mcp-after-effects

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/index.ts:723-768 (registration)

  Registers the MCP tool 'apply-effect-template' with server.tool(), including description, input schema, and handler function.

  server.tool(
    "apply-effect-template",
    "Apply a predefined effect template to a layer in After Effects",
    {
      compIndex: z.number().int().positive().describe("1-based index of the target composition in the project panel."),
      layerIndex: z.number().int().positive().describe("1-based index of the target layer within the composition."),
      templateName: z.enum([
        "gaussian-blur", 
        "directional-blur", 
        "color-balance", 
        "brightness-contrast",
        "curves",
        "glow",
        "drop-shadow",
        "cinematic-look",
        "text-pop"
      ]).describe("Name of the effect template to apply."),
      customSettings: z.record(z.any()).optional().describe("Optional custom settings to override defaults.")
    },
    async (parameters) => {
      try {
        // Queue the command for After Effects
        writeCommandFile("applyEffectTemplate", parameters);
        
        return {
          content: [
            {
              type: "text",
              text: `Command to apply effect template '${parameters.templateName}' to layer ${parameters.layerIndex} in composition ${parameters.compIndex} has been queued.\n` +
                    `Use the "get-results" tool after a few seconds to check for confirmation.`
            }
          ]
        };
      } catch (error) {
        return {
          content: [
            {
              type: "text",
              text: `Error queuing apply-effect-template command: ${String(error)}`
            }
          ],
          isError: true
        };
      }
    }
  );

• src/index.ts:726-741 (schema)

  Zod schema defining the input parameters: composition and layer indices, required templateName from enum of predefined effects, optional custom settings.

  {
    compIndex: z.number().int().positive().describe("1-based index of the target composition in the project panel."),
    layerIndex: z.number().int().positive().describe("1-based index of the target layer within the composition."),
    templateName: z.enum([
      "gaussian-blur", 
      "directional-blur", 
      "color-balance", 
      "brightness-contrast",
      "curves",
      "glow",
      "drop-shadow",
      "cinematic-look",
      "text-pop"
    ]).describe("Name of the effect template to apply."),
    customSettings: z.record(z.any()).optional().describe("Optional custom settings to override defaults.")
  },

• src/index.ts:742-767 (handler)

  The handler function queues the command 'applyEffectTemplate' with parameters to the temporary command file for processing by the After Effects MCP Bridge Auto panel, and returns a confirmation message.

  async (parameters) => {
    try {
      // Queue the command for After Effects
      writeCommandFile("applyEffectTemplate", parameters);
      
      return {
        content: [
          {
            type: "text",
            text: `Command to apply effect template '${parameters.templateName}' to layer ${parameters.layerIndex} in composition ${parameters.compIndex} has been queued.\n` +
                  `Use the "get-results" tool after a few seconds to check for confirmation.`
          }
        ]
      };
    } catch (error) {
      return {
        content: [
          {
            type: "text",
            text: `Error queuing apply-effect-template command: ${String(error)}`
          }
        ],
        isError: true
      };
    }
  }

• src/index.ts:156-169 (helper)

  Helper utility that serializes the tool command and parameters to ae_command.json in the system temp directory, enabling the After Effects bridge script to detect and execute it.

  function writeCommandFile(command: string, args: Record<string, any> = {}): void {
    try {
      const commandFile = path.join(process.env.TEMP || process.env.TMP || '', 'ae_command.json');
      const commandData = {
        command,
        args,
        timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
        status: "pending"  // pending, running, completed, error
      };
      fs.writeFileSync(commandFile, JSON.stringify(commandData, null, 2));
      console.error(`Command "${command}" written to ${commandFile}`);
    } catch (error) {
      console.error("Error writing command file:", error);
    }