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

1. Install the signed ZXP in After Effects.
2. Install the matching native plug-in beside the After Effects plug-ins 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.
3. Start After Effects and open Window > Extensions > ae-mcp. Keep the panel open while an external client uses MCP.
4. 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:

Successful ae_exec and ae_execRecover scripts are captured as deduplicated, rerunnable Tool Library candidates. ae_toolSave promotes or creates reusable JSX and prompt-skill artifacts; the Tools page manages candidates and saved artifacts, including import/export. Usage counters and funnel events show what gets replayed or retained, while the placeholder guard points compacted conversations back to exact candidates and stops repeated placeholder retries.

The panel also provides approval modes, activity history, diagnostics, log export, and built-in Claude, Codex, and OpenCode channels. Persistent host state defaults to ~/.ae-mcp; developers and tests can relocate it with AE_MCP_STATE_DIR.

The public MCP tools are served by the CEP host. Writes should be followed by an independent readback; potentially side-effecting failures must be reconciled before retry, and Undo must be executed and verified separately.

Development

Install the two Node workspaces and build the panel:

(cd plugin/host && npm ci)
(cd plugin/panel && npm ci && npm run build)

For a local CEP deployment, use the platform-specific script after the host and panel are built:

.\scripts\install-plugin-dev.ps1

./scripts/install-plugin-dev-macos.sh

The Adobe After Effects C/C++ Plug-in SDK is a developer-supplied input and must remain outside this repository. Verify it before building the native plug-in:

node scripts/package/ae-sdk-input.mjs verify-input --platform macos-arm64

For the frozen native plane, build into a new directory outside the repository. The installer keeps transaction state under native-plugin-dev-v1; retain the returned transaction ID if you install the result:

AE_SDK_ARCHIVE=/absolute/path/AfterEffectsSDK.zip
AE_SDK_ROOT=/absolute/path/AfterEffectsSDK
BUILD_DIR=/private/tmp/ae-mcp-native-dev
TRANSACTION_ID="paste-the-transaction-id-here"
node native/ae-plugin/build-macos.mjs \
  --sdk-archive "$AE_SDK_ARCHIVE" \
  --sdk-root "$AE_SDK_ROOT" \
  --output "$BUILD_DIR"
# The install state root is native-plugin-dev-v1.
node native/ae-plugin/install-dev-macos.mjs install --artifact-dir "$BUILD_DIR"
node native/ae-plugin/install-dev-macos.mjs rollback \
  --transaction "$TRANSACTION_ID"

The native plane is frozen; generated AEGP protocol files are checked in and the capability-package code-generation pipeline is not part of normal development.

Tests and packaging

Run focused Node contracts locally:

node --test scripts/package/test/verify-windows-zxp-stage.test.mjs
node --test scripts/package/test/zxp-payload-audit.test.mjs

The Windows ZXP staging command copies the panel, host, JSX, shared modules, icons, generated host assets, and the pinned OpenCode runtime staged by node scripts/package/fetch-opencode-runtime.mjs. It verifies the host's exact Express 4.22.2 dependency and signs the ZXP once:

.\scripts\package-zxp.ps1 -SkipSigning

The signed ZXP must contain no nested native binary; the bundled opencode.exe is the one explicitly allowed executable. The packaging script fails above 80 MB, and a release with the runtime is roughly 60 MB.

See Install, Reference, Tool Library, Architecture, Workflow, and Release for maintained operational and developer details.

License

ae-mcp is released under the MIT License; see LICENSE. Adobe's CSInterface.js retains its upstream license notice.