macOS does not know what a Lottie is. So every animation you export turns into the same grey icon, and finding the right one means opening them one by one in a browser tab. We did that for years. Then we got annoyed.
Pillu teaches your Mac to read them. Install it once and your animations show up wherever you already look at files.
Real thumbnails in Finder, drawn from the animation
Every .json and .lottie gets a real thumbnail. Pillu picks the frame that actually reads, so a logo that draws itself on shows the finished logo.
space-cat.jsonOpen with Pillu Player
Press space
Quick Look plays it full size, looping, on a checkerboard that follows Light and Dark Mode. The preview pane plays it too.
space-cat.jsonJSON · 512×512 · 60 fps
74 / 1200.5×
See what is inside
Size, frame rate, duration, layers, Bodymovin version. Step one frame, slow it down, zoom to 200%.
space-cat.jsonEdit
060120
Brows
Nose
Head
Small fixes, no After Effects
Pick a layer, change its colour, opacity, position, scale or rotation. Your file stays untouched until you export.
Export
Export to anything
GIF, APNG, PNG sequence, MP4, MOV with alpha, Lottie and dotLottie. It can slim a Lottie down too, and refuses to save if a single frame changes.
Any background
Checkerboard, white, black or your own colour. Also opens GIF, video, SVG, PDF and images.
Shortcuts
SpacePlay / pause
← →Step a frame
⌘ RRestart
⌘ 0Fit
⌘ EFrame as PNG
⌘ OOpen
What you need
macOS 15 Sequoia or later
Apple silicon or Intel
About 42 MB
No account, works offline
Changelog
1.0Latest
Finder thumbnails and Quick Look
Edit tab with timeline
Export to 7 formats
FAQ
Will it slow my Mac down?
No. Thumbnails are drawn once and kept until the file changes, and previews only play while they are on screen, on the GPU. A broken file cannot take Finder down with it.
Does it touch my files?
It only reads them. Edits stay inside the app until you export a new file, so the original is never overwritten, and nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Will it take over my other .json files?
No. Pillu sits beside your code editor rather than replacing it, so your editor stays the default. A package.json or any JSON that is not an animation falls back to the normal macOS preview.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Mac on macOS 15 Sequoia or later, Apple silicon or Intel.
Why does macOS warn me the first time I open it?
Pillu is not notarized by Apple yet. Right-click the app, choose Open and confirm once. If macOS still refuses, go to System Settings, Privacy & Security, and click Open Anyway.
Why is a studio making this?
We make Lottie animations every week and got tired of opening files one by one to find the right one. Pillu is the tool we wanted, so we are putting it out at whatever price you think is fair.
Is there a Windows version?
Not now. Finder thumbnails and Quick Look are macOS features, so Windows needs a separate app built from scratch. If you want one, say so in the feature request on the shop page.
How do I get updates?
Gumroad emails everyone who downloaded Pillu when a new version is out, and the new file appears in your Gumroad library. An update check inside the app is on our list.
