animate-mcp

Edit Adobe Animate scripts and timeline structure from an MCP-compatible AI agent.

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Overview

animate-mcp is a local Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets an AI agent control Adobe Animate through JSFL, Animate's scripting system. Unofficial; not affiliated with Adobe.

It exports frame scripts as plain files, lets the agent edit them, and applies them back to Animate. It can also change layer and frame structure and run arbitrary JSFL.

Related MCP server: AE Bridge MCP

Highlights

• Export every frame script of scenes and library symbols to files, with a description of the structure.

• Apply edited files back to Animate. Changes made in Animate after Export are detected as conflicts and never overwritten.

• Add a new script to a frame that has none, just by creating a file.

• Add, delete, move, rename, and retype layers (mask, folder, and more).

• Insert or remove frames, work with keyframes, set labels, adjust tween length, and shift a layer's start.

• Run arbitrary JSFL and return the result.

• Supports ActionScript 3 and HTML5 Canvas documents.

Requirements

• Node.js

• Adobe Animate (must be running)

• An MCP-compatible client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, etc.)

• Verified only on Animate 2024 / macOS. Other recent versions should work. Windows is untested.

Install

Claude Code

claude mcp add animate -- npx -y animate-mcp@latest

Clients configured with JSON (Claude Desktop, etc.)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "animate": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "animate-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Usage

1. Start Animate and open the target .fla.

2. Ask your agent. Examples:

   • "Export the scripts of the open document and find the cause of the stageUp error."

   • "Clean up the button handling in this scene and apply it to Animate."

3. Behind the scenes:

   1. export_scripts writes the structure and every frame script to ~/.animate-mcp/exports/<document name>/.

   2. The agent edits the files.

   3. apply_scripts writes them back into Animate.

Notes:

• When several documents are open, specify which one with document.

• Changes made in Animate after an Export are detected as conflicts on Apply and are not overwritten.

• Export is refused while unapplied edits exist. Use force: true only when it is fine to discard them.

• To add a script to a frame with none, create as/<frame>.as in the timeline directory (use .js for HTML5 Canvas), then run apply_scripts; scripts inside tween spans are refused.

• Use edit_timeline for layer and frame structure changes; shiftLayerFrames moves one layer's content later without shifting other layers. Always run export_scripts again before editing or applying scripts; layer and frame deletions require confirm: true.

• To save, save manually in Animate.

• Both ActionScript 3 and HTML5 Canvas documents are supported.

Tools

Environment variables

Bug reports

Please open an issue with your Animate version, OS, steps to reproduce and error messages.

Development

npm install && npm run build
npm test

Client config: node /path/to/animate-mcp/server/dist/index.js (stdio).

Manual smoke test (real Animate)

1. Start Animate with a document open.

2. Run run_jsfl with fl.trace('hi'); 'ok'. hi appears in the Output panel and the tool returns "ok". Animate comes to the front (known behavior).

3. Run get_document_info. It returns name, size, frame rate and timeline names.

4. Close all documents and run get_document_info. It returns "No document open".

5. Quit Animate and run run_jsfl. It returns "Animate not running".

6. Unverified: behavior while a modal dialog is open.