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Quick Start Guide

Opening the Tool

  • Tools → Animation Workbench → Open
  • Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+A (Win/Linux), Cmd+Shift+A (Mac)

Setting Up a Preview Character

  1. Open the Characters window: Tools → Animation Workbench → Characters (Ctrl+Shift+C)
  2. Wait for the project scan to list your humanoid/generic characters
  3. Mark a character as Default Character (this applies the AWDefaultCharacter label to the prefab)

Browsing Animations

  • Open Animation Workbench
  • Browse animated thumbnails
  • Filter with the search box and filter toggles
  • Switch between list and grid view
  • Right-click a clip for context actions (reveal, open in Keyframe Editor, compare, …)

Editing a Clip

  • Select a clip and open it in the Keyframe Editor (Ctrl+Shift+K), or
  • Right-click an .anim asset → Animation Workbench → New Keyframe Editor

Creating a New Clip

  • Assets → Animation Workbench → New Animation Clip (with a prefab or folder selected), or
  • Right-click a prefab instance in the Hierarchy → Animation Workbench → New Animation Clip

The new clip opens directly in the Keyframe Editor.

All entry points live under Tools → Animation Workbench:

Menu ItemShortcutDescription
OpenCtrl+Shift+AMain animation browser window
Keyframe EditorCtrl+Shift+KStandalone timeline/curve editor
SettingsAll Animation Workbench settings
CharactersCtrl+Shift+CCharacter database & default characters
Audio LibraryCtrl+Shift+XSFX library for audio events
Bake Runtime Audio DatabaseForces a rebake of the runtime audio database (runs automatically before builds)
ProfilerAnimation Workbench performance profiler
Character DiagnosticsDiagnoses character/avatar setup issues
Show Welcome WindowRe-opens the welcome/setup window
DocumentationOpens this documentation site
Report a BugIn-editor Feedback Hub
Join DiscordOpens the community Discord
Export Humanoid Bone MappingExports the humanoid muscle/bone map

Asset context menu (right-click in Project window → Animation Workbench):

  • New Animation Clip — create a clip for the selected prefab/folder
  • Reveal — locate the selected clip(s) in the browser
  • New Keyframe Editor — open selected clip(s) in a new Keyframe Editor window
  • Export Skeleton Definition — export a skeleton FBX from the selected prefab