software really helps me handle errors and keep my computer running smoothly. The ICU feature is an absolute must-have it frees up so much RAM!
Reviewed Aug 3, 2026
really nice. i like it!
Reviewed Aug 2, 2026
This amazing After Effects panel software really helps me handle errors and keep my computer running smoothly. The ICU feature is an absolute must-have it frees up so much RAM!
Reviewed Aug 3, 2026
really nice. i like it!
Reviewed Aug 2, 2026
This amazing After Effects panel software really helps me handle errors and keep my computer running smoothly. The ICU feature is an absolute must-have it frees up so much RAM!
Reviewed Aug 3, 2026
really nice. i like it!
Reviewed Aug 2, 2026
This amazing After Effects panel software really helps me handle errors and keep my computer running smoothly. The ICU feature is an absolute must-have it frees up so much RAM!
Reviewed Aug 3, 2026
really nice. i like it!
Reviewed Aug 2, 2026
This amazing After Effects panel software really helps me handle errors and keep my computer running smoothly. The ICU feature is an absolute must-have it frees up so much RAM!
Reviewed Aug 3, 2026
really nice. i like it!
Reviewed Aug 2, 2026
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), and After Effects 2015 (v14.0) or newer. The panel installs as a standard Adobe CEP extension via
Window → Extensions → AE Doctor; a small signed .NET 8 Windows service runs alongside it for real-time telemetry — free for basic power/temperature readout, Pro for the full hardware monitor and ICU Mode.AE Doctor supports After Effects 2015 (v14.0) and every release since — including the latest builds. The panel installs as a standard Adobe CEP extension via
Window → Extensions → AE Doctor.Currently, AE Doctor is fully optimized and available exclusively for Windows (10/11). macOS support is under evaluation for future releases.
No. The free scanner and one-click fixes do run through After Effects' own ExtendScript/CEP layer, but Live Hardware Telemetry (free basic readout, Pro for the full monitor) and ICU Mode (Pro) come from
If you're thinking of a similarly-named tool like Project Doctor — a well-known aescripts panel for relinking footage and organizing project media — that solves a different problem entirely. AE Doctor optimizes your OS and hardware for After Effects; it doesn't manage your project's media. See the full comparison →
AEDoctorCompanion, a signed native .NET 8 Windows service with Administrator-level access to sensor data and OS scheduling (EcoQoS) that no script or CEP panel can reach on its own.If you're thinking of a similarly-named tool like Project Doctor — a well-known aescripts panel for relinking footage and organizing project media — that solves a different problem entirely. AE Doctor optimizes your OS and hardware for After Effects; it doesn't manage your project's media. See the full comparison →
The scanner and one-click fixes run inside After Effects' own scripting sandbox — no elevated access needed.
Reading real fan RPMs and VRM temperatures and applying ICU Mode's CPU/RAM prioritization does require it, because Windows restricts raw hardware sensors to Ring 0 drivers — the same level tools like Fan Control or HWMonitor need. That access is isolated to
Reading real fan RPMs and VRM temperatures and applying ICU Mode's CPU/RAM prioritization does require it, because Windows restricts raw hardware sensors to Ring 0 drivers — the same level tools like Fan Control or HWMonitor need. That access is isolated to
AEDoctorCompanion, a separate signed Windows service installed with a single Administrator prompt; After Effects itself never runs elevated.Yes. Everything — scans, sensor data, history — runs and stays on your machine. The telemetry service broadcasts only to
localhost. The only thing that ever leaves your computer is a bug report, and only when you press the button yourself.No. ICU Mode trims working-set memory from background apps and raises After Effects' CPU priority — nothing is closed or suspended, and one click reverses everything. Chrome keeps your tabs; it just stops hoarding your RAM.
Pro includes a 14-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. And if you hit an error the knowledge base doesn't recognize, the one-click Discord reporter sends it to us with your specs — unknown issues usually get a documented fix within days.
Pro is a single-user license, active on one machine at a time. Switching computers? Unpair the old one from your account dashboard with one click, then pair the new one — no waiting, no support ticket. It's not built for multiple concurrent users. Running a studio with several editors? Reach out via Discord or email and we'll sort you out.
Give your After Effects
a 90-second checkup.
Download free, press Scan, and see exactly what's been slowing you down. No account, no credit card, no data collection.
Download AE Doctor Free