2.21.0

Added

• batch named steps: give a step as: "title" and refer to it as "$title.id" instead of counting steps, the most common reference mistake in long builds. A "$word" that is not a declared name stays literal text, so "$TSLA" in a caption still works; a repeated name, or a name used before its step, is reported before anything runs.
• batch defaults: {tool: args}: shared arguments merged under every step of that tool (nested objects merge, the step's own values win). Repeated layers such as captions send their comp_id and style once instead of in every step, which cut a 48-caption build to about a third of its size.
• add_layer fit: "cover" | "contain" scales footage, precomps and solids to fill the comp frame or fit inside it (pixel aspect included) and returns the scale used, instead of working out a percentage per clip.
• add_layer source_in and stretch: place a clip by the source time it shows at in ({in: 1, source_in: 9.3}) and its speed, with no start-time maths. Hand-computed start times put the wrong part of a clip on screen twice while building a 3-minute edit.

Verified

• Live in After Effects 26.3: fit cover / contain scales, source_in with stretch, named steps, defaults and a literal $word in batch; both are now part of the live tests (27/27 pass).