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
  • Core Composition Features
  • Layer Management
  • Animation Capabilities
• Setup Instructions
  • Prerequisites
  • Installation
  • Running the Server
• 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

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.

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

• 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.