Actions

Actions define what Compdown should do inside a target block like _timeline.

For target basics, read Targets first.

Overview

_timeline currently supports three layer actions:

_timeline:
  layers:   # add/create
  set:      # update existing
  remove:   # delete existing

Default rule:

• No action verb means create/add.
• Action verbs are used only when you want to modify existing content.

_selected supports:

• set (patch all selected layers)
• remove: true (delete all selected layers)

1) Add layers (implicit create)

Use layers when you want to create new layers.

_timeline:
  layers:
    - name: Background
      type: solid
      color: 1a1a2e
    - name: Title
      type: text
      text: Hello World

Notes:

• This is the default behavior (no verb needed for create/add).
• Requires an active composition timeline in After Effects.

2) Update layers (set)

Use set when you want to update existing layers.

_timeline:
  set:
    layers:
      - name: Title
        transform:
          position: [960, 500]
          opacity: 85
      - name: Intro Instance
        essentialProperties:
          Headline: "New headline"

Matching rules:

• Matches by exact name.
• Names are case-sensitive.

Error rules:

• No match: throws an error.
• More than one match: throws an error.

3) Delete layers (remove)

Use remove when you want to delete existing layers.

_timeline:
  remove:
    layers:
      - name: Temp Guide
      - name: Debug Null

Matching rules:

• Matches by exact name.
• Names are case-sensitive.

Error rules:

• No match: throws an error.
• More than one match: throws an error.

Combined usage

You can combine actions in one block:

_timeline:
  layers:
    - name: New Label
      type: text
      text: Ready
  set:
    layers:
      - name: Title
        transform:
          opacity: 85
  remove:
    layers:
      - name: Temp Guide

Execution order:

1. layers (create)
2. set.layers (update)
3. remove.layers (delete)

Selected-layer actions

_selected:
  set:
    transform:
      opacity: 50
  remove: true

Notes:

• _selected.set applies the same patch to each selected layer.
• _selected.set does not support parent.
• _selected actions fail if no layers are selected.