diff --git a/crates/engine/src/commands/comp_more.rs b/crates/engine/src/commands/comp_more.rs
index d6de320ec..96aa29a9a 100644
--- a/crates/engine/src/commands/comp_more.rs
+++ b/crates/engine/src/commands/comp_more.rs
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ fn save_frame(s: &mut Session, p: &Value) -> Result<Value> {
     let scale = f_p(p, "scale").unwrap_or(1.0).clamp(0.01, 4.0);
     let bg = comp.background;
     let img = s.render(cid, t, effectcraft_render::RenderOpts { scale, backend: effectcraft_render::Backend::Auto, ..Default::default() });
-    let rgba = img.to_rgba8_over(bg);
+    let rgba = if p.get("transparent").and_then(Value::as_bool) == Some(false) { img.to_rgba8_over(bg) } else { img.to_rgba8() };
     let png = encode_png(&rgba, img.width, img.height).map_err(|e| EngineError::Other(format!("PNG encoding failed: {e}")))?;
     s.services.write_file(&path, &png).map_err(|e| EngineError::Other(format!("cannot write {path}: {e}")))?;
     s.toast(format!("Saved frame to {path}"));
diff --git a/crates/engine/src/tests_frame_export.rs b/crates/engine/src/tests_frame_export.rs
index a45c5d444..2aca8ce36 100644
--- a/crates/engine/src/tests_frame_export.rs
+++ b/crates/engine/src/tests_frame_export.rs
@@ -164,3 +164,39 @@ fn copy_frame_hands_the_rendered_frame_to_the_frontend() {
     assert!(Session::default().execute("comp.copyFrame", json!({})).is_err());
     assert!(crate::menus::entries().iter().any(|(path, e)| e.command == "comp.copyFrame" && path.first().map(String::as_str) == Some("Composition")));
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn save_frame_as_png_preserves_alpha_channel() {
+    let mut s = Session::default();
+    s.execute("comp.new", json!({"name": "AlphaComp", "width": 32, "height": 32, "frameRate": 24, "duration": 1})).unwrap();
+    let red = s.execute("layer.newSolid", json!({"name": "Red", "color": "#ff0000", "width": 16, "height": 16})).unwrap()["layer"].as_u64().unwrap();
+    s.execute("prop.set", json!({"layer": red, "path": "transform/position", "value": [8, 8, 0]})).unwrap();
+    let dir = out_dir("frame-png-alpha");
+    let path = dir.join("alpha.png").to_string_lossy().to_string();
+
+    s.execute("comp.saveFrameAs", json!({"path": path})).unwrap();
+    let img = image::load_from_memory(&std::fs::read(&path).unwrap()).unwrap().to_rgba8();
+    assert_eq!((img.width(), img.height()), (32, 32));
+    let solid_px = img.get_pixel(8, 8);
+    assert_eq!(solid_px[3], 255, "solid region must be opaque: {solid_px:?}");
+    assert_eq!(solid_px[0], 255);
+    let empty_px = img.get_pixel(24, 24);
+    assert_eq!(empty_px[3], 0, "outside solid region must have alpha 0: {empty_px:?}");
+
+    let flat_path = dir.join("flat.png").to_string_lossy().to_string();
+    s.execute("comp.saveFrameAs", json!({"path": flat_path, "transparent": false})).unwrap();
+    let flat_img = image::load_from_memory(&std::fs::read(&flat_path).unwrap()).unwrap().to_rgba8();
+    let flat_empty_px = flat_img.get_pixel(24, 24);
+    assert_eq!(flat_empty_px[3], 255, "transparent: false must composite over background: {flat_empty_px:?}");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn save_frame_as_defaults_to_png_sequence_with_alpha() {
+    let mut s = Session::default();
+    s.execute("comp.new", json!({"name": "Comp", "width": 32, "height": 32, "frameRate": 24, "duration": 1})).unwrap();
+    let r = s.execute("comp.saveFrameAs", json!({"queue": true})).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(r["queued"], true);
+    let it = s.project.render_queue.last().unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(it.output.name, "PNG Sequence with Alpha");
+    assert_eq!(it.output.channels, effectcraft_project::render_queue::Channels::Rgba);
+}
diff --git a/crates/project/src/render_templates.rs b/crates/project/src/render_templates.rs
index cf52b000e..8de342f4c 100644
--- a/crates/project/src/render_templates.rs
+++ b/crates/project/src/render_templates.rs
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ impl Default for TemplateDefaults {
             ]),
             output_modules: s(&[
                 (Movie, "H.264 - Match Render Settings - 15 Mbps"),
-                (Still, "PNG Sequence"),
+                (Still, "PNG Sequence with Alpha"),
                 (PreRender, "Lossless with Alpha"),
                 (MovieProxy, "Lossless with Alpha"),
                 (StillProxy, "PNG Sequence with Alpha"),