The After Effects MCP Server enables control of Adobe After Effects through a standardized protocol, allowing automation of key tasks:
Composition management: Create compositions with custom settings (size, frame rate, duration, background color), and list existing compositions
Layer handling: Create and modify text, shape, solid, and adjustment layers
Property control: Adjust position, scale, rotation, opacity, and timing
Animation: Set keyframes and apply expressions to layer properties
Effects: Apply predefined or custom effects with customizable settings
Scripting: Run JavaScript scripts within After Effects and retrieve results
Integration: Use MCP tools to create AI-powered automation workflows
Used as the runtime environment for the MCP server, with version 14.x or later required
🎬 After Effects MCP Server
✨ A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Adobe After Effects that enables AI assistants and other applications to control After Effects through a standardized protocol.
Table of Contents
📦 Features
🎥 Core Composition Features
Create compositions with custom settings (size, frame rate, duration, background color)
List all compositions in a project
Get project information such as frame rate, dimensions, and duration
🧱 Layer Management
Create text layers with customizable properties (font, size, color, position)
Create shape layers (rectangle, ellipse, polygon, star) with colors and strokes
Create solid/adjustment layers for backgrounds and effects
Modify layer properties like position, scale, rotation, opacity, and timing
🌀 Animation Capabilities
Set keyframes for layer properties (Position, Scale, Rotation, Opacity, etc.)
Apply expressions to layer properties for dynamic animations
⚙️ Setup Instructions
🛠 Prerequisites
Adobe After Effects (2022 or later)
Node.js (v14 or later)
npm or yarn package manager
📥 Installation
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/after-effects-mcp.git cd after-effects-mcpInstall dependencies
npm install # or yarn installBuild the project
npm run build # or yarn buildInstall the After Effects panel
npm run install-bridge # or yarn install-bridgeThis will copy the necessary scripts to your After Effects installation.
🔧 Update MCP Config
Go to your client (eg. Claude or Cursor ) and update your config file
▶️ Running the Server
Start the MCP server
npm start # or yarn startOpen After Effects
Open the MCP Bridge Auto panel
In After Effects, go to Window > mcp-bridge-auto.jsx
The panel will automatically check for commands every few seconds
Make sure the "Auto-run commands" checkbox is enabled
🚀 Usage Guide
Once you have the server running and the MCP Bridge panel open in After Effects, you can control After Effects through the MCP protocol. This allows AI assistants or custom applications to send commands to After Effects.
📘 Creating Compositions
You can create new compositions with custom settings:
Name
Width and height (in pixels)
Frame rate
Duration
Background color
Example MCP tool usage (for developers):
✍️ Working with Layers
You can create and modify different types of layers:
Text layers:
Set text content, font, size, and color
Position text anywhere in the composition
Adjust timing and opacity
Shape layers:
Create rectangles, ellipses, polygons, and stars
Set fill and stroke colors
Customize size and position
Solid layers:
Create background colors
Make adjustment layers for effects
🕹 Animation
You can animate layers with:
Keyframes:
Set property values at specific times
Create motion, scaling, rotation, and opacity changes
Control the timing of animations
Expressions:
Apply JavaScript expressions to properties
Create dynamic, procedural animations
Connect property values to each other
🛠 Available MCP Tools
Command | Description |
`create-composition` | Create a new comp |
`run-script` | Run a JS script inside AE |
`get-results` | Get script results |
`get-help` | Help for available commands |
`setLayerKeyframe` | Add keyframe to layer property |
`setLayerExpression` | Add/remove expressions from properties |
👨💻 For Developers
🧩 Project Structure
src/index.ts
: MCP server implementationsrc/scripts/mcp-bridge-auto.jsx
: Main After Effects panel scriptinstall-bridge.js
: Script to install the panel in After Effects
📦 Building the Project
🤝 Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
local-only server
The server can only run on the client's local machine because it depends on local resources.
Tools
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Adobe After Effects that enables AI assistants and other applications to control After Effects through a standardized protocol.
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