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Guide

How to recover an After Effects project from Auto-Save

After Effects saves a copy of your project every 20 minutes by default and keeps 5, in a folder named Adobe After Effects Auto-Save next to the project. It starts after your first manual save.

Open an auto-save copy

  1. In the Finder, open the folder your project is in, then Adobe After Effects Auto-Save.
  2. Each copy has your project's name with a number added. Check the date modified to find the one you want.
  3. Open it, then choose File > Save As and give it a new name.

Use Save As, not Save. Adobe notes that saving an auto-save copy writes your changes into the original project and replaces it.

Change the Auto-Save settings

Open After Effects > Settings > Auto-Save:

  • Save Every: 20 minutes by default. A shorter interval loses less work.
  • Save When Starting Render Queue: on by default.
  • Maximum Project Versions: 5 by default. Older copies are deleted.
  • Auto-Save Location: Next to Project, or a Custom Location.

These settings apply to local projects, not Team Projects.

Increment and Save

File > Increment and Save (⌘⌥⇧S) saves a numbered copy in the same folder. If the name already ends in a number, it goes up by one. Use it before big changes, so the version before stays on disk and isn't rotated out like auto-saves are.

Older than the last 5

If the version you need is older, restore the .aep from Time Machine: open the project folder, open Time Machine, go back to before the change, select the file and click Restore. If macOS asks, choose Keep Both.

The faster way: Caretaker

Caretaker's Studio shows when each project was last copied to another drive and makes a verified copy in one click, so an overwritten or lost project has a second home. It also clears the After Effects disk cache and the media cache it shares with Premiere Pro.

Caretaker's Studio: a project's size, what it uses, its backup, and the caches and renders it can clear.
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Questions

Where does After Effects save auto-saves on a Mac?

In a folder named Adobe After Effects Auto-Save, next to your project, unless you choose a custom location.

Why is there no auto-save of my project?

Auto-Save starts after you save the project for the first time. An untitled project isn't auto-saved.