It edits your comp. Then it shows its work.
Surehand MCP lets Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex or any MCP client operate Adobe® After Effects®. It runs scripts, uses up to 98 ready-made tools, renders and measures frames, and returns a list of exactly what changed after every edit.
The current release is 1.3.4, published as AE MCP. Features marked "New in 1.4" arrive with the next release; 1.3 installs move to the new name automatically.
How it connects
Three parts, all on your machine.
The bridge starts with After Effects; nothing needs to be opened. Window › Extensions › Surehand MCP shows its status and a log of recent calls.
Install
About three minutes.
You need After Effects 2020 (17.0) or newer on macOS or Windows. Nothing else: the Claude Desktop package uses its built-in Node.js, and the installer downloads Node.js if it is missing.
The release zip contains START HERE.txt with the same steps in plain language, including what to do if macOS Gatekeeper or Windows SmartScreen asks about the files.
Download the release
Get
Surehand-MCP-<version>.zipfor Mac and Windows, or justSurehand-MCP.mcpbif you only use Claude Desktop. In 1.3.4 the files are still namedAE-MCP.Install it
Claude Desktop: double-click the
.mcpband click Install. Any other app: double-click 1. Install in the Mac or Windows folder. It registers the server with every supported app it finds and backs up their settings first.Restart After Effects once
The extension installs itself and starts with After Effects from now on.
Check it
With After Effects open, double-click 2. Test Installation. Every line should end with a check mark and "All checks passed".
What it can do
Run anything. Measure everything.
The core is ae_run_script: modern JavaScript, converted for After Effects' ExtendScript engine, with errors that point at the failing line. Around it sit ready-made tools grouped by job. A core set of 29 is loaded by default to keep the AI's context small; every other tool stays available on demand.
Batches and checkpoints
Many steps as one undo step and one change report, all or nothing. Timestamped checkpoints, restored as a new file.
Frames and contact sheets
Render a frame, zoom a region, solo layers, show alpha, diff against another time. A labelled grid of frames to judge motion and easing.
Bounds and pixels
Exact on-screen boxes after transforms, parenting, 3D and camera, with safe-area checks. Rendered colours at any point.
Graph Editor level
Values, timing, interpolation, speed and influence per dimension, roving, spatial tangents, copying keyframes between layers and comps.
Styling and animators
Per-character styling by range or matching words, paragraph settings, text animators with range, wiggly and expression selectors.
Everything in the comp
Solids, text, shapes, nulls, cameras and lights; switches, parenting, track mattes; effects with their exact parameter names and ranges; masks.
Cameras, lights, beats
Focal length in mm and depth of field; light types and shadows; audio converted to keyframes; markers at beats and peaks.
Interpretation and relinking
Conform frame rate, alpha, fields and pulldown; find missing files by name; Adobe or OCIO colour engine and working space.
Queue and background
Every render and output-module setting as key and value; background renders with aerender, with progress and cancel, while After Effects stays usable.
Verification
It checks before you deliver.
Change report
Computed by After Effects itself from a snapshot before and after the call. Project items are always compared; layers, properties, keyframes, expressions, effects and masks in the active comp and any comp named in the call.
Proven edits
Reference frames before, the same frames after, compared pixel by pixel. Reports the largest channel difference, pixels changed, ΔE, the area that changed, and a difference image. Bit-exact on request.
Preflight
Comp size, frame rate, duration, safe areas on every frame, text size and reading speed, missing items. On the rendered file: codec, bit depth, legal range, black and frozen frames, loudness per EBU R128, and a flash pre-check.
Project X-ray and history
Opening someone else's project? X-ray explains what the render queue pulls in, what each expression depends on, which links will break, and what makes it slow. History diffs any two versions.
The flash check is a pre-check to catch obvious problems early. It is not a certified PSE or Harding test.
Control and trust
You set how much it may do.
Switch modes in the Surehand MCP panel inside After Effects. The change applies to the next request, with no restart.
| Mode | What happens |
|---|---|
| Full access | Everything runs. Your AI app may still ask you before each tool call. This is the default. |
| Ask before every change | Every edit and script waits in the panel, showing the exact code or arguments, until you click Allow or Deny. Reads are not held. A new request can't be answered in its first second on screen, and Enter never allows. |
| Read-only | Tools that edit are refused. Scripts still run to read information; if one changes the project, it is undone at once and the AI is told what it tried to change. |
Refusals say why
Everything is logged
Every call goes to ~/.surehand/ae/activity.jsonl with time, AI app, tool, arguments including the full script, duration and result.
Approvals stay inside AE
Allow, Deny and Pause AI need a secret held in memory by the bridge. The AI app has the token, but it can't approve its own requests.
What the token protects against
Other users of the computer, programs that can't read your files, and requests from web pages.
What it doesn't
A program with full shell access as your own user. Permissions are guardrails against mistakes, not a sandbox. Only connect AI apps you trust.
Example prompts
Things people ask it.
"List every expression in the active comp that has an error, and fix them."
"Un-precompose Logo Precomp into the main comp and prove the render didn't change."
"Rename all layers in the selected comp to title case and label the text layers yellow."
"Import the clips in this folder, make a comp for each, and queue them all as ProRes."
"X-ray this project I inherited. What does the render queue actually render?"
"Preflight Spot_30s against the broadcaster's spec, fix what fails, and check again."
Questions
Asked often.
Does it generate images or video?
No. It operates After Effects: your layers, keyframes, effects and renders. It makes no pixels of its own, so there are no credits to buy.
Does my project leave my computer?
Your project files stay on your machine. The bridge listens on 127.0.0.1 only. Your prompts, the results the AI reads back and any frames it looks at go to the AI provider you chose, as with any chat with that provider.
Which versions of After Effects work?
2020 (17.0) or newer, on macOS and Windows, in any language. It is tested on 2025 and 2026, including both running side by side; older versions are best effort. The self-test produces a compatibility report you can share.
How is it different from Adobe's own AI Assistant?
They do different jobs, and you can use both. The Assistant is good at organising and writing expressions. Surehand MCP runs scripts and tools in your project, renders and measures frames, and reports each change, through the AI app of your choice.
What does it cost?
Nothing. It is MIT licensed with no paid tier. You need your own AI app subscription, whichever you already use.
How do I update?
Click Update in the banner in the Surehand MCP panel, or run surehand-ae update. It checks the download's SHA-256 and that it starts before replacing the installed copy, and keeps the previous one.
Something doesn't work. What should I send?
Run 2. Test Installation and open an issue on GitHub with its output. The diagnostics report contains no secrets. You can also click Copy diagnostics in the panel.
Download
Free, MIT licensed, and on your machine in three minutes.