Spec Driven Development
by formulahendry
MCP Server that facilitates spec-driven development workflows, not just Vibe Coding.
Runs on your computer★ 440MITUpdated 14 months ago
Install
Surehand MCP for Adobe After Effects
Overview
Description from the maker (original English)
Your AI works in Adobe After Effects and proves what it did: change reports, pixel proofs, QC.
PopNx MCP’s three pillars
These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.
- User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
- Our basic checksi1 of 1 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
- UsageiNot measured yet★ –
What you can do with it
We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.
- Connection: Runs on your computer
- Transport: stdio
- Category: Other
Install
Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.
Before you install
- Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
- Runs on your computer with your user’s permissions (files, network, apps).
- The registry lists no key to fill in.
Which app do you use?
Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.
Download the maker’s .mcpb file
The link goes to the maker’s own file; we do not host or repackage it. Open the file and Claude Desktop installs it.
Run this in your terminal
Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.
Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.
This one runs on your computer, and ChatGPT can only connect to servers on the internet. Pick another app.
Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.
These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.
What it can do
Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.
Basic checksi
We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 7, 2026
- ✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account ConformLabs, which owns the repo
- … Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
- … Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
- – Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
- – Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
- … Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints
Compared with others in Otheri
- More stars than 0% of the other 32715 servers in this category
- Published to the registry more recently than 73% of the other 32715 servers in this category
- Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 32715 servers in this category
Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.
Common questions
Is Surehand MCP for Adobe After Effects safe?
It passed 1 of 1 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.
What keys or codes does it need?
The registry does not list a required key, though some servers ask you to sign in on first use.
Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?
It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).
Is it still maintained?
The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (1.4.1) reached the registry 13 days ago.
Which apps can use it?
Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need MCPB on your computer.
What can I use instead?
In the same category: Spec Driven Development, Remote Desktop Commander, First Sale Scout
Alternatives
Servers in the same category from other makers, sorted by stars.
Reading a card:★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi
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by desktop-commander
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Runs in the cloud★ 211Updated 2 days ago
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First Sale Scout
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Runs in the cloudUpdated today
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README from the maker
Open the README
Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.
Surehand MCP lets the AI app you already use work inside Adobe® After Effects®, and shows you what it did. It is for motion designers, finishing artists and technical directors who can't deliver on "the AI says it's done". Every edit is one undo step and comes back with an exact list of what changed. Structural changes come with pixel proof that the picture didn't change. Deliveries are checked against your own spec, templates are pushed through worst-case inputs, and every version built from data is checked row by row. Verified, not trusted.
- AI apps: Claude (Desktop and Code), ChatGPT (desktop app and web), Codex, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf / Devin Desktop, LM Studio, or any MCP client. Inside After Effects, the Surehand panel can also chat through Codex, Claude Code or Antigravity on your own sign-in.
- After Effects: 2025 and 2026 on macOS and Windows, in any language, are tested release by release. The extension loads in CC 2019 (16.0) and newer; versions before 2025 are best effort.
- Install: signed and notarized
.pkgfor Mac, signedSetup.exefor Windows. No administrator rights, no account. Free and open source (MIT). - Website and downloads: conformlabs.co/surehand.
It doesn't generate images and ships no presets or canned looks. It works on your project, by your rules, and measures the result.
AI app ──MCP──> surehand-ae server (Node, on your computer) ──localhost──> Surehand panel (CEP, inside After Effects) ──> ExtendScriptSee it work
Four short demos, recorded on Surehand 1.4.1 and After Effects 2026. Long waits are cut and marked on screen; nothing is sped up. All four as a playlist, or on conformlabs.co/surehand.
- Precomp surgery: Claude un-precomposes a comp, keeps every expression working and proves the picture didn't change (16 frames, zero difference).
- Preflight: a comp checked against the client's delivery spec finds 5 problems, each with a timecode, then one is fixed and checked again.
- Stress test: a lower-third template with long German names, Arabic, Hebrew and huge numbers; 28 of 33 variants break, and the original comp is confirmed unchanged.
- Farm render: a render split across 4 aerender processes, and every one of the 250 frames verified.
What you can ask it
Real requests, in your words. The AI picks the tool; the tool does the measuring.
| You ask | The tool |
|---|---|
| "Check Endcard against our broadcast spec before I send it." | ae_preflight: the comp and the rendered file against your delivery spec, with timecoded findings |
| "Stress-test the lower third with long German names and Arabic." | ae_stress_test: worst-case inputs through every control, each result measured, your comp left untouched |
| "Un-precompose Logo_Lockup and prove nothing changed." | ae_precomp_surgery: rehearsed on a scratch copy, applied only when the pixels match |
| "Why does this render slowly? Speed it up only where the picture stays identical." | ae_render_profile: a timeline cost map, then speed-ups kept only when proven identical |
| "Split the render across 3 processes and prove every frame is there." | ae_farm: chunks, aerender scripts, a local parallel run and a completeness check |
| "Make a version of Score Card for every row of scores.csv, and check each one before you queue them." | ae_versions_from_data: one undo step, every row read back and measured |
| "Export the texts for the Hebrew and French translators. When they come back, fit them: tracking down to -40, never below 36 px." | ae_localize: CSV or XLIFF out, a checked version per language back in |
| "Make a 9:16 of Promo. Logo pinned 80 px from the top, titles inside title-safe." | ae_reformat: your rules, checked on every frame |
| "I inherited this project. What does the render queue actually pull in, and what's fragile?" | ae_project_xray: a read-only explanation, with precise locations |
| "What changed between v11 and v12?" | ae_project_history: snapshots and a readable diff |
Everyday edits work the same way: comps, layers, keyframes at Graph Editor precision, expressions, effects, text, masks, 3D, audio, footage, Essential Graphics and render settings, plus any After Effects script when no tool fits. See the full tool list.
Install
[Download the latest release](https://github.com/ConformLabs/surehand-mcp/releases/latest)
| Your setup | Download |
|---|---|
| Mac | Surehand-MCP- .pkg (signed and notarized) |
| Windows | Surehand-MCP-Setup- .exe (signed) |
| Claude Desktop only | Surehand-MCP.mcpb |
| Setups the installers don't cover | Surehand-MCP- .zip (Mac and Windows scripts; open START HERE.txt) |
Nothing else is needed: the .pkg and Setup.exe include Node.js 24, the .mcpb uses Claude Desktop's built-in Node.js, and the zip's installer downloads Node.js if it is missing.
Step-by-step setup guides for each AI app: Claude, ChatGPT and Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, LM Studio.
Mac and Windows installers
- Mac: double-click
Surehand-MCP- .pkgand follow the steps. No administrator password: everything goes into your own home folder. Windows: runSurehand-MCP-Setup- .exe. It installs per user, with no administrator rights. - Restart After Effects once.
- Restart the AI apps that were open during the install.
Both installers put a private Node.js 24, the server and the After Effects extension on your computer, connect the AI apps they find, and write the Surehand skills for them (see The installer).
First run
The bridge starts with After Effects; nothing needs to be opened. To see it, open Window > Extensions > Surehand MCP. A green dot means connected. The panel shows the latest calls, the permission mode and Pause AI.
Then ask your AI app something simple:
*"Check After Effects is connected, then make a 1080p comp with an animated title and show me frame 1."*
If something is off, the panel's ☰ › Test the connection (or surehand-ae selftest) says what and how to fix it.
Claude Desktop only (.mcpb)
Double-click Surehand-MCP.mcpb and click Install in Claude Desktop, then restart After Effects once. On first start the server installs its After Effects extension by itself. Use either the .mcpb or an installer for Claude Desktop, not both.
The zip
The same installer as double-click scripts, for setups the installers don't cover:
Surehand-MCP/START HERE.txt
- Claude Desktop (easiest)/ Surehand-MCP.mcpb
- Mac/ 1. Install, 2. Test Installation, 3. Connect ChatGPT, 4. Uninstall (.command)
- Windows/ 1. Install, 2. Test Installation, 3. Connect ChatGPT, 4. Uninstall (.bat) Support files/ run.sh, run.ps1, surehand-ae.mjs, this README
Double-click 1. Install in 2. Mac or 3. Windows, then restart After Effects once. With After Effects open, 2. Test Installation checks everything. START HERE.txt (from installer/START HERE.txt) has the same steps in plain language, including what to do if macOS Gatekeeper or Windows SmartScreen blocks the files.
The installer
What every installer (.pkg, Setup.exe, or 1. Install from the zip) does:
- uses the private Node.js 24 that the
.pkg/Setup.exeput in~/.surehand/node; the zip's scripts use the Node.js on your PATH, or download a private Node.js 22 LTS into~/.surehand/node(checksum-verified) - copies the MCP server to
~/.surehand/ae/server/surehand-ae.mjs(one self-contained file) - installs the After Effects extension into your user CEP extensions folder. The extension is signed, so it loads without enabling unsigned extensions (
PlayerDebugMode) - creates
~/.surehand/ae/config.jsonwith a random access token - registers the server, under the name
surehand-ae, with the AI apps it finds: Claude Desktop, Claude Code, ChatGPT desktop / Codex (~/.codex/config.toml, created if the ChatGPT or Codex app is installed), Cursor, VS Code (its usermcp.json, used by GitHub Copilot's Agent mode), Windsurf / Devin Desktop (~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json,%APPDATA%\devinon Windows, and Windsurf's~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonwhile that folder is there) and LM Studio (~/.lmstudio/mcp.json). Before a config file is changed, a timestamped backup is made next to it (*.surehand- .bak, the newest three are kept); the very first original also stays as*.surehand.bak. If Claude Desktop is open it offers to restart it, because a running Claude Desktop overwrites its config file - writes the Surehand skills (see Skills) for the AI apps that read skill files, and the zips to upload in Claude Desktop chat
The server also checks the After Effects extension every time it starts and installs or updates it if needed.
To uninstall: double-click 4. Uninstall from the zip, or run surehand-ae uninstall (and remove the .mcpb in Claude Desktop > Settings > Extensions if you used it). Checkpoints are kept unless you pass --all.
Skills
Four Agent Skills teach the AI how to work with Surehand well:
surehand-ae: the basics. Check the connection, read before editing, confirm each edit with its change report, look at the result, never work around a refusal, plus the ExtendScript traps seen live.surehand-ae-delivery: preflight against your own delivery spec, stress tests, versions from data checked row by row, the localization round trip, farm renders.surehand-ae-safe-restructure: structural edits and render speed-ups with pixel proof.surehand-ae-timing-layout: exact keyframes, easing, measured alignment and reformats.
The source is skills/ in this repo.
- The installer writes them to
~/.claude/skills/(Claude Code; Cursor and VS Code read it too) and~/.agents/skills/(ChatGPT desktop / Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf / Devin Desktop);%USERPROFILE%on Windows. A folder is written only when one of those apps is on the computer (or the folder is there already). Only the foursurehand-ae*folders are written, replaced on update and removed on uninstall; other skills are never touched. - For Claude Desktop chat: upload the skills in Customize › Skills › Upload a skill (files in
~/.surehand/ae/skills, one zip per skill). claude.ai takes the s
Only the beginning is shown; read the rest in the repo