ResolveLink

Dynamic Link equivalent for DaVinci Resolve to After Effects & REAPER

A native DaVinci Resolve Workflow Integration Plugin that bridges DaVinci Resolve with Adobe After Effects and REAPER, providing a Dynamic Link-like workflow for VFX, motion graphics, and audio post-production.

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Screenshots

DaVinci Resolve

After Effects

REAPER

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The Problem

DaVinci Resolve lacks Adobe's Dynamic Link. When VFX work needs to happen in After Effects or audio needs to be mixed in REAPER, editors must manually export clips, open the target application, import footage, match timecodes, render, and re-import back. This breaks creative flow and wastes hours.

The Solution

ResolveLink automates the entire round-trip. Select clips in Resolve, click one button, and a synchronized After Effects composition is created instantly. When AE work is rendered, the result automatically syncs back to the Resolve timeline as a compound clip. For audio, send clips directly to REAPER for mixing — the same round-trip workflow applies.

 ┌──────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────┐
 │  DaVinci Resolve  │ ───> │  ResolveLink       │ ───> │  After Effects   │
 │                   │      │  Bridge Server    │      │                  │
 │  Select Clips     │      │  - REST API       │      │  CEP Extension   │
 │  Click "Send"     │      │  - File Watcher   │      │  Auto Comp       │
 │  Auto Re-import   │ <─── │  - WebSocket      │ <─── │  Render & Export │
 └──────────────────┘      └────────┬─────────┘      └──────────────────┘
                                    │
                                    │
                           ┌────────▼─────────┐
                           │                   │
                           │    REAPER DAW     │
                           │                   │
                           │  Panel UI         │
                           │  File-based IPC   │
                           │  Render & Export  │
                           └──────────────────┘

Features

After Effects

• One-Click Send — Select clips in the Resolve timeline, send directly to After Effects
• Auto Composition — Creates perfectly synchronized AE compositions with correct resolution, framerate, and timecodes
• Auto Workflow — If AE is running, jobs are queued for the CEP extension; if not, AE is launched with the script automatically
• File Watcher — Monitors render output folders and syncs completed renders back to Resolve automatically
• Compound Clip Import — Rendered output is automatically imported back into Resolve as a compound clip (V2 render over V1 originals)
• CEP Extension — Panel inside After Effects that polls for jobs, executes scripts, and handles rendering

REAPER

• Unified Panel — Single GFX UI window with all controls (no dependencies required)
• Background Callback — Toggle ON/OFF to auto-import audio from Resolve into REAPER
• Send Render to Resolve — One-click render and import audio back into DaVinci
• Update Project — Sync REAPER items to match Resolve timeline (position, length, track)
• File-based IPC — No network dependency between REAPER scripts and server
• Auto-Save — Projects saved automatically to exports/reaper-projects/
• ReaPack Repository — Install scripts via ReaPack package manager

General

• Desktop App — Electron UI for server management, project browser, and status
• Real-time Status — Live status indicators via WebSocket
• Setup Wizard — Auto-detect Python and AE paths, first-run configuration
• Dark UI — Matches DaVinci Resolve's professional dark theme exactly
• Cross-Platform — Windows, macOS, and Linux support
• GitHub Releases — Tagged releases with auto-generated installers

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Quick Start

Windows

iex (iwr -UseBasicParsing "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/OseMine/ResolveLink/main/install.ps1").Content

macOS / Linux

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/OseMine/ResolveLink/main/install.sh | bash

Install via DaVinci Resolve Console (Recommended)

1. Download install.lua from the latest release
2. Open DaVinci Resolve
3. Go to Workspace > Console (or press Alt+F9)
4. Paste the contents of install.lua and press Enter

That's it. The script will:

• Detect your OS and check for Git + Node.js
• Download the correct release version automatically
• Run the full setup (deps, build, extensions, .env)
• Deploy Resolve scripts and start the server

Install REAPER Scripts

Via ReaPack (Recommended)

1. In REAPER, go to Options > Show REAPER resource path
2. Open Scripts/ReaPack/Packages/
3. Add this URL in ReaPack > Edit repositories:

   https://raw.githubusercontent.com/OseMine/ResolveLink/main/index.xml
   

4. Click OK, then ReaPack > Synchronize packages
5. Install from ReaPack > Browse packages > ResolveLink

Available Scripts

Script	Description
ResolveLink Panel	Unified control panel (all-in-one)
ResolveLink Callback	Background worker for auto-import
ResolveLink Send to Resolve	Render and import to DaVinci
ResolveLink Update Project	Sync REAPER to DaVinci timeline
ResolveLink Logger	Toggleable console logger for debugging

Install Locations

OS	Path
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\ResolveLink
macOS	~/Applications/ResolveLink
Linux	~/.local/share/ResolveLink

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Configuration

On first run, the setup wizard auto-detects Python and After Effects paths and generates a .env file. You can re-run it anytime:

.\scripts\setup.ps1 -Force

All configuration is driven by .env:

Variable	Default	Description
PORT	3030	Server port
HOST	127.0.0.1	Bind address
EXPORT_DIR	./exports	Where renders are saved
TEMP_DIR	./temp	Generated scripts location
PYTHON_PATH	python	Python executable
AE_PATH_WIN	(auto-detected)	After Effects install path
AE_PATH_MAC	(auto-detected)	After Effects install path
REAPER_PATH_WIN	(auto-detected)	REAPER install path (Windows)
REAPER_PATH_MAC	(auto-detected)	REAPER install path (macOS)
RESOLVE_SCRIPTING_PATH	(auto-detected)	Resolve scripting modules
WATCHER_ENABLED	true	Enable file watcher
WATCH_FOLDERS	(none)	Extra folders to watch (comma-separated)
LOG_LEVEL	info	Log level (debug/info/warn/error)

See .env.example for all options.

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend UI	React 18, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Lucide Icons
Desktop Shell	Electron 28
Backend Server	Node.js, Express, Chokidar, WebSocket (ws), Zod, dotenv
Resolve Bridge	Python 3.10+ (DaVinciResolveScript API), Node.js child_process wrapper
Adobe Automation	CEP Extension (HTML/JS panel), ExtendScript (.jsx), base64-encoded payloads
REAPER Automation	Pure GFX panel, Lua scripts, file-based IPC
Validation	Zod schema validation on all POST/PUT endpoints
Testing	Vitest (unit + integration)

Project Structure

resolvelink/
├── install.lua                 # One-step installer (paste into Resolve Console)
├── scripts/                    # Management scripts
│   ├── setup.ps1 / setup.sh   # Unified installer/updater
│   ├── start.ps1 / start.sh   # Start server
│   ├── stop.ps1 / stop.sh     # Stop server
│   ├── status.ps1 / status.sh # Check status
│   └── deploy-*.ps1           # Deploy extensions
│
├── packages/                   # Monorepo packages
│   ├── server/                 # Backend
│   │   ├── src/
│   │   │   ├── index.js               # Express + WebSocket + Chokidar + Job queue
│   │   │   ├── config.json            # Default config
│   │   │   ├── logger.js              # Structured logger
│   │   │   ├── perf.js                # Request performance middleware
│   │   │   ├── middleware/            # Zod validation middleware
│   │   │   ├── routes/                # REST API route handlers
│   │   │   ├── integrations/          # External tool integrations
│   │   │   │   ├── ae/                # After Effects (spawn, JSX generators)
│   │   │   │   └── reaper/            # REAPER service
│   │   │   └── services/              # Core services
│   │   ├── resolve-bridge.py          # Python DaVinci Resolve scripting bridge
│   │   └── package.json
│   │
│   ├── ui/                     # Frontend (React + Vite + TypeScript)
│   │   ├── src/
│   │   │   ├── components/            # React components
│   │   │   └── lib/                   # API client, hooks, utilities
│   │   └── package.json
│   │
│   └── shared/                 # Shared types and utilities
│       └── package.json
│
├── extension/                  # CEP Extension (inside After Effects)
│   ├── CSXS/manifest.xml
│   ├── client/                # Panel UI (HTML/JS/CSS)
│   └── host/host.jsx          # ExtendScript host functions
│
├── resolve-scripts/            # DaVinci Resolve scripts
│   ├── ResolveLink.lua         # Main launcher
│   ├── send-to-ae.py          # Clip send dialog (tkinter)
│   └── send-to-reaper.py      # Audio clip send dialog (tkinter)
│
├── reaper-scripts/                 # REAPER scripts
│   ├── resolve-link-panel.lua      # Unified GFX control panel (v2.2.0)
│   ├── resolve-link-logger.lua     # Toggleable console logger (shared)
│   ├── render-lib.lua              # Shared render config + import logic
│   ├── json.lua                    # Shared JSON decoder module
│   ├── reaper-callback.lua         # Background worker (file-based IPC)
│   ├── send-to-resolve.lua         # Render and import to DaVinci
│   └── update-project.lua          # Sync REAPER to DaVinci timeline
│
├── adobe/                      # ExtendScript library
│   └── import_pipeline.jsx    # Standalone AE composition importer
│
├── test/                       # Test suite
├── docs/                       # Documentation
├── assets/                     # Images and icons
├── exports/                    # Render output (watched)
├── temp/                       # Generated scripts and payloads
├── index.xml                   # ReaPack repository
├── RELEASE.md                  # Release notes
├── vitest.config.js            # Test config
├── electron.js                 # Electron main process
├── .env.example                # Configuration template
├── package.json
└── README.md

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Documentation

Document	Description
Architecture	System design, data flow, component interaction
API Reference	REST endpoints, WebSocket protocol, data types
Setup Guide	Installation, configuration, troubleshooting
Workflow Guide	Step-by-step user workflow
Release Notes	Version history and changelog

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Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Python 3.10+ (for Resolve scripting bridge)
• DaVinci Resolve 19+ (scripting API supported in free and Studio)
• Adobe After Effects 2022+ (for CEP)
• REAPER 6+ (optional, for audio post-production workflow)

Commands

Command	Description
npm run dev	Start server + Vite dev server concurrently
npm run server	Start only the backend server
npm run ui	Start only the Vite dev server
npm run build	Build the frontend for production
npm start	Start the Electron app
npm test	Run all tests (vitest)
npm run test:watch	Run tests in watch mode
npm run install:all	Install all workspace dependencies

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How It Works

After Effects Workflow

1. Selection — Editor selects clips in the Resolve timeline
2. Send — Clicks "Send Selection to After Effects"
3. Translate — Plugin reads clip metadata via the Python scripting bridge
4. Generate — Server creates .jsx + .json, queues job for CEP extension
5. Execute — CEP extension inside AE picks up the job, creates synchronized composition
6. Edit — VFX artist works in After Effects
7. Render — Artist renders (via CEP panel, plugin, or manually)
8. Detect — File watcher detects the new render in exports/
9. Import — Render is automatically imported back into Resolve as a compound clip
10. Sync — UI shows updated link status via WebSocket

REAPER Workflow

1. Selection — Editor clicks "Send Audio to REAPER" in the Resolve launcher
2. Dialog — Tkinter dialog shows available audio clips for selection
3. Generate — Server generates Lua import script + JSON payload + render config
4. IPC — Server writes job file to exports/reaper-jobs/
5. Execute — Panel's callback picks up job, imports audio into REAPER
6. Mix — Audio engineer mixes in REAPER
7. Save — Project auto-saved to exports/reaper-projects/
8. Render — Engineer renders to configured export directory
9. Import — Panel sends rendered audio to server, imports into Resolve
10. Sync — Audio track added to Resolve timeline, old clips muted

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Shift+R	Refresh selection from Resolve
Ctrl+Enter	Send selected clips to AE
Ctrl+T	Toggle tools panel
Ctrl+,	Open setup wizard

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License

MIT

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Built for editors who refuse to break their creative flow.