⛩️ BakaFlow

A lightweight, modern Easing Curve Editor for EffectCraft.

BakaFlow lets you visually design cubic-bezier easing curves, preview them in real-time, and instantly apply them to your keyframes. It features a dual-graph system, allowing you to switch between Value (position) and Speed (velocity) graphs.

⚠️ Important: How to Start

For BakaFlow to communicate with EffectCraft, you must launch EffectCraft from BakaFlow first.

1. Open BakaFlow from your app menu.
2. Click the "Launch EffectCraft" button inside BakaFlow.
3. This starts EffectCraft with the secure control channel (--control 9877) needed for them to talk to each other.

(If you open EffectCraft normally without BakaFlow, the app won't connect and the status bar will say "No EC connection").

✨ Features

📊 Dual Graph System

• Value Graph: Control the visual position curve. Features standard draggable handles (Blue for Out, Orange for In).
• Speed Graph: Control the velocity (derivative) curve. Perfect for creating snappy physics, impacts, and smooth motion.
• Auto-Sync: Changes made in the Value Graph instantly update the Speed Graph (and vice versa) using precise mathematical derivatives.

🎬 Professional Animation Tools

• Interactive Playhead: Click and drag anywhere on the graph to scrub through the animation and see live speed readings at any frame.
• Play/Pause Preview: Built-in animation preview with smooth 60fps playback.
• Speed Presets: Includes exclusive velocity-based presets like Whip (Fast Start), Slam (Fast End), Hit Stop, and Elastic Bounce.
• 28 Standard Presets: Includes Linear, Sine, Quad, Cubic, Expo, Circ, and Back.
• Axis Control: Apply easing to specific axes (X, Y, Z) without messing up the others.

⚙️ Interface & Workflow

• Advanced Controls: Lock handles to the graph bounds, snap to grid (0.1), and Mirror mode for symmetric easing.
• Custom Presets: Save your own curves, import/export them as JSON files, and share them with others.
• Scalable UI: Built-in UI zoom (+ / -) and "Keep on Top" toggle.
• Built-in Dark Mode: A clean, Tokyo Night-inspired UI.

🎯 How the X / Y / Z Checkboxes Work

The axis checkboxes let you control exactly what gets affected.

• All three checked (X, Y, Z): Applies the curve directly to the property in place. No separation. (Perfect for 2D layers or when you want one curve for everything).
• Partial (e.g., X and Y only): BakaFlow will separate the vector dimensions in EffectCraft, and apply the curve only to the checked axes.
• Already separated: If you already separated the X, Y, Z tracks in EffectCraft, checking only "Y" will apply the curve only to the Y track. X and Z will keep whatever curve they had previously.

(Note: For 2D layers, if you want to apply the exact same curve to X and Y without separating the layer into 3 tracks, just check all three: X, Y, and Z).

💾 Saving & Sharing Presets

You can save your custom curves and share them with the community.

How to Save: Adjust the curve in the graph, then click the Save Preset button in the bottom right corner. Give it a name, and it will appear in your "Presets" tab.

Where is it saved? Your custom presets are safely stored on your computer at: ~/.config/bakaflow/custom_presets.json

How to Share with Friends:

1. Go to the Import/Export tab in BakaFlow.
2. Click Export Library to File...
3. Save the .json file and send it to your friend.
4. Your friend can go to their Import/Export tab and click Import Library from File... to instantly get all your curves!

📥 Installation

🐧 Linux (Easiest)

Open your terminal and paste this single command:

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/baka-02-12/BakaFlow/main/install.sh | bash

(It will ask for your password to install the required GTK dependencies). Once it finishes, simply search for BakaFlow in your application menu to open it!

🍎 macOS

macOS does not have GTK installed by default. You will need Homebrew. Open your terminal and run:

brew install python3 gtk+3 pygobject3

Download bakaflow.py and run:

python3 bakaflow.py

🪟 Windows

Windows does not have Python or GTK installed by default.

1. Install Python (Make sure to check "Add Python to PATH").
2. Install GTK3 for Windows (via MSYS2).
3. Download bakaflow.py and run it in Command Prompt:

python bakaflow.py

🚀 Quick Start Guide

1. Open BakaFlow and click "Launch EffectCraft".
2. Select the keyframes you want to edit in EffectCraft.
3. Choose your tab: Value (position) or Speed (velocity).
4. Drag the handles to shape your curve (or pick a preset).
5. Choose which axes you want to apply it to.
6. Click APPLY VALUE or APPLY SPEED.