dcc-mcp-aftereffects

Agent workflow

AI agents should use the shared gateway through dcc-mcp-cli; IDE users may continue to use the MCP endpoint. Prefer typed skills and tools over raw scripts.

Install or update the CLI

dcc-mcp-cli is the preferred control path for every shell-capable agent. If it is missing, ask the user before installing the latest official release:

# Linux/macOS
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dcc-mcp/dcc-mcp-core/main/scripts/install-cli.sh | sh

# Windows PowerShell
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -c "irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dcc-mcp/dcc-mcp-core/main/scripts/install-cli.ps1 | iex"

Keep an official build current through the release manifest:

dcc-mcp-cli update check
dcc-mcp-cli update apply

update apply downloads and stages the latest CLI for the next launch. It does not update a running dcc-mcp-server; update that server in its own environment.

dcc-mcp-cli dcc-types
dcc-mcp-cli list
dcc-mcp-cli search --query "<task>" --dcc-type aftereffects
dcc-mcp-cli describe <tool-slug>
dcc-mcp-cli call <tool-slug> --json '{"key":"value"}'

dcc-types reports release-catalog support; list reports live sessions. If a tool belongs to an inactive progressive skill, call dcc-mcp-cli load-skill <skill-name> --dcc-type aftereffects before retrying. For post-task improvement, attach a stable session id with --meta-json, query dcc-mcp-cli stats --range 24h --session-id <task-id>, then pass the bounded evidence to the review_skill_improvement prompt from dcc-mcp-skills-creator.

MCP adapter for Adobe After Effects, built on the shared adobepy broker, CEP bridge, and typed facade.

pip install dcc-mcp-aftereffects

Install the shared bridge with adobepy install-bridge after-effects --dest <extension-dir> --token <token>, open it in After Effects, then start the adapter with dcc-mcp-aftereffects. Each adapter instance uses an OS-assigned port and registers it for CLI discovery. Connect through the stable gateway at http://127.0.0.1:9765/mcp; set DCC_MCP_AFTEREFFECTS_PORT only when a fixed direct endpoint is required.

Set ADOBEPY_TOKEN to the same non-default token used when installing the bridge.

The adapter reports ready only after the target After Effects bridge advertises the complete typed/official-DOM contract and a real host version RPC succeeds. A broker process is stopped only when it was started by this adapter.

Skill groups

• aftereffects-project: inspect/open/save projects, list and import project items, create compositions, and run the motion-intro workflow.
• aftereffects-layers: inspect compositions, layers, effects, masks, and text; create text/solid/footage layers; edit text, transforms, keyframes, and order.
• aftereffects-render: inspect and control the render queue, queue compositions, and configure render settings and output modules.
• aftereffects-advanced: structured access to the complete official object model. Raw ExtendScript is an explicit destructive fallback, not the primary API.

Load a group before first use when progressive loading is enabled:

dcc-mcp-cli load-skill aftereffects-layers --dcc-type aftereffects
dcc-mcp-cli search --query "create text layer" --dcc-type aftereffects