VRChat hand gestures not working (face or hands don't change) - fix
Quick fix
- Check the Gesture and FX slots under Playable Layers on the Avatar Descriptor point to the right animators
- Set the first Gesture layer's Mask to vrc_HandsOnly
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What you see on screen:
(No error message - changing your hand shape doesn't change the face or hands)
What it means
Hand shapes (GestureLeft / GestureRight, values 0-7) drive expressions and hands through the Gesture and FX layer animators. If either is missing or misconfigured, nothing happens.
Common causes
- The Gesture animator was replaced and its first layer has no hand mask (vrc_HandsOnly)
- An FX layer still has Weight 0
- Swapping an expression gimmick changed which animator is in the FX slot
- Write Defaults is mixed on and off
- Gestures are turned off in VRChat's Action Menu
How to fix it
- Check the Gesture and FX slots under Playable Layers on the Avatar Descriptor point to the right animators
- Set the first Gesture layer's Mask to vrc_HandsOnly
- Set Weight to 1 on FX layers that don't work
- Make Write Defaults the same everywhere
- Check gestures are turned on in VRChat's Action Menu options
Before you change anything, make a full copy of your project folder so you can go back.
Fix this automaticallyAvatar Setup Doctor adds a window to Unity. Press Diagnose and it lists what's wrong with your avatar project, why, and how to fix it - the paid version fixes many issues in one click. Free version available.
For this problem, it checks the first Gesture layer's hand mask, FX layers with weight 0 and mixed Write Defaults.
Get Avatar Setup Doctor (Free version available)
For this problem, it checks the first Gesture layer's hand mask, FX layers with weight 0 and mixed Write Defaults.
Get Avatar Setup Doctor (Free version available)