After Effects
The After Effects MCP server works with projects and footage, compositions and layers, time and keyframes, expressions, effects, text animators, masks, shape layers, paint/roto, 3D, tracking, color and the render queue.
What this implementation covers
project and footage; compositions; layers and property paths; keyframes and animation; effects; text, shapes, masks and paint; tracking and 3D; render settings, output modules and queue management.
For feature-level detail and evidence, see the Capability Atlas.
Connection and requirements
How it reaches the app
ExtendScript through local desktop automation; Windows may use AfterFX.exe to run scripts. Compatible operations can route to EffectCraft.
What you need
After Effects 2023 or later; Node.js 18+; macOS or Windows.
Package: adobe-mcp-aftereffects. Add it as a local stdio MCP server using CLI & client configuration.
API and content conventions
Use help for the exact tool schema. Static script audit does not establish that operations have been validated in a live After Effects session; use the package README for current evidence status.
Discover the running package’s exact tool names and JSON input schemas through MCP tools/list. If the server provides help, use it to inspect a tool or category. Schemas from a different package version may not match.
Target and units: Use project item IDs or composition names as documented. Layer indices follow After Effects’ 1-based convention; time values are seconds where specified. File operations use home-folder confinement plus AFTEREFFECTS_ALLOWED_DIRS.
CLI and configuration
This package is launched as a persistent MCP process, not as a conventional one-shot CLI. Relevant settings documented by the package include:
AFTEREFFECTS_EXE (Windows), AFTEREFFECTS_ALLOWED_DIRS, AFTEREFFECTS_SCRIPT_TIMEOUT_MS, AFTEREFFECTS_TARGET and EffectCraft control settings where configured.
Variable names and defaults are package-specific; consult the package README before changing them. File-operation permissions and bridge tokens should be configured in the client’s environment, not embedded in prompts or checked into source.
claude mcp add aftereffects -- npx -y adobe-mcp-aftereffectsFor client-neutral JSON configuration and source-checkout commands, see CLI & configuration.
Full reference
The repository README is maintained alongside this implementation and covers exact setup, tool families, package-specific behavior, limitations, security and development status.