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Installation

Install Sidekick in After Effects

Sidekick ships as a single ZXP that registers two CEP panels. Plan on about three minutes from download to first prompt.

Before you start

  • After Effects 2022 or newer
  • A free ZXP installer (we recommend the aescripts ZXP Installer)
  • A Sidekick license key – it arrives by email when you buy from sidekick-ae.com
  • An API key from at least one provider – Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google Gemini

Step 1. Get a ZXP installer

If you do not already have one, grab the free aescripts ZXP Installer. Anastasiy's Extension Manager works equivalently if you prefer it.

Step 2. Quit After Effects

AE caches the list of CEP extensions at startup, so installing while AE is running will not register the new panel. Fully quit the app before installing.

Step 3. Drag the .zxp onto the installer

  1. Download sidekick.zxp – the link is in your purchase email.
  2. Open the ZXP Installer.
  3. Drag sidekick.zxp onto the installer window and confirm.

Step 4. Open After Effects

Launch AE. The bundle registers two panels:

  • Window > Extensions > Sidekick – the chat panel where you write prompts and apply results
  • Window > Extensions > Sidekick Toolbar – a KBAR-style launcher for the scripts you save

Step 5. Activate your license

On first launch, Sidekick shows an Activate Sidekick screen. Paste the license key from your purchase email (it looks like XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX) and click Activate. The panel unlocks and stays unlocked. One license covers two machines – see Licensing & activation for seats, offline use, and moving to a new computer.

Step 6. Acknowledge the one-time disclosure

On first launch, Sidekick routes you to Settings to acknowledge a short disclosure: API keys are stored locally in the panel's localStorage, lightly obfuscated, but not encrypted. Treat them like any other app password.

Step 7. Add your first API key

You only need one provider to get going. Anthropic is the default and works well for most motion graphics work, but any of the three is fine.

Anthropic (Claude)

  1. Visit console.anthropic.com/settings/keys
  2. Sign in, click Create Key, name it "Sidekick"
  3. Copy the key immediately – it is only shown once
  4. Paste it into Sidekick > Settings > Anthropic

Suggested model: claude-sonnet-4-6.

OpenAI (ChatGPT)

  1. Visit platform.openai.com/api-keys
  2. Click + Create new secret key and copy it
  3. Paste it into Sidekick > Settings > OpenAI

Suggested model: gpt-5.5 for the best results, or a gpt-5.4-mini / gpt-5-mini variant when you want to keep cost and latency down.

Google Gemini

  1. Visit aistudio.google.com/app/apikey
  2. Click Create API key and copy it
  3. Paste it into Sidekick > Settings > Gemini

Suggested model: gemini-3.5-flash (the default). For tougher jobs try gemini-3.1-pro-preview; the older gemini-2.5 family is still available if you prefer it.

Step 8. Pick a default model

At the top of Settings, set your default Provider and Model. This is the brain Sidekick reaches for when you hit Send. You can still swap models per-prompt from the dropdown next to the Send button without touching this default.

You are ready

Close Settings and head to Getting started to send your first prompt.