After Effects MCP Server for Claude Code: Setup & Config

What you can do with After Effects in Claude Code

Bring assistant commands into an existing After Effects session for composition and animation edits.

• Animate a property with keyframes or connect its behavior to an expression.
• Adjust masking, track mattes, or layer dimensionality from an assistant.
• Run an application-side JavaScript task and retrieve its results.

Before you start: After Effects in Claude Code

• Adobe After Effects version 2022 or above
• Node.js version 14 or above
• npm or yarn for dependencies and build steps
• Installed bridge scripts and an open MCP Bridge Auto panel

The placeholder entry-point path comes from the README and must be replaced with your built checkout's location. Prepare the checkout by installing dependencies with npm install, compiling with npm run build, then copying the bridge through npm run install-bridge. The README also supplies yarn variants. In After Effects, open mcp-bridge-auto.jsx from Window and enable the panel's Auto-run commands option.

After Effects Claude Code configuration

1. Choose Claude Code configuration scope

   For After Effects MCP Server, open Project scope: .mcp.json at the repository root. Project JSON: merge into mcpServers; user scope: use the CLI.

2. Add After Effects MCP Server to Claude Code

   Use the after-effects-mcp entry below in mcpServers. Keep After Effects MCP Server's documented stdio connection fields and your other Claude Code entries.

3. Check After Effects MCP Server in Claude Code

   After Effects MCP Server: Inspect claude mcp list and /mcp status.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "after-effects-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "PATH/TO/after-effects-mcp/build/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

claude mcp add-json --scope project 'after-effects-mcp' '{"type":"stdio","command":"node","args":["PATH/TO/after-effects-mcp/build/index.js"],"env":{}}'

After Effects tools available to Claude Code

After Effects's stored tool list documents 14 tools; compare it with Claude Code's connected tool list, because the stored list is not a live check.

get-help

For After Effects's get-help, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

Look up guidance for commands exposed by the integration.

create-composition

For After Effects's create-composition, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

Set up an After Effects composition using supplied settings.

getLayerInfo

For After Effects's getLayerInfo, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

Inspect a layer, including its position and whether it is three-dimensional.

batchSetLayerProperties

For After Effects's batchSetLayerProperties, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

Update property settings across a group of layers.

setLayerProperties

For After Effects's setLayerProperties, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

setLayerMask

For After Effects's setLayerMask, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

setLayerExpression

For After Effects's setLayerExpression, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

setLayerKeyframe

For After Effects's setLayerKeyframe, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

createNullObject

For After Effects's createNullObject, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

createCamera

For After Effects's createCamera, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

duplicateLayer

For After Effects's duplicateLayer, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

Make a layer copy, optionally assigning a new name.

deleteLayer

For After Effects's deleteLayer, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

Take the selected layer out of its composition.

run-script

For After Effects's run-script, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

Submit JavaScript for execution in the After Effects application.

get-results

For After Effects's get-results, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

After Effects: full stored tool descriptions

Troubleshooting After Effects in Claude Code

• If After Effects MCP Server fails to start, check node (Node.js), the working directory, and Claude Code's selected scope; inspect claude mcp list and /mcp.
• After Effects MCP Server uses stdio here: Claude Code must keep the configured process running; protocol output belongs on stdout and diagnostics on stderr.
• Known limitation: Requires a compatible installed After Effects application, not only the MCP package.
• Known limitation: Bridge installation and an active panel with automatic execution are necessary desktop-side steps.
• General Claude Code troubleshooting lives in the /clients/claude-code guide.

Frequently asked questions