ae-mcp

Name: ae-mcp
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Author: sunqirui1987

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README

After Effects MCP Integration 🚀

A powerful, extensible Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration for Adobe After Effects. This project enables AI assistants to directly interact with and control After Effects through a standardized interface.

📸 Screenshots

After Effects Integration

MCP Tool Inspector

Claude Integration

🎬 Demo Video

Check out the demo video below to see the integration in action:

✨ Features

Extensible Architecture: Easily add new tools through configuration files
Rich After Effects Functionality: Control compositions, layers, effects, and more
MCP Compliant: Works with any MCP-compatible AI model, including Claude

🛠️ Tools

This integration provides a comprehensive set of tools for After Effects:

Category	Capabilities
Project	Get project information, list compositions, manage project properties
Compositions	Create new compositions with custom dimensions, frame rates, and durations
Text Layers	Add and modify text layers with font controls, tracking, justification, colors, and styling
Solid Layers	Create solid layers with custom colors, dimensions, and 3D properties
Shape Layers	Create custom and preset shape layers (rectangles, ellipses, polygons, stars) with full control over vertices, tangents, and feathering
Layer Properties	Set position, scale, rotation, opacity, and other transformation properties
Effects	Browse effect categories, view available effects with details (BPC support, GPU acceleration), and apply them to layers with customizable parameters
Scripting	Execute arbitrary ExtendScript code for advanced customization
Manim Integration	Create mathematical animations using Manim and import them as transparent WebP layers

Each tool implements After Effects functionality via ExtendScript and exposes a clean Go API that follows the MCP specification.

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Adobe After Effects (CC 2020 or later recommended)
Go/Go+ runtime (for the MCP server)
Python 3.7+ and pip (for Manim)
Basic knowledge of After Effects and MCP

Installation

Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/sunqirui1987/ae-mcp.git
cd ae-mcp

Install Python and pip:

Windows:

# 1. Download Python
# Visit https://www.python.org/downloads/
# Click "Download Python 3.x.x" (latest version)

# 2. Run the installer
# - Check "Add Python to PATH"
# - Choose "Customize installation"
# - Select all optional features
# - Choose "Install for all users"
# - Set installation path (e.g., C:\Python3x)

# 3. Verify installation
# Open Command Prompt (cmd) or PowerShell and run:
python --version
pip --version

# 4. Install required Windows dependencies
# Install Microsoft Visual C++ Build Tools
# Download from: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/
# During installation, select "Desktop development with C++"

# 5. Install ffmpeg
# Method 1: Using Chocolatey (recommended)
# First install Chocolatey from https://chocolatey.org/install
# Note: Run Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator
# Right-click on Command Prompt/PowerShell and select "Run as Administrator"
choco install ffmpeg
choco install miktex


# Method 2: Manual installation (if you don't have admin rights)
# 1. Download ffmpeg from https://github.com/BtbN/FFmpeg-Builds/releases
#    Choose: ffmpeg-master-latest-win64-gpl.zip
# 2. Extract the zip file to a location like C:\ffmpeg
# 3. Add the bin folder to your PATH environment variable:
#    - Open System Properties > Advanced > Environment Variables
#    - Under User variables, find PATH
#    - Add new entry: C:\ffmpeg\bin
# 4. Verify installation:
ffmpeg -version

# 6. Install additional Python packages
pip install wheel
pip install pycairo
pip install manim

macOS:

# Using Homebrew
brew install python
brew install ffmpeg

# Verify installation
python3 --version
pip3 --version
ffmpeg -version

Linux:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip ffmpeg

# Fedora
sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip ffmpeg

# Verify installation
python3 --version
pip3 --version
ffmpeg -version

Install dependencies:

gop mod tidy
gop build ./cmd/ae-mcp/pip install manim

Install Manim:

# Install Manim and its dependencies
pip install manim

# For Windows users, you might need to install additional dependencies:
pip install pycairo
pip install manim

Install the After Effects ExtendScript:
- Open After Effects
- Go to File > Scripts > Run Script File...
- Select the js/ae-mcp.jsx file

Running the MCP Server

To use with Claude or other AI assistants, add the following MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aftereffects": {
      "command": "/path/to/your/ae-mcp.exe",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Note: Replace /path/to/your/ae-mcp.exe with the actual path to the ae-mcp executable on your system. For example, if you cloned the repository to C:/projects/ae-mcp, the path would be C:/projects/ae-mcp/ae-mcp.exe.

For Claude Desktop: Go to Claude > Settings > Developer > Edit Config and add the above configuration.

For Cursor: Go to Settings > MCP > Add Server to add the configuration.

The server will start and listen for connections from AI models.