FL Studio automation: how to create and edit automation clips

To automate something in FL Studio, right-click the control and choose Create automation clip: FL adds a clip to the Playlist and you draw its curve. For a VST or AU plugin, use Tools > Last tweaked. This guide covers all five methods in Image-Line's manual, recording automation, editing points on a Mac, and the four traps that stop an automation clip from playing.

How do you create an automation clip in FL Studio?

On a native FL Studio control (a mixer fader, a pan knob, a knob on an Image-Line plugin), right-click it and choose Create automation clip. On a VST or AU plugin, move the parameter in the plugin's interface first, then go to Tools > Last tweaked > Create automation clip. The clip appears in the Playlist and the control follows the curve you draw.

If you select a time range in the Playlist before creating the clip, the clip is limited to that range. With no selection, it spans the whole song.

Five ways to create an automation clip

Image-Line's manual ("Automation Clips" page) lists five routes. Most tutorials show one.

Last tweaked doesn't work with every plugin. The manual's fallback is the Browser: Current project, then Generators or Effects.

How to automate a VST or AU plugin parameter

To automate a VST in FL Studio, or an AU plugin, the shortest route is Last tweaked:

1. Open the plugin's interface.
2. Move the parameter you want, even slightly.
3. Go to Tools > Last tweaked > Create automation clip.
4. Check in the Playlist that the clip's name matches the parameter.

If no clip appears, or it targets the wrong parameter:

1. Open the Browser, then Current project.
2. Expand Generators (instruments) or Effects.
3. Click the plugin to list its parameters.
4. Right-click the parameter, then Create automation clip.

Draw the curve: points, curve types and tension (with Mac keys)

These gestures come from the manual. On a Mac, Ctrl maps to Cmd and Alt maps to Opt (the manual's key table).

• Add a point: right-click in the clip, and hold to drag the point into place.
• Add a point without changing the level: Shift+right-click. With snap on: Opt+Shift+right-click.
• Move a point: left-click and drag. Shift locks the vertical position, Cmd locks the horizontal position, Opt overrides snap.
• Exact value: right-click the point > Type in value... (0 to 1).
• Delete a point: right-click it > Delete, with Step mode off. Quicker: Right Option + left-click on the point (Right Alt on Windows, per the manual's key mapping).
• Tension: drag the handle between two points up or down; hold Cmd for fine control. Right-click the handle to reset the tension.

On a trackpad, right-click with two fingers. Ctrl+click also works as a right-click: FL Studio 26.1.1 (July 2026) fixed a bug that broke it (fix 22235 in the version history).

To change a segment's shape, right-click the point at its right end:

Two modes help with editing. Step drops a point at each grid line you cross while drawing freehand. Slide moves every point to the right of the one you drag along with it, keeping the shape.

Record automation instead of drawing it

You can also move a knob while FL plays and keep the movement. According to the manual's "Recording automation" page:

1. Select the pattern that will hold the automation.
2. Right-click the Record button in the transport panel and make sure Automation is checked in the recording filter.
3. Click Record to arm it, then press Play.
4. Move the control with the mouse or a linked MIDI controller, then press Stop.

The movement is stored as event data in the selected pattern, not as an automation clip. To get a clip, open the Event Editor and use Edit > Turn into automation clip, then line the clip up with the pattern in the Playlist. The manual explains why: a live recording writes 384 points per bar at the default 96 PPQ, which is impractical to edit point by point.

Automating volume: the fader or Fruity Balance?

Automating a mixer fader has a cost: the fader follows the clip, so you can no longer use it to balance the track by hand. The manual describes Fruity Balance as "optimized for real-time level automation".

The fix: put Fruity Balance in an effect slot on the track, automate its Volume knob, and keep the fader for the mix balance. Example: a volume rise over the 8 bars before a chorus. Select those 8 bars in the Playlist, right-click Fruity Balance's Volume > Create automation clip, then draw the rise. If the whole track sits too loud or too quiet later, the fader is still free.

Why your automation clip isn't working

Four causes explain most automation clips that seem to do nothing. Each follows from how FL works, as described in the manual.

1. Editing one clip changes another section too. Cause: a copied clip stays linked to the same target and content. Fix: clip menu > Make unique, which creates an independent clip.
2. The control stopped following the clip. Cause: once you move a control by hand during playback, it ignores its clip until you stop and restart playback. Fix: stop, then play again. Since FL Studio 2026 (version 26.1), the Playlist menu option Automation clips reset remote controls hands control back to the clip at the start of the next linked clip.
3. The control always jumps back to the same value at the start of the song. Cause: a clip created by right-click saves the control's starting value, and FL restores it when the song starts, even after the clip is deleted. Fix: set the control to the value you want, then right-click it > Init song with this position. To remove that value, go to Browser > Current project > Patterns > Initialized controls.
4. The clip you deleted is still there. Cause: an automation clip is a channel in the Channel Rack. Deleting it from the Playlist leaves the channel for later use. Fix: delete the channel in the Channel Rack, or the clip in the Picker panel.

LFO and tempo automation

An automation clip can run as an LFO. Turn on LFO Mode: the curve you drew is kept. Five knobs shape it: SPD (speed), TENS (shape), AK (skew), NW (pulse width) and LVL (amplitude, off at the center position, inverted to the left). The Multiply switch multiplies the main curve by the LFO instead of adding to it, which suits unipolar parameters such as volume.

To automate the project tempo, right-click the tempo display and choose Create automation clip. The manual advises against dragging tempo points by hand. Add control points where the change starts and ends, right-click the tempo display > Type in value... and enter the BPM, right-click it again > Copy value, then right-click the point > Paste value. By default, a tempo clip covers 60 to 180 BPM; change its Min and Max for a wider range.

Describe the automation instead of drawing it

Fern, a mixing assistant for FL Studio on Mac, creates automation clips on a fader, a pan knob or a plugin parameter. You type, for example, "Open up the pad's filter over the 8 bars before the chorus": Fern shows the target, the Playlist track, the start bar and the number of points, then places the clip. The automation channel ends up in the Channel Rack, as it does for a clip made by hand. See how to ask for an automation in one sentence, or what a mixing assistant inside FL Studio does when it measures up to 125 tracks from the Master.

More guides on FL Studio's built-in plugins are collected in the mixing guides.

FAQ

How do I automate a VST plugin parameter in FL Studio?

Move the parameter in the plugin's interface, then go to Tools > Last tweaked > Create automation clip. If the plugin doesn't support it, open Browser > Current project > Generators or Effects, click the plugin, then right-click the parameter > Create automation clip.