Ae MCP server

ae-mcp

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One-line setup prompt — paste this into Claude Code or another AI agent:

Install the ae-mcp ZXP and the native plug-in for my platform from the latest
release, open Window > Extensions > ae-mcp in After Effects, then connect
Claude Code with `claude mcp add --transport http ae http://127.0.0.1:11488/mcp`;
for a stdio-only client, configure `npx -y ae-mcp-jkdg`. Keep the panel open and
start a new client session before testing `ae_status`.

ae-mcp connects an After Effects CEP panel to AI clients through a local MCP endpoint. The panel hosts the service at http://127.0.0.1:11488/mcp; the host is a Node process using Express, and After Effects state is reached through ExtendScript and the frozen native AEGP plane.

Install and first run

selected for the host — the .aex on Windows, the AeMcpNative.plugin bundle on macOS. Keep the version pair from the same release. The same ZXP installs on both systems; it bundles the OpenCode runtime for Windows (runtime/opencode/opencode.exe, about 60 MB), which the panel uses only on Windows, while macOS falls back to an opencode found on PATH. Only this native plug-in is built per platform, and ae_nativeExec is the one tool that needs it. Install has the exact per-platform destination, and the macOS bundle additionally needs its download quarantine cleared before After Effects will load it.

1. Install the signed ZXP in After Effects.
2. Install the matching native plug-in beside the After Effects plug-ins

open while an external client uses MCP.

1. Start After Effects and open Window > Extensions > ae-mcp. Keep the panel

1. Configure one of the two supported external connection forms below.

The panel itself is the MCP service. No separate repository server is needed. External clients must run on the same machine as After Effects because the default endpoint is loopback.

Client connections

Claude Code uses the URL transport:

claude mcp add --transport http ae http://127.0.0.1:11488/mcp

Claude Desktop can use the published connector through the system Node installation, without needing access to the installed extension directory. This npx -y ae-mcp-jkdg form wraps the same dependency-free host/stdio-shim.js:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ae": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "ae-mcp-jkdg"]
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, Claude Desktop can run the dependency-free stdio shim shipped in the installed extension. Set command to the system Node executable and point args at the extension directory's host/stdio-shim.js:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ae": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["<installed-extension>/host/stdio-shim.js"],
      "env": {
        "AE_MCP_HTTP_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:11488/mcp"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop therefore needs a system Node installation. The shim keeps one stdio request queue and forwards MCP responses to the panel host.

Panel capabilities

The CEP host advertises 13 public MCP tools:

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.