FAQ
Installation & Licensing
Section titled “Installation & Licensing”Where do I find my license key?
Section titled “Where do I find my license key?”Your license key was emailed to you after purchase. Check your inbox (and spam folder) for an email from Jake In Motion. You can also find it in your Lemon Squeezy account.
How many computers can I install Railcut on?
Section titled “How many computers can I install Railcut on?”Your license covers 2 active machines at a time.
How do I move my license to a new computer?
Section titled “How do I move my license to a new computer?”Open Railcut on your old computer, go to Settings → License, and click Deactivate. Then install Railcut on your new computer and activate with the same key. You can also deactivate machines in your Lemon Squeezy account.
How do I update Railcut?
Section titled “How do I update Railcut?”When a new version is available, Railcut will show a notification in the panel. Download the latest .zxp installer from your Lemon Squeezy account and install it over the existing version.
What is the refund policy?
Section titled “What is the refund policy?”Railcut has a 7-day no-questions-asked refund policy. Email [email protected] with your order details.
Editing & Features
Section titled “Editing & Features”Why don’t I see waveforms on some clips?
Section titled “Why don’t I see waveforms on some clips?”Waveforms are only generated for clips with a file-based audio source. They will not appear on:
- Precompositions
- Any layer without an audio source
See Audio Waveforms for details.
Why don’t I see thumbnails on some clips?
Section titled “Why don’t I see thumbnails on some clips?”Thumbnails require a video or image source file. They will not appear on precomps, solids, text layers, or shape layers. Still images (PNG, JPEG) are supported.
Can I use Railcut with adjustment layers, text layers, or shape layers?
Section titled “Can I use Railcut with adjustment layers, text layers, or shape layers?”Yes — these layer types appear on the timeline as clips. You can cut, move, and trim them. Thumbnails won’t be generated for these types, but all editing functions work normally.
Can I animate in Railcut?
Section titled “Can I animate in Railcut?”No. Railcut is an editorial tool, not an animation tool. The only keyframes you can edit directly in Railcut are opacity (video clips) and audio levels (audio clips) — both via the rubber band lines on each clip. All other keyframes — position, scale, rotation, effects, expressions — live in AE’s native timeline and are not accessible from Railcut. Use Railcut to edit your sequence, then switch to AE for animation and compositing work.
Does Railcut affect render quality or output?
Section titled “Does Railcut affect render quality or output?”No. Railcut is a display and editing interface — it adjusts layer timing and in/out points, but has no effect on render settings, effects, or output quality.
My clips aren’t in the right order after reloading
Section titled “My clips aren’t in the right order after reloading”Railcut reads layer order from AE. If layers were reordered directly in the AE timeline, reload the Railcut panel to sync.
Railcut says “No active composition” — what does that mean?
Section titled “Railcut says “No active composition” — what does that mean?”Railcut reads the currently active composition in After Effects. Make sure a comp is open and active (clicked on) in AE before opening or reloading the panel.
Can I undo edits made through Railcut?
Section titled “Can I undo edits made through Railcut?”Yes. Railcut uses After Effects’ native undo system. Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (Mac) to undo.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Section titled “Keyboard Shortcuts”Why don’t Cmd+key shortcuts work on Mac?
Section titled “Why don’t Cmd+key shortcuts work on Mac?”This is a known limitation of Adobe CEP extensions. On macOS, Cmd+key combinations are intercepted by After Effects before the panel receives them. Railcut uses Ctrl instead of Cmd for all shortcuts on Mac.
See the full list in Keyboard Shortcuts.
My keyboard shortcuts aren’t responding
Section titled “My keyboard shortcuts aren’t responding”Make sure the Railcut panel has focus — click anywhere in the panel before using keyboard shortcuts. If the Railcut panel isn’t active, keyboard input goes to AE instead.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”License activation fails with “Self-signed certificate in certificate chain”
Section titled “License activation fails with “Self-signed certificate in certificate chain””This error means something on your network is intercepting the HTTPS connection between Railcut and the license server — not an issue with Railcut or your license key. Common causes:
- Corporate firewall or proxy — IT departments often use SSL inspection tools (e.g. Zscaler, Palo Alto) that re-sign outbound HTTPS traffic
- Antivirus software — products like Avast, Kaspersky, and Bitdefender include HTTPS scanning features that can cause this
- VPN — some VPNs inject their own certificate into the chain
Things to try:
- Temporarily disconnect from your VPN and try again
- Temporarily disable HTTPS scanning in your antivirus (often called “Web Shield” or “SSL Inspection”)
- Try activating on a personal network (e.g. phone hotspot) to confirm it’s a network issue
- If you’re on a work machine, ask your IT team to whitelist
api.jakeinmotion.dev
If none of these help, email [email protected] and include any additional error details.
License activation fails with “Unable to verify the first certificate”
Section titled “License activation fails with “Unable to verify the first certificate””This means the SSL certificate for the license server couldn’t be validated on your machine. Common causes:
- Outdated system root certificates — If your operating system hasn’t been updated in a while, it may be missing newer trusted certificate authorities that Cloudflare relies on
- System clock is wrong — SSL certificates have a validity window; if your machine’s date or time is significantly off, certificate validation will fail
- Firewall blocking the connection — Some firewalls block the request before the certificate can even be checked
- Older After Effects / CEP runtime — CEP extensions run on an embedded browser engine that can have outdated SSL handling in older AE versions
Things to try:
- Make sure your operating system is fully up to date (Windows Update / macOS Software Update) — this refreshes your trusted certificate store
- Double-check that your system date and time are correct
- Try activating on a different network (e.g. phone hotspot) to rule out a firewall
- If you’re on Windows, try running Windows Update even if the system seems current
If none of these help, email [email protected] with your OS version and After Effects version.
The panel is blank or shows an error
Section titled “The panel is blank or shows an error”Try closing and reopening Railcut from Window → Extensions → Railcut. If the issue persists, restart After Effects.
Waveforms aren’t generating
Section titled “Waveforms aren’t generating”Make sure waveforms are enabled in Settings → Cache. You can also try Settings → Cache → Clear all waveform cache.
Thumbnails aren’t showing
Section titled “Thumbnails aren’t showing”Make sure thumbnails are enabled in Settings → Cache. Thumbnails generate progressively as you use the panel. You can also try Settings → Cache → Clear all thumbnail cache.
Support
Section titled “Support”Where can I get help?
Section titled “Where can I get help?”You can submit feedback directly from the panel via the menu → Submit Feedback dialog, or Eeail [email protected].