Five minutes is enough to get from first install to using the plugins. Installing, activating, and updating are all handled in one companion app, TMC Hub.
After you buy, just follow these five steps.
The Gumroad page that opens right after purchase shows your licence key at the top, with the TMC Hub installer below it. The same key also comes in your purchase receipt email.
The plugins themselves are not inside the installer. TMC Hub always downloads the latest versions, so no matter when you buy, you start with the newest plugins.
Windows: Run TMC Hub_x.x.x_windows-setup.exe. It's a per-user install that needs no administrator rights, so it's done in a minute.
macOS: Open TMC Hub_x.x.x_mac-universal.dmg and drag TMC Hub into the Applications folder.
If a warning appears the first time you open it, see First launch below.
In the Licence tab of TMC Hub, enter the email address you purchased with and your licence key, then press Activate. The two have to match, so enter exactly the address you paid with.
Within a few seconds your plan and device count appear, and you're done.
With After Effects closed, press Install all in the Plugins tab to install every plugin in your plan. To install only the ones you need, press the Install button on each card.
Plugins are installed into a shared system folder, so Windows shows a UAC prompt and macOS asks for your password once.
Launch After Effects and search for TMC in the Effects & Presets panel to see the installed plugins.
Open Toolbox as a panel from the Window menu.
These are standard notices the operating system shows the first time you run a new program from a small developer. Every plugin file is integrity-checked with SHA-256 when it's downloaded, and a tampered file is never installed.
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/TMC Hub.app"TMC Hub checks for new versions when it starts and every 6 hours while it's running.
Plugins that have a new version get an Update button. To update everything at once, use Update all to latest at the top. Quit After Effects before updating.
Check the TMC Hub Update card at the top of the Info tab. On Windows, press Update now and it reinstalls automatically. On macOS, the new dmg opens; drag TMC Hub into Applications to replace the old one.
One key works on up to 2 computers at the same time. When you switch computers, deactivate the licence, then activate it again on the new one.
Essential buyers automatically receive a personal one-time coupon. Buying Pro with it gets you a new Pro licence key, which you then use to activate again in TMC Hub.
The upgrade coupon appears in the plan card in the Licence tab. Press Upgrade to Pro to open a checkout page with the coupon applied, where you can buy Pro for $100.
After payment, a new Pro licence key arrives in your purchase receipt email and your Gumroad library. It can take about 5 to 10 minutes for the upgrade to go through.
Your Essential key can no longer be activated, and the computers registered with it are removed. On each computer you use, enter the Pro key in the Licence tab and press Activate. The 2-computer limit stays the same.
Find your symptom and try the steps from the top, in order.
① Check that your After Effects version is 2024 or later (Windows: Help → About After Effects; Mac: After Effects → About After Effects). 25.6 or later is recommended.
② Quit After Effects completely, then launch it again.
③ In the TMC Hub Plugins tab, check that the plugin isn't marked Not installed.
④ If a Move to MediaCore button is showing in the Plugins tab, press it to clean up copies left in other folders.
⑤ Type TMC into the Effects & Presets search box.
This happens when the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable (x64) is missing or out of date. Run the official Microsoft installer, then restart the PC.
If the same error still appears, check that your antivirus hasn't quarantined the files.
① Check that you entered exactly the email you used for the Gumroad payment.
② Delete any spaces before or after the key.
③ Check the reason shown on screen. If it says "You have used every device slot", press Deactivate this device in TMC Hub on a computer you no longer use.
Quit both After Effects and aerender, make sure you allowed the UAC or password prompt, then try again. If it still fails, restart the computer and try again.
Usually this means the automatic renewal fell behind because the computer was offline for a long time. Check your internet connection and press Renew licence in the Licence tab, and it recovers right away.
In the Info tab, check which acceleration mode this computer uses (CUDA · OpenCL · Metal · CPU Only), and try updating your GPU driver to the latest version.
I don't recommend it. Version tracking, integrity checks, and cleanup all work through TMC Hub, so files you copy yourself can be left out of updates or get loaded twice.
No. Uninstalling the Hub leaves your plugins and licence in place. However, updates and activation renewal are handled by the Hub, so both of those stop once it's uninstalled.
To remove the plugins as well, run Remove all before you uninstall the Hub.
One licence key works on up to 2 computers at the same time, and you can mix Windows and Mac.
When you switch computers, press Deactivate this device in TMC Hub on the old computer and the seat frees up right away. There's no limit on how many times you can do this. If you reformat the same computer and reinstall, it's still recognized as the same device.
No. You only need a connection to install and activate. After that, TMC Hub renews your activation automatically.
Each renewal stays valid for 3 days. About 3 days after you last ran TMC Hub, the plugins become unlicensed and a watermark appears on your output. So if you've been offline for a long time, connect and press Renew licence once in the Hub.
TMC Hub contains no malware. A version that had been working without problems is being wrongly flagged (a false positive) on some PCs because Windows Defender changed its detection criteria.
I've submitted it to Microsoft as a false positive, and Microsoft's analysis also came back "no malware" for both the cloud and the client. Once the final determination is made, the Defender detection will be lifted automatically.
Waiting while it's quarantined or deleted won't affect your PC or your data, and your licence won't disappear or need to be bought again. However, if you can't run TMC Hub for more than 3 days, a watermark will appear on your output, so please keep that in mind when planning your work.
To fix this for good, I'm in the process of getting a code signing certificate. When a signed version is released, I'll let you know in the Hub's News tab.
Please send a screenshot of the problem, a screenshot of the device card in the TMC Hub Info tab, and the email address you purchased with. You don't need to send your licence key.