ae-mcp

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ae-mcp is a backend-agnostic automation tool that keeps Adobe After Effects and AI agents in the same working context. Its MCP server exposes AE project state, tool execution, previews, screenshots, and checkpoints so an agent can understand and operate the current AE project during a conversation.

The MCP server is the core. Outside the MCP layer, ae-mcp also ships a CEP panel that wraps built-in agent chat, backend configuration, approval controls, diagnostics, and first-run setup. You can use ae-mcp from an external agent backend through MCP, or configure Claude / Codex / ZCode directly inside the AE panel.

v0.9.4 is the corrective Windows x64 release. The signed ZXP contains the CEP panel and Windows Platform Helper; the signed AEX remains a separate manual install. The Panel's first-run wizard can install the external Python runtime online, so a pre-existing runtime is not required, but this is not an offline or ZXP-only installation.

v0.9.4 Target Support Matrix

The published v0.9.4 assets target this release scope:

• Windows 11 24H2 (11.0.26100) or newer on x64. Windows on ARM is not supported.
• After Effects 2025 is the packaged acceptance host. The CEP manifest remains [25.0,26.9]; this release contains no macOS asset.

Architecture

Embedded panel chat or external MCP client
  -> packages/core (ae_mcp, Python stdio MCP server, 16 public tools)
  -> backend (packages/bridge, httpx)
  -> CEP panel Node host (plugin/host, Express, 127.0.0.1:11488)
     -> native RPC -> AEGP main-thread dispatcher
     -> CSInterface.evalScript -> ExtendScript (`ae_exec`)
  -> After Effects

ae_previewFrame remains the AE-internal CompItem.saveFrameToPng path for rendering real comp pixels, with viewer snapshot only as a fallback. packages/snapshot-mss provides Windows ae_snapshot screen capture through the mss backend.

The MCP core is backend-agnostic: external clients can talk to AE through the stdio server, while the CEP panel can also host built-in agent chat. The existing panel layer handles backend setup, approvals, diagnostics, and activity history. The v0.9.4 ZXP restores the Windows Platform Helper used by Provider Manager and protected Credential Manager storage. It does not bundle Python or activate a Windows RuntimeManager. Claude, Codex, and ZCode are built-in panel backends; OpenCode and other tools can still connect as external MCP clients.

v0.9.4 Release Scope

• One final protected-main SHA produces the ZXP and AEX; changed source requires new artifacts and checksums.
• The ZXP includes the existing Windows Platform Helper and validates its manifest and binaries before signing.
• The AEX is distributed separately because a ZXP installer does not place nested files in After Effects' native plug-in directory.
• The first-run wizard installs uv and the tag-pinned external runtime over the network when they are missing. Bundled/offline Python, an integrated installer, automatic AEX deployment, Windows RuntimeManager, repair/rollback/uninstall lifecycle, macOS assets, and Windows ARM are outside this release.
• Both signatures use newly created self-signed identities and therefore do not establish a publicly trusted publisher.

Install and First Run

Download the three named files from the v0.9.4 GitHub Release. Do not use source archives as substitutes for the signed assets:

Role	Release asset
CEP panel + Windows Platform Helper	ae-mcp-panel-v0.9.4-windows-x64.zxp
Native AEGP plug-in	AeMcpNative-v0.9.4-windows-x64.aex
Integrity	SHA256SUMS-v0.9.4.txt