PSD2Live

An open-source 2D character rigging and animation editor

Build a moving first draft from a layered PSD, then shape, rig, simulate and animate it in one workspace,
and export to Cubism, VTube Studio, its own runtime, the web, game engines or video.

中文 · 日本語 · 한국어

Download · Quick start · Documentation · Changelog · Roadmap

PSD2Live is a complete 2D character rigging toolchain: it generates meshes, deformers, parameters, motions and physics from a layered PSD, lets you keep editing in a desktop editor, and compiles to Cubism, its own p2lrt runtime and several general formats. It has its own evaluation engine, project format and branching history. One-click generation is only the starting point: every edit is stored as a replayable record and still applies after regeneration.

The images below come from the two example PSDs in the repository (the knee test and the body-motion animation use a separate long-legged character project). Both examples were imported with the Full preset and not edited by hand; hair and skirts move by baked simulation. Test plates are produced by the development tools and command-line exports; editor screenshots are frames rendered by the real editor window.

Animation: motion list, timeline and curves; preview and parameters follow the playhead	Skeleton: adjust joints and pose with FK / IK on the canvas
Textures: arrange tiles on the atlas and set texture density per layer	Start: pick presets and drop a PSD to generate in one go, or start a layout project or reopen a recent one

The body angle moves up and down, side to side, then round an ellipse. Hair, skirt, sleeves and bow follow by baked simulation: they lag behind each rise and turn and swing back once the body stops. On the left, each part's pin weights: 1 follows the body, 0 is free, values between pull in proportion.

A complete head and face rig on import: face warp, feature planes, hair and body follow-through are driven by one generated deformer chain.

Meshes follow the texture outline; holes, thin bridges and tips each get their own outline loop. Settings apply globally or per layer.

Real artwork: the example character's long curly hair, the outline following every curl

Vertex weights: Simulate mode shows and paints pin weights on the same mesh (red pinned, blue free)

Torso, limbs and tail are inferred from layer tags and the bones bake into native deformers and keyforms. Knees and elbows are shaped like human joints: the kneecap rounds out on the outside, the inside folds, and the rigid part of the thigh does not drift with the shin. The same preset motions fit different body shapes.

The Rust runtime replays the editor's reference poses and trajectories; geometry, physics and simulation all pass, and four file encodings read back identical results.

PSD2Live runs without Cubism Editor or the SDK but stays compatible with Cubism formats. Each feature falls into one of three tiers by whether it can enter Cubism:

When exporting .moc3 / .cmo3, the last two tiers are lowered to the target version (Cubism 3.0 – 5.3) and recorded in the loss report.

Get the latest version from Releases; see the changelog (Chinese) for what changed.

1. Import a PSD with File → New → New project from PSD… (Ctrl+Shift+O) or drop it on the window. Before importing, pick the model presets (Minimal / Default / Full) under Generate from PSD on the Start page (the inspector on the right sets each one); the model is generated and opened for editing. Split left and right parts drawn on one layer (such as both legs) with Model → Split Layers by Mesh….
2. Check the classification in the Layers table: part type, side and variant settings. Correct anything that was misread.
3. Preview and refine in the Preview workspace, then adjust in the Edit, Rigging, Animation, Physics and Texture workspaces as needed.
4. Save and export: Ctrl+S saves a .psd2live project; Ctrl+G exports .moc3 / .cmo3, and other formats are under File → Export as.

Generation quality depends mostly on how the PSD is layered:

• separate eye whites, irises and upper lashes, and keep the parts of the iris hidden by the eyelids;
• provide an open mouth (or separate upper teeth, lower teeth and tongue);
• separate front and back hair and leave room behind what they cover;
• keep the body roughly upright, and rasterize layer effects and text beforehand.

The full naming table is in PSD preparation. Unrecognized layers are kept and can be classified by hand.

Ctrl+G exports Cubism formats for target versions 3.0 – 5.3 (default 5.0); the rest are under File → Export as. See export targets.

The built-in renderer needs no official SDK. Cubism native preview is optional and lets you compare against the official runtime's rendering and physics.

runtime/ is an open-source (MIT) Rust runtime that plays exported .p2lrt rigs. The editor's software preview evaluates through the same library.

Web player (WebAssembly + WebGL)

Godot 4 node

Format and evaluation rules: runtime and .p2lrt 2.0 format.

1. The MCP server is on by default: it starts with PSD2Live at http://127.0.0.1:23871/mcp. Open Settings → MCP (the cog at the right of the title bar) to turn it off or set the port, access token and published tool set (compact by default). The access token is stored in plain text in your local user preferences (Java Preferences).
2. Copy the command or configuration for your host (Claude Code, Codex, generic JSON). Stdio-only hosts use mcp_proxy.py at the repository root.
3. Have the agent read the project with workspace_overview and single objects with workspace_inspect; operations not listed as tools are found with workspace_list_operations and called through workspace_call.

workspace_apply_edits commits several edits atomically (all or nothing), and workspace_preview_edits dry-runs them first. Requests and examples are in the MCP reference. For projects with an explicit stack, the modifier guide describes the current interface and its remaining gaps.

Requires JDK 21 (Windows release packages use the JetBrains Runtime 21; see the development guide); Gradle runs through the bundled wrapper. With Rust (cargo, rustc 1.87 or later) installed, the Rust runtime is built as well; without cargo, or with an older rustc, Linux first downloads the library CI built from the same runtime/ sources (-Ppsd2live.prebuiltRuntime=false turns this off); if none is available the build skips it with a notice and the editor uses its built-in evaluator (rustup update lets it build). On macOS 13 or newer, ./gradlew packageDmg builds a DMG with its own runtime and does not need a separate JBR; see the development guide.

# Start the GUI (Windows: .\gradlew.bat run or run-gui.bat)
./gradlew run

# Generate a model from a PSD on the command line
python tools/examples/fetch.py --case tml
./gradlew run --args="--input examples/tml/psd-input/tml.psd --output build/example-output"

# Export a project to another format, for example GIF
./gradlew run --args="export model.psd2live --target gif --set clip=Nod"

# Run the tests / package for the current platform
./gradlew test
./gradlew packageDistributionForCurrentOS

Source builds use the built-in renderer; the official Cubism SDK must be obtained separately to build the bridge library. All CLI options, packaging and the native preview build are in development and CLI.

The documentation index lists every page, including the implementation notes that exist only in Chinese. Example PSDs and outputs are in examples; planned work is on the roadmap (Chinese).

Issues, reproducible PSDs, documentation fixes and code are welcome.

• Bug reports: include the version, operating system, steps to reproduce, expected and actual results, and relevant entries from the Log panel.
• Code: run the tests related to your change (./gradlew test). New editing features must persist in the project and replay after reopening; see development.
• Agent evaluations: also record the host, model, retries and cost, following the evaluation format.

The application as a whole is released under GPL-3.0; see each module's LICENSE and the module table. Third-party components are listed in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md; example artwork has its own usage terms.

_{PSD2Live is an independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Live2D Inc. This repository does not contain or distribute proprietary Live2D Cubism SDK components. Live2D and Cubism are trademarks of Live2D Inc.}