After Effects MCP Server for Windsurf: Setup & Config

What you can do with After Effects in Windsurf

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

• Set up a composition with the requested image dimensions and animation timing.
• Revise multiple layers together through a batch property update.
• Run an application-side JavaScript task and retrieve its results.

Before you start: After Effects in Windsurf

• 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 Windsurf configuration

1. Choose Windsurf configuration scope

   For After Effects MCP Server, open macOS/Linux: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json. Merge into mcpServers; remote endpoints use serverUrl.

2. Add After Effects MCP Server to Windsurf

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

3. Check After Effects MCP Server in Windsurf

   After Effects MCP Server: Refresh MCP in Windsurf settings and inspect Cascade’s tools.

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

After Effects tools available to Windsurf

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

get-help

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for get-help.

create-composition

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for create-composition.

getLayerInfo

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for getLayerInfo.

batchSetLayerProperties

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for batchSetLayerProperties.

setLayerProperties

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for setLayerProperties.

Update one layer's transforms, compositing options, visibility, and related attributes.

setLayerMask

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for setLayerMask.

Add a mask or revise an existing layer mask.

setLayerExpression

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for setLayerExpression.

Change whether a property uses an expression and supply the expression when needed.

setLayerKeyframe

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for setLayerKeyframe.

createNullObject

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for createNullObject.

createCamera

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for createCamera.

duplicateLayer

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for duplicateLayer.

Make a layer copy, optionally assigning a new name.

deleteLayer

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for deleteLayer.

Take the selected layer out of its composition.

run-script

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for run-script.

Submit JavaScript for execution in the After Effects application.

get-results

After refreshing After Effects in Windsurf settings, check Cascade's tool list for get-results.

Read back the results produced by a submitted script.

After Effects: full stored tool descriptions

Troubleshooting After Effects in Windsurf

• Check node (Node.js) on the machine running Windsurf's MCP integration for After Effects MCP Server; refresh MCP and inspect Cascade's tools.
• After Effects MCP Server uses stdio here: Windsurf 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 Windsurf troubleshooting lives in the /clients/windsurf guide.

Frequently asked questions