after-effects

This MCP server enables programmatic control of Adobe After Effects via the Model Context Protocol. It exposes an interface to create and manage compositions, build and modify layers (text, shape, solid/adjustment layers), and drive animations through keyframes and expressions. The server is intended to be run with a local After Effects installation and a client bridge (MCP Bridge Auto panel) inside After Effects to receive and execute commands from AI assistants or other applications. Available tools include creating compositions, running scripts inside After Effects, retrieving results, getting help on commands, and setting keyframes or expressions on layer properties. Use the provided mcp bridge in After Effects to issue commands like create-composition, setLayerKeyframe, and setLayerExpression to automate design and animation tasks.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js v14 or later
• npm or yarn
• Adobe After Effects (2022 or later) (for live testing with the bridge)

Installation steps:

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/Dakkshin/after-effects-mcp.git
   cd after-effects-mcp
   

2. Install dependencies

   npm install
   # or
   yarn install
   

3. Build the project

   npm run build
   # or
   yarn build
   

4. Install the After Effects bridge panel

   npm run install-bridge
   # or
   yarn install-bridge
   

   This copies the necessary scripts to your After Effects installation.

5. Run the MCP server

   npm start
   # or
   yarn start
   

Tips and notes:

• The MCP config example in the README shows running the server via Node.js and pointing to the built entry file. Adjust the path to index.js if your build output location differs.
• Ensure After Effects is installed and the MCP Bridge Auto panel is accessible in Window > mcp-bridge-auto.jsx.
• If you update the server and rebuild, restart the MCP server to pick up changes.
• Common environment considerations: the bridge panel polls for commands and may require firewall permissions to communicate with the local server.
• If you encounter permission or path issues on Windows, ensure long path support is enabled and that the path to index.js is correct.
• The available MCP tools include create-composition, run-script, get-results, get-help, setLayerKeyframe, and setLayerExpression; consult get-help for more specifics on arguments and usage.