Quickstart

Make Effects started from a simple workflow: use a CLI with a Gemini key, generate images and media quickly, then keep moving.

That loop works well until the project gets large. You make many variants. You lose which prompt led to which result. You want to compare directions, refine the promising ones, remember source references, and eventually turn the best ideas into production files.

Make Effects adds a project layer for that loop. Use the makefx CLI when you want an agent, script, or local workflow to generate media. Use makefx.app when you want to review, organize, choose, refine, and collaborate.

Install the CLI

npm install -g makefx
makefx --version

The CLI defaults to production at https://makefx.app.

Use --env stage for staging or --local for a local development server.

Sign in

makefx login

The login flow opens the browser, authenticates with Google, and stores local CLI credentials outside your project directory.

Create or bind a space

A space is the shared memory for a project: assets, variants, recipes, lineage, production records, and collaborators.

makefx spaces create "My Game Assets" --init

If you already have a space ID:

makefx init --space YOUR_SPACE_ID

This writes .inventory/config.json with the environment and space ID. It does not store prompts, media, auth tokens, or generation provider keys.

Generate your first media

Generate an image:

makefx generate "A cozy pixel-art market background" \
  --name "Market Background" \
  --type scene \
  -o art/market.png

Generate sound:

makefx audio sfx generate "A crisp magical item pickup" \
  --name "Item Pickup" \
  -o audio/item-pickup.wav

Generate video:

makefx video generate "A looping idle animation for a tiny robot" \
  --name "Robot Idle" \
  --type animation \
  -o video/robot-idle.mp4

Each command creates website-backed jobs, waits for completion, downloads the finished file, and records what happened so the result is not just another detached file.

Inspect results

makefx assets
makefx assets show ASSET_ID --json
makefx assets download VARIANT_ID -o references/variant.png
makefx listen --space YOUR_SPACE_ID

The website remains the source of truth. The CLI reads and mutates the same space graph that the browser UI uses, so your agent and your collaborators are working on the same project state.

Next steps

• Core Concepts explains the data model.
• CLI Reference covers commands and agent automation.
• Production Handoff explains scene placement and export.