After Effects MCP Bridge

---

name: after-effects-mcp

description: Automates Adobe After Effects using ExtendScript (.jsx) files and aerender CLI. Supports composition creation, effect application, batch rendering, project templates, and Adobe Media Encoder workflows.

---

# After Effects MCP Bridge

This skill enables programmatic control of Adobe After Effects via ExtendScript (.jsx) automation and command-line tools.

🛠️ Core Capabilities

1. ExtendScript Automation

Use `scripts/ae_script.jsx` to execute After Effects operations:

2. Command-Line Rendering

Use `aerender` (After Effects command-line renderer) for:

3. Project Template System

Use `assets/templates/` for reusable AE project templates.

---

📋 Usage Patterns

Pattern 1: Create Composition Programmatically

// scripts/create_comp.jsx
var comp = app.project.items.addComp("MyComp", 1920, 1080, 1, 30, 300);
var solid = comp.layers.addSolid([1,0,0], "Red Solid", 1920, 1080, 1);

Pattern 2: Batch Render Project

aerender -project ./my_project.aep -output ./output.mov -mp

Pattern 3: Apply Effect via Script

// scripts/apply_effect.jsx
var layer = app.project.activeItem.selectedLayer(1);
layer.property("ADBE Effect Parade").addProperty("ADBE Gaussian Blur");

---

🔧 Available Scripts

| Script | Purpose |

|--------|---------|

| `create_comp.jsx` | Create new composition with specified params |

| `batch_render.jsx` | Queue multiple compositions for render |

| `apply_effect.jsx` | Apply effects to selected layers |

| `export_template.jsx` | Save project as template (.aet) |

---

🚀 Quick Start Workflow

1. **Check AE Installation**: Verify After Effects is installed

```bash

which aerender

```

2. **Load Project**: Open existing .aep or create new

```jsx

app.open(new File("./my_project.aep"));

```

3. **Execute Script**: Run ExtendScript via:

- AE: File → Scripts → Run Script File

- Command-line: `aerender -script ./myscript.jsx`

4. **Render Output**: Use aerender for headless rendering

---

⚠️ Requirements

---

📚 References

---

🎯 Monitoring

Be verbose about: