The server-side tools
Tools are the ready-made jobs. Each does one thing well, the agent picks it by describing what you asked for, and each run counts as one MCP action in your dashboard. This page lists every tool and what it is for, so you can see what your agent reaches for. For new content the agent uses a scene; for anything not on this list it writes a script.
How your agent uses them
| You say | The agent reaches for |
|---|---|
| "Slide the title in from the left over half a second" | Slide in |
| "Stagger these twelve icons in from the centre" | Stagger |
| "Give the logo a little bounce when it lands" | Follow through, or Spring |
| "Import this SVG and keep the text editable" | Import SVG as layered comp |
| "Put a Lucide arrow icon on a shape layer" | Search icons, then Icon to shape layer |
| "Rig a wiggle control on the antenna" | Rig preset |
| "Which fonts do I have with Grotesk in the name" | List fonts |
| "Do all three of those as one undo" | Begin and end an undo span |
The agent reads the composition first, so "the title" and "these icons" resolve to real layers before anything runs.
Motion (20)
Keyframes by default, with an ease you name (power2.out, easeOutBack, elastic) or describe. Existing keyframes are left alone. When the motion is a rule rather than a fixed path, the result is an expression.
| Tool | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Fade | Fade a layer in or out |
| Slide in | Bring a layer in from off screen, from any side |
| Pop | A scale pulse that settles back |
| Tween | Move one property from a value to a value, with an ease |
| Keyframes | Place exact keyframes on a property, each with its own ease |
| Sequence | Run several moves on one layer one after another |
| Parallel | Run several moves on one layer at the same time |
| Stagger | The same move across many layers, cascading from the first, last, centre or edges |
| Spring | Physics-based motion from stiffness, damping and mass |
| Anticipation | A small wind-up before the main move |
| Follow through | Overshoot past the end, then settle |
| Secondary action | A follower that reacts to a lead layer, delayed and damped |
| Squash and stretch | Volume-preserving squash on impact and stretch in flight |
| Staging emphasis | A momentary pop to draw the eye |
| Arc motion | Position along a curve rather than a straight line |
| Simulate physics | Layers that fall, collide and settle, baked to keyframes |
| Easing presets | The named eases, listed or resolved to a curve |
| Motion principles | The canon the agent designs by: the twelve principles, UI motion, timing defaults |
| Extract expressions from comp | Every expression in one comp, in context |
| Extract expressions from project | Every expression in the project, filtered |
SVG and icons (10)
An SVG is rebuilt from its own elements, not placed as a picture: text stays live text, shapes become shape layers with fills and strokes, groups are kept. Export with live text; outlined words cannot be recovered.
| Tool | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Import SVG as layered comp | One layer per element, with text, images, masks, gradients and effects carried over |
| Import SVG as shape layers | The paths, shapes and groups as shape layers in a comp you name |
| Import SVG as comp | A new comp sized to the artwork, contents as shape layers |
| Validate SVG | Clean and normalise a file before import, with warnings |
| Path to shape layer | One path as its own shape layer |
| Path to mask | One path as a mask on a layer |
| Search icons | Keyword search across four open icon libraries, thousands of icons |
| List icon sets | The libraries and their variants |
| Fetch icon | One icon by name |
| Icon to shape layer | Fetch an icon and place it as a shape layer in one go |
Rigs (5)
Expression-driven rigs on your layered artwork, no plugin.
| Tool | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Rig preset | A curated rig, wired: wiggle, look-at, follow with delay, squash and stretch, inertial overshoot, counter-rotate, two-bone IK |
| Build control rig | A controller null with sliders and checkboxes wired to the properties you name |
| Link to control | Wire one more property to an existing control, with a multiplier or a range |
| Constraint | Parent, position, orientation, scale or aim constraints through expressions |
| Separate dimensions | Split a position into independent X, Y and Z |
Lottie (1), fonts (1), undo (2)
| Tool | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Import Lottie as comp | A Lottie file as an editable comp with its shape layers and keyframes |
| List fonts | The fonts on this machine with the exact names After Effects needs |
| Begin undo span | Start collapsing the next several asks into one undo step |
| End undo span | Close it |
Notes and limits
- No tool for it. When nothing here covers the job, the agent is told so and writes a script. Layout, transforms, text and effects are the script's territory, and most of a working day's asks go there.
- Checked first. A wrong or missing detail stops the run before anything touches After Effects; the message says what was expected. See tool errors.
- Lottie. Shape and null layers import; images, text, gradients and repeaters are skipped and listed.
- AI switches. The Agent Access switches in the panel govern the Prism AI capabilities, not these tools.
Common questions
Related
Snapshot
Snapshot mode of the After Effects MCP: the agent renders frames of your comp and sees them in its reply, so it checks its own work instead of assuming it landed.
Compatibility
Which After Effects versions, operating systems and AI clients Prism supports: After Effects 2024, 2025 and 2026 on macOS and Windows, with any MCP client.