Getting started

Installation

Get the After Effects MCP running on your machine in under 5 minutes.

Requirements

After Effects	CC 2021 or newer (CS6+ supported)
Node.js	v18 or newer
MCP client	Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, or any MCP app
OS	Windows 10/11 or macOS 12+
License	Active Synthetic subscription

Don't have a license yet? Get one at synthetic.com.ar/pricing — monthly and annual plans available.

Step-by-step setup

No installation needed — add it to your config

No global install required. Just add the MCP directly to your Claude Desktop config (see Step 3). npx handles everything automatically on first run.

Find your license key

XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX

Add the MCP to your client config

Open your Claude Desktop (or Cursor) MCP configuration file and add:

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "after-effects": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@synthetic-ai/ae-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "AE_MCP_LICENSE": "XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX with your actual license key.

Restart your MCP client

Close and reopen Claude Desktop (or your MCP client). The After Effects MCP should appear as connected in the tools panel.

Open After Effects and test

Open After Effects, then go to Claude and type:

Create a new composition called "Test" — 1920x1080, 30fps, 5 seconds

If a new comp appears in After Effects, you're all set.

Config file locations

Claude Desktop

Windows

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

macOS

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Cursor

Windows / macOS

.cursor/mcp.json  (in your project root)

After Effects must be open and running before Claude tries to use any tool. The MCP connects to AE via ExtendScript — if AE is closed, tools will return an error.

Configuration