# OpenToonz User Manual (opentoonz.readthedocs.io; source opentoonz/opentoonz_docs)

- id: src_01M569MK0EYJ2CEX19MV8R8AGT
- type: source · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T07, T03 · tags: level:established, lang:en, kind:user-manual, task:exposure-sheet, task:2d-animation, ecosystem:opentoonz, format:restructuredtext
- updated: 2026-10-18T01:22:22.852Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/sources/src_01M569MK0EYJ2CEX19MV8R8AGT

Source: https://opentoonz.readthedocs.io/en/latest

Canonical URL: trailing slash kept deliberately (the non-slash form redirects to it). Canonical is the rendered manual; text was read from the reStructuredText sources in the GitHub repository (raw `gh api repos/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs` in evidence/github/opentoonz--opentoonz-docs.json).

```json
{
  "archived": false,
  "revision": {
    "ref": "master branch of opentoonz_docs (no manual version printed); the contents list a \"v1.6\" What's New entry",
    "pinned": false,
    "source_url": "https://github.com/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs"
  },
  "checked_at": "2026-10-17T00:00:00.000Z",
  "parent_url": null,
  "usefulness": "Official OpenToonz manual: production workflow (scanning, ink and paint, compositing in the Xsheet, render farm), and the Xsheet/Timeline chapter, which defines the Xsheet as the digital version of the traditional exposure sheet (columns are layers, rows are frames). The source for how an exposure sheet is operated in open tooling.",
  "source_type": "documentation",
  "availability": "available",
  "dependencies": [],
  "source_owner": "OpenToonz contributors (opentoonz/opentoonz_docs)",
  "next_check_at": "2026-10-31T00:00:00.000Z",
  "successor_url": null,
  "hardware_notes": null,
  "known_limitations": [
    "The GitHub repository has no LICENSE file; the license is stated only in the README (CC-BY-NC 4.0), which makes the manual non-commercial-only, unlike the BSD-licensed code.",
    "The manual is based on the Toonz Harlequin 7.1 User Guide and may lag the v1.8.0 software.",
    "Describes the tool's Xsheet, not Japanese studio exposure-sheet (タイムシート) practice.",
    "Only the production-workflow and Xsheet chapters were read in source form."
  ],
  "upstream_updated_at": "2026-01-24T17:56:11.000Z"
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] The Xsheet is the digital version of the traditional exposure sheet and controls the timing of all elements of a scene; columns hold animation layers and rows are frames. · locator: working_in_xsheet.rst, opening paragraph · source: https://github.com/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs/blob/master/source/working_in_xsheet.rst
- [sourced_fact] In the documented compositing step, painted levels and images are exposed in the Xsheet, where timing of all scene elements is controlled; elements are then animated with keys and effects are applied to column contents. · locator: production_workflow.rst, Compositing · source: https://github.com/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs/blob/master/source/production_workflow.rst
- [sourced_fact] The traditional workflow section describes scanning of hand-drawn elements, clean-up, paperless drawing, colour models, ink and paint, compositing and a render farm. · locator: production_workflow.rst, Traditional Workflow · source: https://github.com/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs/blob/master/source/production_workflow.rst
- [sourced_fact] The documentation repository README states the documentation is published under CC-BY-NC 4.0 International. · locator: README, Licensing · source: https://github.com/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs#readme
- [sourced_fact] The manual's special thanks says it is based on the Toonz Harlequin 7.1 User Guide by Digital Video S.p.A., Rome. · locator: Special Thanks · source: https://opentoonz.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
- [sourced_fact] GitHub API returns the repository record for opentoonz/opentoonz_docs: default branch master; pushed_at at check time 2026-01-24T17:56:11Z (raw response saved under evidence/github/docs--opentoonz-readthedocs-io--user-manual.json). · locator: GitHub API repos/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs, default_branch (pushed_at is volatile) · source: https://api.github.com/repos/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs
- [sourced_fact] GitHub API reports archived = false for opentoonz/opentoonz_docs. · locator: GitHub API repos/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs, archived · source: https://api.github.com/repos/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs
- [sourced_fact] GitHub license detection for opentoonz/opentoonz_docs returns no license (license: null). · locator: GitHub API repos/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs, license · source: https://api.github.com/repos/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs
- [upstream_claim] Research review verdict at export: reviewed (as of 2026-10-17). Recorded by the research pipeline, not a hub review outcome; evidence.review stays unreviewed until an independent reviewer records one.

Rights:
- documentation: license=CC-BY-NC-4.0 hosting=restricted redistribution=restricted modification=restricted training=unknown · README states CC-BY-NC 4.0 International (non-commercial, attribution); no LICENSE file in the repository and GitHub shows no license. Non-commercial condition applies to hosting and redistribution in a product. Does not address training. · evidence: https://github.com/opentoonz/opentoonz_docs#readme

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