Skip to content
Prism
PricingLicense Portal
OverviewAfter Effects

Install

Download and install the Prism CEP extension for After Effects, open it under Window → Extensions → AE Prism, and activate it with your license key in minutes.

The Prism panel is the small piece of Prism that lives inside After Effects. The thinking and the tools run on the Prism server — the panel is the executor that runs the server's instruction inside your comp and returns the result (see how Prism works). Installing the panel and activating it with your license key is a one-time setup that takes a few minutes.

The short version
The panel is a CEP extension you install once, then open from Window → Extensions → AE Prism.
Activate it with your license key — it remembers the device, so you do not retype the key.
Tools update on the server, so the panel never needs a reinstall to stay current.
Works with After Effects 2024, 2025, and 2026 on macOS and Windows.

Before you start

You need your Prism license key. After you start a plan at checkout, copy your key from the License Portal. It is one permanent key that covers every Prism extension — see license and activation for how that works. Every plan allows two devices.

For the normal install you do not need a terminal, Node.js, or any build step — the panel installs like any other After Effects extension. One rare case (covered at the end) can need a small system setting.

Install and activate

1
Download the panel
Grab the Prism extension package (the .zxp file) from the License Portal. Every plan can download it. When a new version ships, re-download the .zxp from the License Portal and reinstall to update.
2
Install the .zxp
A .zxp is an After Effects extension package, and you need a small installer to open it. We recommend Anastasiy's Extension Manager — a free ZXP installer for macOS and Windows. Open the installer, drag in the .zxp (or use Install), and it places the panel in the right folder for you. On macOS the file lands in your user Library; on Windows it lands in your AppData — the installer handles this, so you do not need to find the folder yourself.
3
Restart After Effects
Quit and reopen After Effects so it registers the new extension. If After Effects was already running during install, this step is required.
4
Open the panel
In After Effects, go to Window → Extensions → AE Prism. The Prism panel opens as a dockable window — dock it wherever it suits your workspace. It has three tabs, MCP, JSON, and Tools (see the MCP panel).
5
Activate with your key
Paste your license key into the panel and activate. The panel remembers this device, so you only do this once per machine.

Once activated, the panel shows it is connected and ready. It will stay quiet until your AI client sends it work to run.

Advanced — if the panel does not appear. Most people will not need this. It applies only to an unsigned build of the panel, which some installs will not show until you turn on a system setting for unsigned CEP extensions. On macOS, set PlayerDebugMode to 1 in the file ~/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.CSXS.12.plist; on Windows, add a PlayerDebugMode string value of 1 under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\CSXS.12 in the Registry. Restart After Effects and check Window → Extensions → AE Prism again. This is a one-time switch. If this is unfamiliar, ask your IT or email support@oneprism.io.

What the panel does (and does not do)

The panel is deliberately minimal: it runs the instruction the server sends and remembers the activated device. It does not decide what to do and ships no tool logic, so tools improve without you ever reinstalling.

The panel doesThe panel does not
Run the instruction the server sends, inside your live compDecide what to do — that is the AI plus the server
Return results to the server as JSONStore your project files or send them anywhere
Remember the activated deviceShip any tool logic that could go out of date

Your project files stay on your machine — see how Prism works for what does and does not leave your computer.

Next steps

With the panel installed and activated, the remaining step is to connect your AI client. In the panel's MCP tab you click Connect and copy the URL the panel shows, then add it to any MCP-compatible AI client. See connect your AI to After Effects for the exact steps and per-client config, then open a comp and ask in plain language.

If you hit a snag, see troubleshooting for connection debugging and the After Effects quirks worth knowing.

Activation

How Prism licensing works: one permanent key per subscription covering every extension, two devices per plan, and a one-time paste to activate the panel in After Effects.

On this page

Before you startInstall and activateWhat the panel does (and does not do)Next stepsRelated