Tixl
Ranked 6 of 8 animation software by recommenders
Free open-source real-time motion graphics tool with node-based workflows and a polished interface; people compare it favorably to After Effects. Main caveat: it runs only on Windows.
Free open-source real-time motion graphics tool with node-based workflows and a polished interface; people compare it favorably to After Effects. Main caveat: it runs only on Windows.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 80%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good for animation and particle effects
“For particle effects, composition, and audio-reactive work, TiXL can be a strong option.”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Tixl: Open-source realtime motion graphics” “It's actually pretty good at creating and rendering linear animation clips”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Tixl: Open-source realtime motion graphics” Polished interface and node workflows
“The amount of attention and care that went into the user interface is mind-boggling.”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Tixl: Open-source realtime motion graphics” “Love node based workflows”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Tixl: Open-source realtime motion graphics”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Only builds and runs on Windows
“It wasn't immediately clear to me from the homepage that it's Windows-only.”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Tixl: Open-source realtime motion graphics” “MS Windows only unfortunately!”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Tixl: Open-source realtime motion graphics” “It only builds/run on Windows”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Tixl: Open-source realtime motion graphics”
Other animation software people recommend
The four most recommended other animation software, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Motion | 17 | 1 | 94% | 7 | — | Approved |
| CorridorKey 2.0 | 17 | 5 | 77% | 2 | — | — |
| Adobe After Effects | 14 | 12 | 54% | 10 | — | — |
| ntsc-rs | 14 | 1 | 93% | 2 | — | — |
| TixlThis page | 8 | 2 | 80% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
10 of the 12 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Love node based workflows”
“It only builds/run on Windows”
“MS Windows only unfortunately!”
“It's actually pretty good at creating and rendering linear animation clips”
“I think the parts that run, run surprisingly well.”
“For particle effects, composition, and audio-reactive work, TiXL can be a strong option.”
“The amount of attention and care that went into the user interface is mind-boggling.”
“having to use the worst possible closed source OS to run it is a downer”
“it's probably my favorite piece of FOSS creative software, and honestly blows After Effects out of the water for me”
“It wasn't immediately clear to me from the homepage that it's Windows-only.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.