Home
This is the full A-to-Z usage manual for the FractalFlow Windows app. It is written from the shipped window titles, tab headers, button labels, and section names in the current build.
FractalFlow is a fractal video studio. You generate and heart seeds on Explore, combine them into a timed composition on Compose, render frames and video on Render, then review, retime, and restyle the result on Videos. Auto can generate that pipeline for you. Resources controls GPUs, CPU workers, and the global final-output policy.
Typical path:
Welcome / first-run setup
↓
Explore → Seed fine tune → heart a seed
↓
Compose → Save composition
↓
Render → Render queue / Render selected
↓
Videos → Clip Studio (trim, effects, export)
↘ Live FX (Psychedelia Live) / Generator Lab (Animation Lab) / Shader Lab
(procedural clips that also land in the Video library)
You can also drive the same saved objects from the command line or the HTTP api server. See CLI and API.
Read the Markdown pages below on GitHub. For an offline browser edition with chapter navigation and full-size screenshots, download the manual ZIP from Releases, extract it, and open index.html.
New users: follow First-video workflows. For a saved composition that renders differently, start with Matching Compose to Render and Troubleshooting.
The manual includes real screenshots captured from the portable app on September 8, 2026. Click an image to open the original resolution. The screenshot index includes every captured view. Demonstration work used an isolated library and output folder; examples show this machine's available hardware.
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Welcome and launch | Starting Fractalflow.exe, the Welcome to FractalFlow / First-run setup window, WebView2 Evergreen, ffmpeg |
| Main window | Title bar, the six main tabs, how work moves between them |
| Explore | Generate seeds, Formula family, Guided starter renders, seed cards |
| Seed fine tune | The Seed fine tune window: parameters, color, lighting, saved seed animation |
| Compose | Hearted seeds, formula mix vs composite layers, camera, parameter animation, Save composition |
| Render | Render setup, Render queue, progress, Auto activity |
| Videos | Video library and the four workspaces |
| Clip Studio | Playback, trim, speed, ping-pong, post effects, Save export |
| Psychedelia Live | Live FX catalog, generate/mutate, Exact output, Render final output |
| Animation Lab / Generator Lab | The Videos workspace whose switcher reads Generator Lab (engine name Animation Lab) |
| Shader Lab | Twigl Lab, Shadertoy Lab, import, compile, Render final output |
| Resources | CPU workers, GPU concurrency, Final output, Keep PNG frame sequence |
| Auto Builder | Create automatic video, Generate one, Queue batch, Build queue |
| API Lab | In-app HTTP workbench that mirrors the external api contract |
| CLI and API | Runnable catalog, render, clips, automation, procedural, and api recipes |
| First-video workflows | Guided native, recipe, procedural, and Auto workflows; animation clocks |
| Troubleshooting | Preview/render differences, missing assets, animation, performance, and recovery |
| Files and recovery |
data/, output/, logs, stuck processes, resetting caches |
Explore: formula selection, guided starters, and seed cards.