Cleanup Master is a Gareso plugin for After Effects that streamlines shape‑layer cleanup with onion skinning, shade‑group creation, path tweaking and mask generation, supporting AE 2026 back to CC 2018.
Developed by Gareso.
About Cleanup Master
Cleanup Master is an After Effects plugin from Gareso focused on shape‑layer workflows. It provides onion‑skin overlays of nearby frames for visual reference, which are excluded from renders and nested compositions. The Create Shade Group tool opens a dialog to hide original layers and lets users select which properties (fills, strokes, transforms, modifiers) stay linked. Tweak Paths improves shape‑path editing with enhanced recognition, and a mask‑creation function can generate masks from selected paths, including a Subtract mode. The current version 1.3.0 was released in July 2026 and is compatible with After Effects 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, CC 2019 and CC 2018.
Features
- Onion Skin: forward and backward ghost overlays of nearby frames on the selected layer for reference while animating, excluded from renders and nested comps
- Create Shade Group with a settings dialog to hide originals and choose which properties (fills, strokes, shape transforms, layer transforms, shape modifiers) stay linked to the original
- Tweak Paths for shape path editing with improved shape recognition
- Create masks from selected paths, with a Subtract option
- Compatible with After Effects 2026 through CC 2018
Best for
Animators and motion designers who need quick shape‑layer cleanup, reference overlays, and mask creation within After Effects.
Frequently asked questions
Does Cleanup Master work with After Effects 2026?
Yes. Cleanup Master lists compatibility with After Effects 2026, as well as 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, CC 2019 and CC 2018.
Is Cleanup Master free to download?
The catalog entry marks Cleanup Master as free, but licensing terms on the developer’s site may differ; verify the current cost before downloading.
Do Cleanup Master’s Onion Skin overlays show up in renders?
No. Onion Skin overlays are designed as on‑screen reference only and are excluded from final renders and nested comps.
What’s new in Cleanup Master 1.3.0?
Version 1.3.0 adds the Onion Skin overlays, updates the Create Shade Group dialog (CMD/CTRL opens settings, SHIFT toggles editing), and refines overlay behavior to follow the source layer’s solo state.
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