After Effects MCP
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| AE_MCP_PORT | No | Forces the port the MCP server listens on. By default the server uses port 8790 and falls back to 8791–8794 if the port is taken, writing the port to ~/Documents/ae-mcp-bridge/port.json. | |
| AE_RENDER_PATH | No | Points at aerender if it isn't found automatically, used for background rendering with start-render. |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {
"listChanged": true
} |
| prompts | {
"listChanged": true
} |
| resources | {
"listChanged": true
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| run-scriptC | Run a command in After Effects and return its result. Executes synchronously over a local socket to the MCP Bridge panel. |
| bridge-statusA | Check that After Effects and the MCP Bridge panel are reachable, and measure round-trip latency. |
| render-frameA | Render a single frame of a composition and return it as a PNG image, so results can be verified visually. |
| start-renderA | Render the render queue in the background with aerender (a separate AE process), so After Effects and the bridge stay responsive. Renders the SAVED project file. Returns a jobId for render-status. |
| render-statusA | Progress of background renders started by start-render (or run-script startRender) from this session. |
| cancel-renderB | Stop a background render started by start-render. |
| create-compositionA | Create a new composition in After Effects with specified parameters |
| get-helpA | Get help on using the After Effects MCP integration |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| list-compositions | List compositions in the current After Effects project |
| analyze-composition | |
| create-composition | Create a new composition with specified settings |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| compositions |
TDQS
Scored across 8 tools
Most tools have clearly distinct purposes: connectivity, scripting, single-frame rendering, background render lifecycle, composition creation, and help. The main overlap is that run-script is a generic escape hatch that could technically duplicate create-composition and render operations, though descriptions clarify when to use the specialized tools.
Tool names consistently use kebab-case and are mostly action-oriented verb_noun or verb_resource patterns (run-script, render-frame, start-render, cancel-render, create-composition, get-help). bridge-status and render-status are noun-status forms, a minor but visible deviation from the dominant verb-first convention.
Eight tools is well-scoped for an After Effects bridge server, covering execution, diagnostics, rendering, composition creation, and help without bloat. Each tool earns its place, and the render lifecycle is split into appropriate start/status/cancel operations.
The surface covers the core integration lifecycle: checking the bridge, executing arbitrary AE commands, visually verifying a frame, creating compositions, and managing background renders. It lacks high-level tools for common project/composition/layer CRUD, but run-script provides an escape hatch for those operations.