After Effects MCP Server

Read from the package source without running it. The installed server may list more.

• add_comp_marker

  Add a composition marker at a time, with a comment, duration, chapter and web link

• add_essential_graphics_controls

  Add controls to a composition's Essential Graphics panel (Animation > Add Property to Essential Graphics): properties such as Source Text, colours, sliders, checkboxes, angles, 2D points and scale, Dropdown Menu Controls (optionally setting their menu items) and 3D shadow colour, or footage and precomposition layers as media replacement. A nested composition then shows them as Essential Properties

• add_layer

  Add a layer (Layer > New): solid, null, adjustment, text, shape, camera or light, or a project item (footage or composition) as a layer, at the top of the composition

• add_mask

  Add a mask to layers: a rectangle or ellipse from bounds, or a path from points, all in the layer's own pixel coordinates; with its mode, feather, opacity, expansion and inversion

• add_protected_region

  Protect part of a composition's timing so it keeps its length when the composition is nested or the template is stretched (Composition > Responsive Design - Time > Create Intro, Create Outro or Create Protected Region from Work Area), or protect a custom span: a composition marker with Protected Region on

• apply_color_effect

  Apply a colour effect (Effect > Color Correction or Utility) to layers, or to a new adjustment layer at the top of the composition so it affects everything below and final renders: Lumetri Color, Curves, Levels, Hue/Saturation, Exposure and other grading effects; Broadcast Colors to keep output broadcast-safe; Color Profile Converter to simulate an output type in renders. Set controls by display n

• apply_effect

  Apply an effect to layers (Effect menu) by match name (e.g. "ADBE Gaussian Blur 2") or display name, optionally setting its properties by name, e.g. { "Blurriness": 20 }

• apply_preset

  Apply an animation preset (.ffx) to layers (Animation > Apply Animation Preset)

• arrange_layers

  Change the stacking order: move layers to the top, to the bottom, or before or after another layer

• choose_layer_tool

  Choose a layer tool in the Tools panel: Rotation, Pan Behind (Anchor Point) or Selection, for the user's next drag in the Composition panel. To rotate or move an anchor point from here, use set_transform

• convert_expression_to_keyframes

  Bake a property's expression into a keyframe on every frame and switch the expression off, keeping its text (Animation > Keyframe Assistant > Convert Expression to Keyframes). Keyframes already in the span are replaced

• copy_animation

  Copy from one layer's property to properties on other layers: its keyframes (Edit > Copy and Paste, or Paste Reverse Keyframes with reverse), its expression only (Edit > Copy Expression Only), or a link: an expression on each target that follows the source, as Edit > Copy With Property Links then Paste, or dragging the expression pick whip, would write

• create_compwrite action

  Create a composition (Composition > New Composition) with a size, pixel aspect, duration, frame rate and background colour, optionally in a folder, and open it

• create_comp_from_itemswrite action

  Make compositions from footage or compositions in the Project panel (File > New Comp from Selection): one per item, or one holding them all, sized and timed from an item, optionally with the layers in sequence and added to the Render Queue

• create_footage_itemwrite action

  Add a footage item without adding a layer: a colour-bar placeholder for footage that is not available yet (File > Import > Placeholder) or a solid (File > Import > Solid), optionally into a folder

• create_proxywrite action

  Queue a composition to render as its own proxy (File > Create Proxy > Still or Movie): adds a Render Queue item whose post-render action is Set Proxy. Render it with render_queue

• delete_layerswrite action

  Delete layers from a composition

• detect_scene_edits

  Find the cuts in video footage layers (Layer > Scene Edit Detection) and add a marker at each, split the layer at each cut, or split and pre-compose each scene; none only returns the cut times

• duplicate_comp

  Duplicate a composition (Edit > Duplicate), optionally renaming the copy

• duplicate_layers

  Duplicate layers (Edit > Duplicate), or copy them into another composition

• edit_comp_guides

  Add, move, remove or clear a composition's ruler guides (View > Add Guide, Edit Guide, Clear Guides). Positions are pixels from the left (vertical guides) or top (horizontal guides); guides are numbered from 1 in the order they were added

• edit_keyframes

  Change existing keyframes of a property (Animation > Keyframe Interpolation, Keyframe Velocity, Keyframe Assistant, the Graph Editor buttons and the keyframe context menu): interpolation presets such as Easy Ease, Easy Ease In/Out, Auto Bezier, Continuous Bezier, Linear and Toggle Hold Keyframe; incoming and outgoing interpolation and ease (speed and influence of the Bezier handles); Rove Across T

• edit_markers

  Composition and layer markers (Layer > Add Marker, the Marker dialog): list, add (or set a numbered composition marker 0-9), edit comment, duration, chapter, web link, cue point, label and protected region, remove one or all, move the current time to a marker, or Update Markers From Source. Give layers for layer markers; omit them for composition markers

• export_motion_graphics_template

  Export a composition as a Motion Graphics template (.mogrt) (File > Export > Export As Motion Graphics Template) to the Local Templates Folder or a folder on a local drive. The file is named after the template name

• find_effects

  Browse the effects on the Effect menu by category (Blur & Sharpen, Distort, Generate, Expression Controls, ...) or by name, from the built-in effect catalog: display name, match name, category, the controls After Effects documents for each, and whether this After Effects has it installed (Effect menu; Effects & Presets panel)

• get_aftereffects_info

  Describe the running After Effects and the computer: version, build, language, memory in use, render-engine and watch-folder modes, operating system, the project's GPU acceleration (File > Project Settings) and the types available, whether viewer updates are paused, and the values of preference keys you name

• get_color_management

  Read the project's colour settings (File > Project Settings > Color): bit depth, working colour space, working gamma, Linearize Working Color Space, Blend Colors Using 1.0 Gamma and Compensate for Scene-referred Profiles, and optionally the ICC colour profiles that can be the working space

• get_effect_controls

  Read the controls of effects on layers (Effect Controls panel): each control's name, match name, type (number, menu, point, point3d, color, layer, mask, topic, group or custom; checkboxes are numbers 0 or 1), current value, menu choices, range, units, keyframe count and expression

• get_footage_info

  Describe footage items (Project panel, Interpret Footage): source kind (file, solid, placeholder), file and missing path, alpha, frame rates, fields and pulldown, pixel aspect, loop, proxy and the compositions that use each item

• get_property

  Read a layer property: its value, keyframes (time, value, interpolation) and expression. Properties are named by a shortcut or a path of match names or names; this includes the Data group of a data-driven layer

• get_viewer_state

  Describe the focused viewer (Composition, Layer or Footage panel) and its views: zoom, channel, exposure, Fast Previews, transparency grid, rulers and guides; the active composition's resolution and current time; the active tool; and whether viewer updates are paused

• go_to_keyframe

  Move the current time to the previous, next, first or last keyframe (the keyframe navigator arrows, J and K): of one property, or of every animated property of the layers (the selected layers by default)

• go_to_time

  Move a composition's current-time indicator: to a time in seconds (View > Go to Time), forward or back a number of frames (Page Down/Page Up), to the start or end, to the start or end of the work area, or to a layer's In or Out point

• interpret_footage

  Change how footage is interpreted (File > Interpret Footage > Main or Proxy): alpha (ignore, straight, premultiplied with a matte colour, or guess), invert alpha, frame rate, field order, Preserve Edges, pulldown removal or guessing, pixel aspect ratio and loop count. copyFrom applies another item's interpretation first (Remember Interpretation, then Apply Interpretation)

• list_effects

  List the effects installed in After Effects with their display name, match name and category, filtered by a search string. Match names are what apply_effect takes most reliably

• list_layer_effects

  List the effects on layers, in order, with each effect's properties and values

• list_layers

  List a composition's layers, top to bottom, with index, id, type, switches, timing, parent, blending mode and track matte. Indexes are what other tools take

• list_masks

  List the masks on layers (Timeline panel, Masks group): index, name, mode, inversion, lock, colour, RotoBezier, motion blur, feather falloff, feather, opacity, expansion, selection and vertex count; optionally each path's vertices, tangents and feather points

• list_paint_strokes

  List the paint strokes on layers (Paint effects made with the Brush, Clone Stamp and Eraser tools) and the Roto Brush & Refine Edge effects, with every setting's name and value, so set_paint_strokes and set_roto_brush can address them

• manage_maskswrite action

  Delete masks (or all of them: Layer > Masks > Remove All Masks), duplicate them (Edit > Duplicate), select them or move the selection to the next or previous mask, toggle Layer > Mask > Hide Locked Masks, or limit an effect to masks (the effect's Compositing Options > Mask Reference)

• manage_motion_graphics_template

  Build a Motion Graphics template from a composition (Essential Graphics panel): add layer properties as controls, name the template, open the composition in the Essential Graphics panel, or export it as a .mogrt file. Returns the template's controls

• manage_puppet

  Puppet tools: add an empty Puppet effect to layers, choose a Puppet pin tool in the Tools panel (Position, Starch, Overlap, Advanced or Bend Pin) so pins can be placed in the Composition panel, duplicate a Puppet mesh, or list the meshes and pins with their paths for set_keyframes

• manage_script_settings

  Read, save or check a saved script setting (app.settings): text values kept in the After Effects preferences between sessions, under a section and key of your choosing. Values are stored as text, at most 1999 bytes

• manage_team_project

  Work with Team Projects (File > Team Project): check sign-in and status, list team projects, create or open one, share your changes with a comment, get the latest changes, resolve conflicts, convert the open team project to a local .aep, or close it. Needs a Creative Cloud sign-in with Team Projects available

• move_layers

  Move layers in time without changing their length: put the In or Out point at a time ([ and ]: the current time; or the composition start or end), alone or as a set keeping offsets; nudge by frames (Alt+Page Up/Down) or seconds; stagger them in order (Quick Offset); or slip-edit the source under fixed In and Out points

• open_comp

  Open a composition in the Composition panel and make it the active one

• open_footage

  Open a footage item in the Footage panel, reveal its file in Finder or Explorer (Reveal in Finder / Reveal in Explorer) or in Adobe Bridge (File > Reveal in Bridge), or open it in the application that made it (Edit > Edit Original). With target bridge and no item, opens Adobe Bridge (File > Browse in Bridge)

• open_layer

  Open a layer (Layer > Open Layer) in the Layer panel, open its source (Layer > Open Layer Source: footage in the Footage panel, a pre-composition in the Composition panel), or select its source item in the Project panel (Reveal Layer Source In Project)

• organize_effects

  Duplicate effects on their layers (Edit > Duplicate), move an effect up or down the layer's effect stack (drag in the Effect Controls panel), or copy effects with their keyframes and expressions to other layers in the composition (Edit > Copy, Edit > Paste; uses the clipboard and opens the composition in the Composition panel)

• parent_layers

  Parent layers to another layer (or remove the parent), keeping their current position on screen, or with jump (Alt/Option while parenting): the child takes the parent's transform and jumps to it

• paste_svg_as_shapes

  Paste SVG artwork from the clipboard (for example copied from Illustrator) into a composition as shape layers (Edit > Paste). Opens the composition first

• precompose

  Pre-compose layers into a new composition (Layer > Pre-compose), moving all attributes or leaving them in the original

• purge_caches

  Free memory or disk cache (Edit > Purge): all memory and disk cache, all memory, undo history, image cache memory, snapshots, all disk cache, all 3D cache, or all cache. Purging undo means earlier steps can no longer be undone

• quit_aftereffects

  Quit After Effects (After Effects > Quit, or File > Exit on Windows). Unsaved changes are refused unless you choose to save or discard them. After Effects quits a moment after the call returns

• reframe_layers

  Fit, centre or flip layers (Layer > Transform): Fit to Comp, Fit to Comp Width, Fit to Comp Height, Center In View, Center Anchor Point in Layer Content, Flip Horizontal, Flip Vertical. The fit and centre commands select the layers and make their composition active

• reload_footage

  Re-read footage items from disk so changes made in other applications appear (File > Reload Footage)

• remap_layer_speed

  Play layers faster or slower with time remapping (Layer > Time > Enable Time Remapping), which also raises or lowers the pitch of their audio. Replaces any Time Remap keyframes with a constant speed and moves the Out point to the new end

• remove_effectswrite action

  Remove effects from layers by name or index, or all of them, or turn them off and on

• remove_keyframeswrite action

  Remove keyframes from a property: all of them, or those between two times

• replace_footage

  Replace a footage item's source everywhere it is used, keeping layer changes (File > Replace Footage): with another file or image sequence, a colour-bar placeholder, a solid, or a composition built from a layered Photoshop or Illustrator file (With Layered Comp)

• replace_layer_source

  Replace layers' source with another footage item or composition (Alt/Option-drag in the Project panel), keeping their properties, effects and keyframes

• run_aftereffects_script_filewrite action

  Run an ExtendScript file in After Effects (File > Scripts > Run Script File) as one undo step with dialogs suppressed, or schedule it to run after a delay (optionally repeating) and cancel a scheduled run, or run a script listed in the File > Scripts menu by its file name. Scripts run unrestricted

• run_animation_commandwrite action

  Run an Animation or Timeline command that acts on the selection: Enable Auto-keyframe (toggle), Select Equal / Previous / Following Keyframes, Select Keyframe Label Group (and its On Selected Layers, On All Layers and Visible Keyframes variants), Keyframe Assistant > Exponential Scale, RPF Camera Import and Create Keyframes from Data, Reveal in Timeline, Reveal Properties with Animation, Reveal Al

• run_audio_commandwrite action

  Run an audio command on layers: Convert Audio to Keyframes (Animation > Keyframe Assistant), which adds an Audio Amplitude layer with Slider keyframes, or Edit in Adobe Audition (Edit menu), which opens the layer's audio file in Audition when it is installed

• run_comp_commandwrite action

  Composition and work-area commands: Trim Comp to Work Area, Crop Comp to Region of Interest (needs a region drawn in the Composition panel), Set Poster Time, Lift Work Area and Extract Work Area (on the given layers, or all), set the work area to the layers' span, Composition Flowchart, and Reveal Composition in Project. The menu commands make the composition active

• run_edit_commandwrite action

  Run an Edit menu command: Undo or Redo (several steps back or forward through Edit > History), Cut, Copy, Paste, Select All, Deselect All, or Select Label Group. They act on the focused panel and its selection; give comp to focus that composition first. Copied layers can be pasted into Premiere Pro

• run_view_commandwrite action

  Run a View menu or viewer command on a viewer: Zoom In, Zoom Out, Show Grid, Snap to Grid, Show Layer Controls (these toggle), the view layout (1, 2 or 4 views), Share View Options, New Viewer, or close the viewer (File > Close). Give comp to use its Composition panel; otherwise the focused viewer

• save_frame

  Save one frame of a composition as a PNG file (Composition > Save Frame As)

• select_drawing_tool

  Choose the active tool in the Tools panel (shape and mask tools: Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Star; Pen, Add Vertex, Delete Vertex, Convert Vertex, Mask Feather; Brush, Clone Stamp, Eraser; Roto Brush, Refine Edge; or Selection), and/or open the Paint, Brushes or Content-Aware Fill panel (Window menu, which toggles a panel that is already open). Drawing with the tool is then don

• select_keyframes

  Select or deselect keyframes of a property in the Timeline panel, or deselect every keyframe, property and property group (Edit > Deselect All in the Timeline). Selected keyframes are what run_animation_command's keyframe commands act on

• select_layers

  Change which layers are selected in the Timeline: select given layers (by number, as typing it on the keypad), add or remove them, invert the selection, select children of parents, move the selection to the next or previous layer or extend it, select all or none

• separate_dimensions

  Separate a Position property into X, Y (and Z) Position so each can be keyframed alone, or join them again (Animation > Separate Dimensions)

• sequence_layers

  Arrange layers one after another in time, in the order given, optionally overlapping with an opacity dissolve (Animation > Keyframe Assistant > Sequence Layers)

• set_application_settings

  Change application and project performance settings: memory limits (Preferences > Memory & Performance), the project's Mercury GPU acceleration (File > Project Settings), whether preferences are saved on quit, and the preferences the scripting guide documents (expand flowchart compositions, JavaScript debugger)

• set_audio_levels

  Set layers' Audio Levels (the Audio group, L in the Timeline) in decibels: a static value, or keyframes at times (Animation > Add Audio Levels Keyframe)

• set_bezier_path

  Edit a mask path or a shape layer's Path property: replace its vertices and tangents, make another vertex the first (Layer > Mask and Shape Path > Set First Vertex), reverse its direction, move, scale and rotate all its points about an anchor (as Free Transform Points does), or set variable-width feather points on a mask (Mask Feather tool: extent, tension, Hold, inner or outer). Points are in the

• set_color_management

  Change the project's colour settings (File > Project Settings > Color): bit depth (8, 16 or 32 bpc, where 32 is high dynamic range float), working colour space (a profile from get_color_management, or "" for None), working gamma, Linearize Working Color Space, Blend Colors Using 1.0 Gamma and Compensate for Scene-referred Profiles

• set_comp_settings

  Change a composition's settings (Composition > Composition Settings): name, size, pixel aspect, duration, frame rate, resolution, start timecode or frame, drop-frame timecode, background, motion blur (shutter angle and phase, samples), nesting options and work area; and its Timeline switches Enable Frame Blending and Hide Shy Layers

• set_current_tool

  Choose the active tool in the Tools panel (selection, hand, zoom, rotation, camera orbit, pan and dolly modes, shapes, pen, type, paint, Roto Brush, puppet pins), or cycle to the next tool in a group as clicking a tool button repeatedly does. Camera tools need a camera layer

• set_display_color

  Display colour in the Composition panel (View menu): turn Use Display Color Management on or off (the command toggles it; scripts cannot read its state), choose a Simulate Output preset (display colour management must be on), or open the Lumetri Scopes panel. Applies to the composition opened in the viewer

• set_effect_controls

  Apply an effect from the Effect menu to layers by display name or match name and set any of its controls by name in the same call, or set the controls of an effect already on the layers (Effect Controls panel). Values: numbers, true/false for checkboxes, [x, y] pixels for points, "#RRGGBB" for colours, a menu choice's text or number, a layer's name or index for layer controls, a mask's name for ma

• set_essential_graphics

  Open a composition in the Essential Graphics panel as its primary composition (Composition > Open in Essential Graphics), set the template name, rename controls, and list the controls

• set_expressionwrite action

  Write an expression on a property, as typed in the expression editor (or clear it with an empty string), and report any expression error After Effects finds. The expression can use the whole expression language: global objects (thisComp, thisLayer, time, value), time conversion, vector math, random numbers, interpolation (linear, ease), colour conversion and other math; comp, footage, layer (sub-o

• set_expression_engine

  Choose the engine that evaluates the project's expressions (File > Project Settings > Expressions): javascript (the default, faster, modern syntax) or extendscript (Legacy ExtendScript, for old expressions)

• set_keyframes

  Add keyframes to a property at several times, with their values, and optionally the interpolation (linear, bezier, hold) and easing (Easy Ease influence and speed) for each

• set_layer_properties

  Set layer switches and timing: name, comment, enabled (video), audio, solo, shy, lock, 3D, motion blur, adjustment layer, effects (Effect switch), Collapse Transformations / Continuously Rasterize, Preserve Underlying Transparency, quality and sampling (Bilinear, Bicubic), blending mode (or step to the next or previous one), Auto-Orient, label, in and out points, start time, stretch

• set_layer_styles

  Add Photoshop-style layer styles (Layer > Layer Styles: Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow, Inner Glow, Bevel and Emboss, Satin, Color Overlay, Gradient Overlay, Stroke), Remove All, Convert to Editable Styles, and set Blending Options (Global Light, Fill Opacity, channels, Blend Interior Styles as Group, Use Blend Ranges from Source). The style commands select the layers and make their composi

• set_masks

  Change masks on layers (Layer > Mask): mode, inversion, lock (or lock every other mask: Lock Other Masks; unlock them all: Unlock All Masks), outline colour, RotoBezier, Motion Blur (same as layer, on, off), Feather Falloff (smooth, linear), feather, opacity, expansion, name and selection

• set_paint_strokes

  Change or keyframe existing paint strokes (Paint effect, Timeline panel): Start and End (write-on), colour, diameter, hardness, opacity, flow and the other brush settings, a clone stroke's Clone Position, Clone Time and Clone Time Shift, the stroke's Transform, and the effect's Paint on Transparent. Strokes themselves are drawn by hand with the Brush, Clone Stamp or Eraser tool

• set_property

  Set a property's value, as in the Timeline or Properties panel (layer Transform, shape, camera and light options, effect properties): with no time and no keyframes the static value, otherwise a keyframe at the time (or the current time). Text layers' Source Text takes a string

• set_proxy

  Give footage items or compositions a proxy (File > Set Proxy): a file or image sequence, a solid or a placeholder, or remove it (None). useProxy switches between the proxy and the original (the proxy indicator in the Project panel)

• set_solid_settings

  Change a solid layer's solid (Layer > Solid Settings): name, colour and size, either for every layer that uses the solid (Affect All Layers That Use This Solid) or for these layers only, through a new solid

• set_track_matte

  Use another layer as a layer's track matte (alpha, alpha inverted, luma, luma inverted), or remove the matte

• set_transform

  Set layer transform values without keyframes: anchor point, position, scale (percent), rotation (degrees), opacity (percent), and 3D orientation and rotations. Animated properties are set at the current time

• set_view_options

  Change a viewer's view options: magnification (zoom percent, 100 for actual size), the Show Channel menu (RGB, red, green, blue, alpha, colorized, straight RGB; alpha boundary and overlay in the Layer panel), exposure, the transparency grid, Fast Previews (Off, Adaptive Resolution, Draft, Fast Draft, Wireframe), rulers, guides (show, snap, lock), which view is active, and maximizing the panel. Als

• show_panel

  Open or close a panel from the Window menu: Tools, Info, Audio or Preview. Choosing an open panel's command closes it

• split_layers

  Split layers at a time (Edit > Split Layer): each becomes two layers, the original ending at the time and a duplicate above it starting there, both keeping all keyframes

• switch_all_layers

  Apply a switch to every layer in a composition (Layer > Switches): Unlock All Layers, Show All Video, or Hide Other Video (turn video off for every layer except the given ones)

• switch_workspace

  Switch to a built-in workspace (Window > Workspace), or reset the current workspace to its saved layout. Custom workspaces can be chosen by name with run_menu_command

• trim_layers

  Trim or extend layers' In or Out point to a time (Alt+[ and Alt+]: trim to the current time), or trim a set of layers together so the earliest In point or latest Out point lands there, keeping their offsets. Trimming never changes the source

• Code scan35 source files scanned25/25
• –Live reliabilityno gateway calls yet and no remote to proben/a
• –Tool poisoningtools not inspected (local package is not executed); not countedn/a
• Auth qualitylocal package, no credentials required12/15
• Maintenancelast push 5 days ago15/15
• Maintainer identityregistry namespace matches repository owner; GitHub account older than a year8/10

Safety score

92/100

higher than 90% of 1,299 Productivity servers

Tools

100

the typical Productivity server has 7

Tools that change things

15%

typical: 0%. Fewer write tools means less an agent can break

GitHub stars

28

more than 85% of 854 Productivity servers

After Effects MCP Server: common questions

Is After Effects MCP Server safe?

Yes, by our scan: it is graded A (92/100). Read the After Effects MCP Server safety report

How do I install After Effects MCP Server?

It runs on your machine. Copy the Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code or Claude Desktop config from the install section.

Does After Effects MCP Server need an API key?

No secret keys are declared. It reads 3 settings from the environment.

Is After Effects MCP Server maintained?

The last commit was 14 days ago (2026-10-21). The latest release is v0.1.0.

What can I use instead of After Effects MCP Server?

Servers from other publishers that do the same job: Scumble MCP server, Argent MCP server and gflow-cli MCP server.

How does After Effects MCP Server compare with other Productivity MCP servers?

safety score 92/100 (higher than 90% of 1,299 Productivity servers); tools 100 (the typical Productivity server has 7); tools that change things 15% (typical: 0%. Fewer write tools means less an agent can break). Full comparison.