What It Does
KBar3 turns your most-used After Effects tools into clickable buttons on customizable toolbars. Instead of digging through menus for effects, presets, or scripts, you build toolbars tailored to specific tasks. Switch between different toolbars for different projects or phases of work. The toolbars are shareable, so you can export your setup and send it to teammates or across workstations.
Key Features
Multiple toolbar support. Create separate toolbars for different workflows (one for motion graphics, another for compositing, etc.) and switch between them as needed. You can open up to four toolbar windows at once using keyboard modifiers.
Shareable toolbars. Export your toolbar configuration and share it with others. This feature is new in version 3 and addresses a common request for team environments or cross-machine setups.
Drag-and-drop reordering. Arrange buttons by dragging them around. No complicated settings, just move things where you want them.
Wide range of button types. Add buttons for effects, presets, menu commands, extensions, expressions, scripts, scriptlets, or even shell commands. Each button can do something different when combined with keyboard modifiers (Shift, Ctrl, Alt, etc.), effectively multiplying your toolbar’s capacity.
Customizable appearance. Use text labels (including emoji), choose from over 600 icons, or upload your own PNG or SVG files. Adjust button size and spacing. Buttons can now be wider (up to 16 characters) or function as spacers to organize your layout.
Toolbar labels with dropdown. Version 3.1 added toolbar labels, making it easier to identify and switch between toolbars via a dropdown menu.
Bulk import/export. Move multiple buttons in and out of toolbars at once, which speeds up setup or migration.
Vertical mode. Snap toolbars to the left or right edge of After Effects for a vertical orientation, useful for ultra-wide or multi-monitor setups.
Scriptlet integration. KBar has an integration guide for script authors. There are free scriptlets available on GitHub that extend its functionality even further.
Who It’s For
Motion designers and editors who repeatedly use the same effects, presets, or scripts will save time by consolidating them into a single interface. If you work in teams, the shareable toolbar feature makes it easy to standardize workflows across multiple artists or machines. It’s also useful if you juggle different types of projects, since you can switch toolbars to match the task at hand.
Pricing
KBar3 uses a pay-what-you-want model with a suggested price of $39.99 for a single-user license (one-time purchase). Upgrade pricing is available for previous users: $20 for KBar2 owners, $30 for KBar1 owners. The upgrade discount applies automatically when you log in. No subscription or free tier, but a trial version is available to test before purchasing.