After Effects MCP Server

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.

Table of Contents

Features
Setup Instructions
Usage Guide
- Creating Compositions
- Working with Layers
- Animation
Available MCP Tools
For Developers
- Project Structure
- Building the Project
- Contributing
License

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

Clone the repository

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

Install dependencies
```
npm install
# or
yarn install
```
Build the project
```
npm run build
# or
yarn build
```
Install the After Effects panel
```
npm run install-bridge
# or
yarn install-bridge
```
This will copy the necessary scripts to your After Effects installation.

Running the Server

Start the MCP server
```
npm start
# or
yarn start
```
Open After Effects
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

create-composition: Create a new composition in After Effects
run-script: Run predefined scripts in After Effects
get-results: Get results from the last script execution
get-help: Get help on using the After Effects MCP integration
setLayerKeyframe: Set a keyframe for a layer property at a given time
setLayerExpression: Set or remove an expression for a layer property

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.

Categories

Current Category: after-effects

after-effects-mcp