12 Free Adobe Illustrator Scripts That Save You Hours

Illustrator's hidden scripting capability automates the boring work. These 12 free scripts replace hours of manual labor.

1. Save all open documents as PDF

One click, every open .ai gets a matching .pdf saved beside it.

2. Batch rename layers from CSV

Read column 1 of CSV, rename layers in order. Useful for asset libraries.

3. Export each artboard as PNG

Common need — Illustrator's UI does this but the script is faster for 50+ artboards.

4. Color-swap throughout document

Find every fill of hex #FF0000, replace with #C0392B across all layers.

5. Font substitution batch

Find all uses of font X, replace with font Y. Useful when client changes brand fonts.

6. Outline all fonts in document

For prepress — convert every type object to outlines. Backup first.

7. Link → Embed all images

Walks every linked image, embeds it. Useful before shipping a .ai file to print.

8. Generate thumbnails from artboards

Each artboard → 200x200 PNG thumb saved to /thumbs/.

9. CSV to artboards

Read rows from CSV, generate one artboard per row with text replaced. Mass certificate / badge generation.

10. Cleanup: remove hidden + empty layers

Reduces file size, cleans the layer panel before delivery.

11. Batch export to SVG

Every artboard → optimized SVG.

12. Random color palette generator

Generates 5 harmonious colors and applies to selected swatches. Fun for prototyping.

Where to get them

Most are downloadable from Adobe's Script Library or GitHub repos like ai-scripts. Drop in Illustrator/Presets/<lang>/Scripts/ folder. Run from File → Scripts.

For custom Illustrator scripts: hire an Adobe scripts developer →