Project-level info: file path, dirty flag, all items with type/summary, active item. Start here.

Detailed comp info: size, fps, duration, work area, motion blur, layer summaries. Pass a comp name or item id — or an ARRAY of them to fetch several comps in one call.

Full layer info: transform, effects, masks, text, shape contents, keyframes (incl. interpolation names and bezier ease speed/influence). layerIndex accepts one index, an ARRAY of indices, or 'all' — auditing a whole comp is one call. detail:'summary' drops properties still at their default value (unkeyed, no expression) — start there for audits; the full tree is often 100KB+ per comp. Set includeProperties=false to skip the property tree walk entirely.

Render one or more frames to PNG. Use to visually verify edits. The agent's 'eyes' — pair with mutations for a visual feedback loop. Experimental preview requests half or quarter resolution for up to 6 frames; inspect returned dimensions and warnings. Headless and deterministic. Pass time for one frame, or times for several in ONE call (motion checks): files land at _.png and are listed in frames. contactSheet tiles every frame into one labelled PNG (_sheet.png) so a motion check is one image; analyze measures each capture (uniform edge bands = black bars / transparent margins, content bounds, coverage) so off-frame elements and letterboxing are caught numerically. In color-managed projects (workingSpace != None) the capture applies AE's own display transform via a transient OCIO Display Transform adjustment layer, and the PNG comes back viewer-accurate and sRGB-tagged. Where that layer cannot be used — read-only mode, an AE without the OCIO effect, or a failed capture calibration — the result falls back to a pure-math ACES conversion or to raw values with an explicit colorWarning; check colorPipeline / colorWarning on the response.

Save the project. Pass path for Save As.

Serialize the entire project to JSON (folders, comps, layers, keyframes, effects, shapes, markers, time remap, solids, file refs). Write to outPath or return inline.

Rebuild the project from JSON (produced by ae_project_export_json). Supports clearFirst, dryRun (validate-only), skipValidation.

AE version, build, capabilities (saveFrameToPng, app.effects, Socket). Call at session start to know what APIs are available.

Discover available atomic operations for ae_do. Without args: all categories with their operation names. With a category: detailed params per operation. Use detail: summary to browse names and descriptions without params, or operations: [exact names] to fetch only the schemas needed. Only operations this server will execute are listed.

Offline motion planner for typography, panels, icons, and bars. Prepare pivots, reread positions, then request reveal ops. Audit phase checks camera samples without proposing edits. It never contacts After Effects or applies edits. Supply real readback and render before/after.

Offline recipe for retiming several inspected property tracks in one AE batch. It validates whole-frame timing and returns typed operations plus a readback plan. It never contacts After Effects or applies edits.

Prepare a typed retime or text/logo variants recipe against an existing active managed .aep copy and persist a guarded job. Apply only after reviewing the job, or read its status. Apply edits only that copy. No production render is started automatically.

Apply up to 12 typed, registered edits to the active managed .aep copy in one AE call. A UUID requestId prevents repeat execution after a retry or timeout. The call captures pre-edit values, saves a checkpoint, edits, reads back values and saves the project. Use action=status with the same requestId to inspect a delayed receipt. This does not render frames.

Inspect up to 16 explicit layer or property targets in one read. Returns compact current values, key counts, and reusable opaque references. Requires a numeric composition ID and 1-based layer indices; property paths use canonical match names. Repeated sibling match names cannot receive reusable property references.

Execute an atomic operation by name (from ae_catalog). Arguments are validated against the operation's declared parameters before anything reaches AE. Have more than one operation to run? Wrap them in ONE batch.run instead of several ae_do calls — read/verify steps (comp.info, layer.info, render.frame) can ride in the same batch. Every call is automatically wrapped in ONE undo group: a single Ctrl+Z (or project.undo) reverts the entire call, and a batch.run counts as one call. Never call app.beginUndoGroup/endUndoGroup in eval.run code — the wrapper already did. The exception is undo/redo itself (project.undo, command.execute id 16/2035): those run outside the group and cannot ride inside a batch.run. Response includes ambient context (active comp, selected layers, project state) at zero extra round trips. Example: ae_do({ operation: 'keyframe.add', args: { comp: 'Main', layer: 1, property: ['Transform','Position'], time: 2, value: [960,540] } })

Ambient context: project state, active comp, selected layers, and resident readiness. Compact output is the default; request detail:'full' for the item list, AE.* helpers, ES3 rules, tips, and undo contract. Call at session start; then rely on ae_do response context.