After Effects MCP Server

Local-first MCP server for controlling Adobe After Effects from Cursor or Codex through a hardened ScriptUI bridge panel.

Designer Setup Guide

If you are setting this up as a motion designer, start here:

• docs/designer-setup-guide.md

Related MCP server: After Effects MCP Server

Status

This is a first-party implementation inspired by public After Effects MCP projects, but it does not vendor or run their setup scripts. The bridge protocol is intentionally narrow: tools send allowlisted commands to an After Effects panel, and the panel returns authenticated results.

Safety Defaults

The default policy is designed for creative agent workflows while keeping higher-risk actions explicit:

• AE_MCP_MODE=edit: read plus basic create/edit tools are enabled.

• AE_MCP_ALLOW_EXPRESSIONS=0: expression editing is disabled by default.

• AE_MCP_ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVE=0: delete/remove tools are disabled by default.

• AE_MCP_ALLOW_ARBITRARY_JSX=0: arbitrary JSX execution is not exposed.

• AE_MCP_REDACT_PATHS=1: local paths are redacted before becoming MCP output.

Each bridge session uses a generated sessionId and nonce. The After Effects panel only executes commands that match the active session.

Setup

1. Install dependencies and build:

npm install
npm run build

2. Install the After Effects bridge panel:

npm run install-bridge -- --dry-run
npm run install-bridge

The installer never invokes elevated permissions. If copying fails, follow the printed manual copy instructions.

3. Enable After Effects scripting:

• macOS: After Effects > Settings > Scripting & Expressions

• Windows: Edit > Preferences > Scripting & Expressions

Enable Allow Scripts to Write Files and Access Network, then restart After Effects.

4. Open the bridge panel:

• Window > mcp-bridge-auto.jsx

Keep the panel open while using Cursor or Codex.

Cursor Or Codex Config

Copy one of the examples:

• examples/cursor-mcp.json

• examples/codex-mcp.json

Replace <absolute-path-to-this-repo> with your local clone path. Do not commit a user-specific config file after substituting local paths.

The server prints bridge details through the ae_bridge_status tool. If you set AE_MCP_BRIDGE_DIR, set the same directory in the bridge panel. If you do not set it, copy the generated bridge directory from ae_bridge_status into the panel.

Tool Policy

Readonly mode:

AE_MCP_MODE=readonly

Edit mode:

AE_MCP_MODE=edit

Enable expressions only for trusted workflows:

AE_MCP_ALLOW_EXPRESSIONS=1

Enable destructive tools only when needed:

AE_MCP_ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVE=1

Supported Scope

Initial supported tools:

• Project/composition/layer inspection

• Composition creation

• Text, shape, and solid layer creation

• Transform edits

• Transform keyframes

• Optional expression setting

• Optional layer deletion

Supported platforms are macOS and Windows with After Effects 2022 or later. Linux can run the Node MCP server for tests, but cannot run After Effects.

Smoke Tests

Run automated checks:

npm test
npm run build

Manual After Effects smoke test:

1. Open After Effects with a throwaway project.

2. Open mcp-bridge-auto.jsx.

3. In Cursor or Codex, call ae_bridge_status.

4. Copy the reported bridge directory to the panel if needed.

5. Call ae_get_project_info.

6. Call ae_create_composition with a test name.

7. Call ae_create_text_layer against that composition.

If anything looks wrong, turn off the panel's auto-run checkbox. Mutating operations are wrapped in After Effects undo groups so you can undo agent mistakes.

Development Notes

Do not run scripts from ae-mcp-setup/; that folder is reference material only. If borrowing behavior from upstream projects, copy only the specific reviewed function and check it for arbitrary file access, implicit active-project assumptions, alerts/prompts, destructive operations, and global state mutation.