after-effects-mcp

after-effects-mcp

48
entertainment_and_media

The After Effects MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol server designed to enable control of Adobe After Effects through AI assistants and applications. It supports composition creation, layer management, and animation capabilities using a standardized protocol.

🎬 After Effects MCP Server

Node.js Build License Platform

✨ A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Adobe After Effects that enables AI assistants and other applications to control After Effects through a standardized protocol.

mcp-after-effects MCP server

Table of Contents

📦 Features

🎥 Core Composition Features

  • Create compositions with custom settings (size, frame rate, duration, background color)
  • List all compositions in a project
  • Get project information such as frame rate, dimensions, and duration

🧱 Layer Management

  • Create text layers with customizable properties (font, size, color, position)
  • Create shape layers (rectangle, ellipse, polygon, star) with colors and strokes
  • Create solid/adjustment layers for backgrounds and effects
  • Modify layer properties like position, scale, rotation, opacity, and timing

🌀 Animation Capabilities

  • Set keyframes for layer properties (Position, Scale, Rotation, Opacity, etc.)
  • Apply expressions to layer properties for dynamic animations

⚙️ Setup Instructions

🛠 Prerequisites

  • Adobe After Effects (2022 or later)
  • Node.js (v14 or later)
  • npm or yarn package manager

📥 Installation

  1. Clone the repository

    git clone https://github.com/yourusername/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 panel

    npm run install-bridge
# or
yarn install-bridge

    This will copy the necessary scripts to your After Effects installation.

🔧 Update MCP Config

Go to your client (eg. Claude or Cursor ) and update your config file

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "AfterEffectsMCP": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\Dakkshin\\after-effects-mcp\\build\\index.js"]
    }
  }
}

▶️ Running the Server

  1. Start the MCP server

    npm start
# or
yarn start

  2. Open After Effects

  3. Open the MCP Bridge Auto panel

    • In After Effects, go to Window > mcp-bridge-auto.jsx
    • The panel will automatically check for commands every few seconds
    • Make sure the "Auto-run commands" checkbox is enabled

🚀 Usage Guide

Once you have the server running and the MCP Bridge panel open in After Effects, you can control After Effects through the MCP protocol. This allows AI assistants or custom applications to send commands to After Effects.

📘 Creating Compositions

You can create new compositions with custom settings:

  • Name
  • Width and height (in pixels)
  • Frame rate
  • Duration
  • Background color

Example MCP tool usage (for developers):

mcp_aftereffects_create_composition({
  name: "My Composition", 
  width: 1920, 
  height: 1080, 
  frameRate: 30,
  duration: 10
});

✍️ Working with Layers

You can create and modify different types of layers:

Text layers:

  • Set text content, font, size, and color
  • Position text anywhere in the composition
  • Adjust timing and opacity

Shape layers:

  • Create rectangles, ellipses, polygons, and stars
  • Set fill and stroke colors
  • Customize size and position

Solid layers:

  • Create background colors
  • Make adjustment layers for effects

🕹 Animation

You can animate layers with:

Keyframes:

  • Set property values at specific times
  • Create motion, scaling, rotation, and opacity changes
  • Control the timing of animations

Expressions:

  • Apply JavaScript expressions to properties
  • Create dynamic, procedural animations
  • Connect property values to each other

🛠 Available MCP Tools

CommandDescription
`create-composition`Create a new comp
`run-script`Run a JS script inside AE
`get-results`Get script results
`get-help`Help for available commands
`setLayerKeyframe`Add keyframe to layer property
`setLayerExpression`Add/remove expressions from properties

👨‍💻 For Developers

🧩 Project Structure

  • src/index.ts: MCP server implementation
  • src/scripts/mcp-bridge-auto.jsx: Main After Effects panel script
  • install-bridge.js: Script to install the panel in After Effects

📦 Building the Project

npm run build
# or
yarn build

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.