Troubleshooting

Short answers to keep you moving.

Can’t find Atom after installing?

  • Restart After Effects, then check Window → Extensions → Atom.
  • Reinstall the .zxp with ZXP Installer if it’s still missing.
  • Make sure you’re on After Effects CC 2022 (v22.0) or newer.

Manual ZXP installation

If ZXP Installer isn’t working, you can install Atom manually:

  1. Rename the .zxp file to .zip and unzip it to get the extension folder.
  2. Copy the folder to the extensions directory: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions/
  3. Restart After Effects and check Window → Extensions → Atom.

Sign-in or licence hiccups

  • No sign-in email? Check spam, wait a minute, then resend or try another inbox.
  • Seat limit hit? Open Settings → Account → Deactivate device, then tap Refresh access.

OpenAI sign-in issues

  • Browser did not open: Click Sign in with OpenAI again, or copy the link if Atom shows one.
  • Signed in but Atom still asks: Return to the panel and tap Refresh.
  • Wrong account: Sign out in Atom settings or your local Codex setup, then sign in with the OpenAI account you want to use.
  • Team-managed setup: Confirm Codex or Claude Code works outside Atom, then restart After Effects. See Team & Custom AI Setup.

Anthropic issues

  • Anthropic not detected: Restart After Effects and tap Refresh in Atom. Verify Claude Code works by running claude --version in a terminal.
  • Anthropic authentication error: Run claude in your terminal and complete the sign-in flow.
  • Non-standard install path: Make sure the Claude Code binary is on your system PATH so Atom can find it.

Automations not landing

  • Read the response cards. Atom explains what it found or why it stopped.
  • Tighten the scope: name the comp, the layers, or say “selected layers only”.
  • Undo, adjust the wording, and rerun in the same chat to build on context.

Feeling slow or stuck

  • Big comps and expression scans take a moment. Let Atom finish before stacking prompts.
  • Focus your request to speed things up and keep results tidy.
  • If requests fail, check that you are signed in and your AI provider account has available credits or an active plan.

File attachment issues

  • Unsupported file type: Atom supports images, PDFs, documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), text files, and audio (WAV, MP3). Video is not currently supported.
  • File too large: Images max out at 5MB, audio/PDFs/documents at 10MB, text files at 1MB. Compress or trim before attaching.
  • Attachment not processing: Try a different format. Some exotic image formats may not work. Convert to PNG or JPEG.

Need to report an issue?

- Tap **Share feedback** beneath the conversation. It bundles logs with your note. - Tell us what you asked for, what you saw, and any message in the thread. That's enough to help fast.