AE Bridge · Installation

Install AE Bridge

AE Bridge is a panel you install in After Effects, Illustrator, Photoshop and Premiere Pro, plus a plugin for the Figma desktop app. It runs on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 with Adobe programs 2022 or later. You do not need all of them: use it between the ones you have.

1. 1

   Install with Synthetic Setup

   Download Synthetic Setup from your dashboard (Downloads) and run it: it finds your Adobe programs, installs the panel in each one and loads your license for you. Close your Adobe programs before installing.

2. 2

   Restart your Adobe programs completely

   The first time after installing or updating, close each program fully and open it again: the panel needs to load at startup.

3. 3

   Open it from the menu

   In each program go to Window → Extensions → Synthetic AE Bridge.

4. 4

   Dock the panel

   It is a dockable window: drag it next to your timeline, canvas or layers and it stays there.

Add the Figma plugin (once)

1. In the AE Bridge panel, press “Install in Figma”. The panel shows you a file.
2. Open the Figma desktop app and go to Plugins → Development → Import plugin from manifest…
3. Pick the file the panel showed you. AE Bridge is now available under Plugins → Development.

You only do this once. The plugin is for the Figma desktop app. If you do not use Figma, skip this step: the Adobe programs work without it.

Prefer to do it by hand? Download the .zxp file from Dashboard → Downloads and install it with ZXP Installer, with your Adobe programs closed. Then paste your key in Settings (the gear).