mcp-ae

MCP After Effects

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that lets Claude (or any MCP client) control Adobe After Effects via natural language.

How It Works

Claude ──MCP──► mcp-after-effects ──ExtendScript──► Adobe After Effects

The server bridges Claude to AE using one of three mechanisms (selected automatically based on your OS):

| Mode | OS | Mechanism | |------|----|-----------| | applescript | macOS | osascript → AE's DoScript | | com | Windows | VBScript COM automation | | aerender | Any | AE command-line renderer (aerender) |

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Prerequisites

• Node.js ≥ 18
• Adobe After Effects (any recent version — CC 2019+)
• After Effects must be open for applescript/com modes, or aerender must be on your PATH for aerender mode

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Installation

npm install
npm run build

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Configuration

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "after-effects": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-ae/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "AE_BRIDGE_MODE": "auto"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

| Variable | Default | Description | |----------|---------|-------------| | AE_BRIDGE_MODE | auto | Bridge mode: auto, applescript, com, or aerender | | AE_RENDER_PATH | (OS default) | Full path to aerender binary when using aerender mode |

aerender Paths (defaults)

• macOS: /Applications/Adobe After Effects 2024/aerender
• Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects 2024\Support Files\aerender.exe

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Available MCP Tools

Project & Composition

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | ae_get_project_info | Get info about the open project | | ae_list_compositions | List all compositions | | ae_get_composition_layers | List all layers in a composition | | ae_create_composition | Create a new composition |

Layers

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | ae_add_text_layer | Add a text layer | | ae_add_solid_layer | Add a solid color layer | | ae_add_null_layer | Add a null/control layer | | ae_import_file | Import a file (video, image, audio, AEP) |

Animation

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | ae_set_layer_property | Set a layer property value (with or without keyframe) | | ae_add_keyframe | Add a keyframe to a layer property | | ae_apply_effect | Apply an effect to a layer by match name |

Render & Save

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | ae_add_to_render_queue | Add a composition to the render queue | | ae_start_render | Start rendering all queued items | | ae_save_project | Save the current project |

Advanced

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | ae_run_script | Execute raw ExtendScript in After Effects |

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Example Prompts

Once connected to Claude, you can say things like:

• "List all compositions in my After Effects project"
• "Create a 1920×1080 composition called 'Intro' at 24fps, 5 seconds long"
• "Add a white text layer saying 'Hello World' at 72px font size, centered"
• "Set the opacity of layer 'Title' to 0 at t=0 and 100 at t=1 second"
• "Apply a Gaussian Blur to the background layer"
• "Add the 'Main' composition to the render queue and save to /tmp/output.mp4"
• "Run this ExtendScript: app.project.activeItem.name"

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Property Paths

Use dot notation for nested properties with ae_set_layer_property and ae_add_keyframe:

Transform.Position       → [x, y]
Transform.Scale          → [x, y] (percentage, e.g. [100, 100])
Transform.Rotation       → degrees
Transform.Opacity        → 0-100
Transform.Anchor Point   → [x, y]

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Common Effect Match Names

| Effect | Match Name | |--------|-----------| | Gaussian Blur | ADBE Gaussian Blur 2 | | Drop Shadow | ADBE Drop Shadow | | Glow | ADBE Glo2 | | Hue/Saturation | ADBE HUE SATURATION | | Levels | ADBE Levels2 | | Fractal Noise | ADBE Fractal Noise | | Linear Wipe | ADBE Linear Wipe | | Fill | ADBE Fill |

Find all match names by running: ae_run_script with: ``javascript var e = app.effects; var r = []; for (var i=0; i<e.length; i++) r.push(e[i].matchName); return r.join("\n"); ``

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Development

npm run dev    # Run with tsx (no build step)
npm run build  # Compile TypeScript → dist/
npm run watch  # Watch mode

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Architecture

src/
├── index.ts              # MCP server, tool definitions
├── ae-bridge.ts          # OS-level AE communication
└── scripts/
    └── common-effects.ts # Effect names & property path constants