Presets

What is a preset?

A preset captures your entire effect chain — every layer, every parameter, and the chain processing order — into a single portable file. Load it on any image to reproduce the exact same grade instantly.

Presets use the .on extension and are fully self-contained: they include all effect types, parameter values, chain order, and even embedded LUT data (encoded as base64 inside the file).

Saving a preset

Build your effect chain in the Cinematic Palette
Open the palette menu and click Save Preset
Give the preset a name
A .on file is downloaded to your machine

The filename follows the pattern <name>-<timestamp>.on.

LUT data is embedded directly in the preset file — you don't need to keep the original .cube file alongside it.

Loading a preset

Open the palette menu and click Load Preset
Select a .on file from your filesystem
The preset replaces your current effect chain immediately

Loading a preset replaces all existing layers. If you want to preserve your current chain, save it as a preset first.

Instead of a file download, Share Preset generates a compact text code and copies it to your clipboard. The code is gzip-compressed and base64-encoded — you can paste it in a message, a tweet, or a text file.

To load a shared code, the recipient can paste it directly into the Load Preset dialog (coming soon — currently .on file only).

Preset file format

.on files are binary-safe, XOR-obfuscated and base64-encoded to prevent casual editing.

This prevents accidental corruption from text editors and makes the format opaque to casual inspection — it is not cryptographically secure.

Tips

Preset + Film Stock — a film stock applies a starting combination of grain, halation, and tone. Saving a preset on top of a stock captures your custom adjustments on top of those defaults.
Chain order matters — the chainReversed flag is saved with the preset. Loading a preset on a reversed chain will respect the original order it was saved with.
LUT presets — if your chain includes a LUT layer, the full LUT data is embedded in the .on file. These files will be larger than presets without LUTs.