Automatic beat detection and marker creation for Adobe After Effects.
BeatMarker AE analyzes the BPM of an audio layer and places colored markers on every beat — directly on the clip or on the composition timeline. Built as a CEP panel for After Effects 2026.
- Automatic BPM detection from WAV or MP3 audio layers
- Colored markers for each beat position in 4/4 time
- Beat 1 → Red
- Beat 2 → Blue
- Beat 3 → Yellow
- Beat 4 → Teal
- Beat toggles — enable or disable individual beats (1–4)
- Phase shift — shift the beat grid left or right without re-analyzing
- Two marker targets
- Create on Clip — markers placed on the audio layer
- Create on Timeline — markers placed on the composition (no interference with layer dragging)
- Layer-position aware — markers always start where the layer starts in the composition
- Clean markers — no text visible on the marker shield, color only
- Confidence indicator — Whiplash-themed phrases rating the reliability of the analysis
- Bilingual UI — Portuguese (pt-BR) and English, auto-detected from system language
Plugin panel
Beat markers on the After Effects timeline
See INSTALL.md for full instructions.
Quick start (Windows, After Effects 2026):
- Download and extract the ZIP
- Right-click
install_BeatMarkerAE.bat→ Run as Administrator - Restart After Effects
- Open via Window → Extensions → BeatMarker AE
- Open a composition with an audio layer
- Select the audio layer (or let the plugin find it automatically)
- Click Analyze Selected Layer
- Toggle which beats you want marked (1, 2, 3, 4)
- Use ◀ ▶ to shift the beat phase if needed
- Click Create on Clip or Create on Timeline
After Effects native shortcuts that work with BeatMarker markers:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
J |
Previous Marker |
K |
Next Marker |
| Software | Version |
|---|---|
| Adobe After Effects | 2026 (v26.x) |
| OS | Windows 10 / 11 |
| Audio formats | WAV, MP3 |
Mac support is not tested. CEP path may differ.
samaBR — github.com/samaBR85
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GPL-3.0 — see LICENSE