MCP Mode

MCP Mode turns Atom into an MCP server that external coding agents can connect to. Instead of chatting inside the panel, you use agents like Claude Code or Codex CLI to control After Effects through Atom's tools.

The Atom panel must stay open in After Effects while MCP Mode is active. It serves as the bridge between your agent and After Effects.

Enabling MCP Mode

Open Settings → MCP Mode. You will see toggles for supported agents and a URL option for other clients.

• Claude Code — Toggle on to register Atom as an MCP server with Claude Code automatically
• Codex CLI — Toggle on to register with OpenAI Codex CLI automatically
• URL — Toggle on to get a raw URL you can copy into any MCP-compatible client

Toggling any of these on starts the MCP server and replaces the chat with a server view.

When you toggle Claude Code or Codex CLI on, Atom runs the registration command for you. There is no manual configuration needed if the agent CLI is installed on your machine.

Port Configuration

By default, Atom picks an open port automatically. You can also set a fixed port in the Port field. The port must be between 1024 and 65535. Click Find Open Port to let Atom scan for an available one.

If you set a fixed port and it is already in use, Atom will show an error and ask you to choose another.

Connecting Manually

If your agent is not listed in the settings toggles, use the URL toggle to start the server and copy the URL. The URL format is:

http://127.0.0.1:{port}/mcp

You can then register this URL with any MCP-compatible client following that client’s own documentation.

Returning to Chat

To return to the normal chat interface, open Settings and turn off all the agent toggles (Claude Code, Codex CLI, and URL). Atom will stop the MCP server and switch back to the chat view.

You can switch between modes at any time without losing your settings or skills.