Thanks for grabbing this. Setup takes about a minute.
Read this first: a .zxp file
is not double-clickable. Adobe retired their Extension Manager years ago and
never replaced it, so every third-party After Effects panel needs a free
installer. That's step 1 — it's quick, and you only ever do it once.
Drag StutterMachine.zxp (in this folder) onto its window.
If it warns about an unknown publisher, that's expected — see below. Continue.
Quit and reopen After Effects. It won't appear until you do.
Open it from Window → Extensions → Stutter Machine.
Unlocking
The panel runs free with a cap of 5 stutters per pass. To
remove the cap, click Enter key in the panel footer, paste the
key from your receipt email, and hit Unlock.
You need to be online for that one moment — it checks your key with the
licence server, then saves the result to your machine. After that it works
offline. Install it on every computer you use; the same key activates each one.
Using it
Select the clip you want stuttered.
Set Chunk 3, Repeats 3, Every 48 — or type your track's BPM and hit Set.
Hit Preview. It shows exactly what it will do and changes nothing.
Hit Apply. One Cmd+Z undoes the whole pass.
Already cut some stutters by hand? Select that clip and press
Learn — it reads your chunk length, copy count and spacing off
your own work and carries on from where you left off.
Questions
"Unknown publisher" / "cannot verify the developer"
Expected, and safe to continue. The panel is signed with a self-signed
certificate — standard for independent tools. Adobe only drops that warning for
certificates that cost several hundred dollars a year.
It installed but I don't see it
Fully quit After Effects and reopen it. Then look under
Window → Extensions, not Window → Workspace.
Which versions does it work with?
After Effects 2019 through 2026, macOS and Windows.
Does it need internet?
Only to activate, once. After that it works offline. It re-checks about
once a month and keeps working if you happen to be offline when it does.
Will it damage my project?
Preview changes nothing. Apply is a single undo step. "Remove mine" deletes
only the layers the panel created and leaves your own cuts alone.