Let's Connect
← Back to blog
Playbook · Claude Code skill

AI makes the first cut. You finish it in After Effects.

export-to-ae turns a video Claude made with code into a real After Effects project, with live text, separate layers, real keyframes and every sound on its own track.

Type
Claude Code skill
Version
v1.0.0
Published
October 2026
Reading time
7 min
$ npx export-to-ae

Free on npm: npmjs.com/package/export-to-ae. Needs Claude Code, Node.js 16+ and Adobe After Effects.

The problem

An MP4 is a dead end

When Claude makes a video, it writes code (an HTML animation, a Remotion project, a Python script) and renders it to an MP4. The MP4 bakes everything together. You can't click the headline, move the logo, or turn down one sound effect.

The code still knows where every piece is. export-to-ae reads that code and rebuilds each piece as its own layer in After Effects.

Top: what you get from Claude. Bottom: what you get after the export. Diamonds are keyframes you can drag.

How it's used

From a Claude video to an editable project

  1. Make a video with Claude

    Ask Claude Code something like "make a 20-second launch video for my app". Claude writes the animation code in your project and renders launch.mp4.

  2. Install the skill once

    npx export-to-ae

    This copies the skill into ~/.claude/skills/ so it works in every project. Restart Claude Code. Use --project to install it for one project only, so your whole team gets it from the repo.

  3. Ask for the export

    /export-to-ae

    Or say it in plain words, and Claude picks the skill on its own:

    "I need to edit this video in After Effects."

    Claude reads the code behind the video, lists every text, shape, image and sound with its timing, and writes a folder into your project:

    ae-export/
├── build-comp.jsx   ← rebuilds the comp in After Effects
├── media/           ← logo, images, footage as separate files
├── audio/           ← one .wav per sound effect, plus music
└── README.md        ← fonts to install, what was approximated

  4. Open it in After Effects

    Go to File › Scripts › Run Script File and pick build-comp.jsx. In a few seconds the whole video is rebuilt with named layers, keyframes, scene markers and separate audio tracks.

    If After Effects shows an error, paste the alert text back to Claude and it will fix the script.

When to use it

Stay in Claude, or export?

For one quick fix, like changing a date, just ask Claude. The code stays the source of truth and that's faster. Export when the video leaves Claude's hands.

Stay in ClaudeExport to After Effects
One or two clear text or colour changesFuzzy feedback like "feels slow here" or "make it pop"
You're the only person editingA designer, editor or agency takes over
One version10, 50 or 500 versions
Changes you can describe in wordsChanges you need to see while making them: timing, easing, sound sync
A one-off video that's finishedThe start of a series or a reusable template

Ask yourself: will this video be touched by more than one person, more than once, or in more than one version? If yes, export it.

Where it saves you

Seven situations where the export pays off

Many rounds of feedback

The biggest win

An agency makes a 30-second ad. Feedback arrives in waves from five different people.

v1.aepClient"The logo reveal feels rushed."
v2.aepBrand team"Logo on screen 2s minimum. New blue."
v3.aepLegal"Add the disclaimer, readable for 3s."
v4.aepCEO"Music should hit harder on the product."
v5.aepClient"Go back to the v2 timing on scene 3."

Re-prompting Claude

  • Every regeneration can quietly change parts that were already approved.
  • "Go back to v2" means digging through old code.
  • Only the person talking to Claude can make changes.

In After Effects

  • Each round is a small, visible change on the timeline.
  • Approved parts stay put. Save v1 to v5 and roll back exactly.
  • The editor can sit with the client and drag a keyframe until it feels right.

Turning one video into a template

Make once, reuse forever

A startup ships a new feature every two weeks and wants every launch video to look the same.

Without

Every launch is a fresh generation. Spacing, timing and colours drift a little each time, and the brand slowly loses its look.

With

Export once. A designer exposes the headline, screenshot, colour and CTA as Essential Graphics controls and saves a .mogrt template. Anyone on the team, even in Premiere Pro, types a new headline and exports.

Why it matters: Claude designs it once. Your team reuses it without prompting or touching code.

Handing off to a designer or agency

Day one, not day three

A founder makes a product demo with Claude, then hires a freelance motion designer to polish it for launch.

Without

The freelancer gets an MP4 and rebuilds everything from scratch. That's days of paid time spent copying, before any polishing starts.

With

The freelancer gets a proper project with named layers, keyframes and separate sounds, and starts polishing in the first hour.

Many versions: languages, sizes, platforms

8 languages × 3 sizes = 24 videos

A brand needs one ad in 8 languages, each in 16:9 for YouTube, 9:16 for Reels and 1:1 for the feed.

Without

24 separate generations, each with a chance of small differences, and every one still needs a human check.

With

One project. Duplicate the comp, swap the text per language, fix the German line that runs long, reframe each size and queue all 24 renders. With a data-driven template, the text can fill in from a spreadsheet.

Syncing to a voiceover that arrives later

Timing by eye

Claude makes an explainer. A week later the professional voiceover arrives, and the narrator's pacing is completely different.

Without

"Move the second whoosh 0.3 seconds later so it lands on 'instantly'." Syncing dozens of moments by description, without seeing a waveform, is slow and frustrating.

With

Drop the voiceover in, watch the waveform, and slide each scene to its word. Every sound effect is on its own track, so you nudge only the ding.

Mixing with real footage and pro effects

Compositing

A creator wants Claude's animated titles and UI graphics on top of camera footage of their product.

Without

The graphics are burned into an MP4 with a background. Hard to place over footage, impossible to track.

With

Titles and graphics are separate layers. Add the footage, motion-track the graphics onto it, grade the colour, and add real glows, light leaks and 3D camera moves.

A weekly series with a fixed look

Consistency builds a brand

A YouTuber posts "Top 5 AI tools" every week with the same intro, lower-thirds, transitions and end card.

Without

Re-prompting the whole package weekly, with small changes in easing and spacing that regular viewers notice.

With

Open the project, swap the names, logos and screenshots, render. About 20 minutes, and it looks the same every week.

Limits

What to know before you rely on it

  • The code has to still exist. The skill rebuilds from the code that made the video. With only an MP4, all it can do is import the flat video plus its soundtrack.
  • Some effects are approximated. Glows, blurs, particles and complex CSS filters are rebuilt as closely as After Effects allows. The generated README lists each one.
  • Install the fonts. After Effects swaps in a different font if one is missing. The README lists every font and weight used.
  • Claude can't open After Effects. If the script shows an error, paste the alert text back to Claude and it will fix the script.
Quick reference

Commands

npx export-to-aeInstall for every project
npx export-to-ae --projectInstall for this project only
npx export-to-ae@latestUpdate to the newest version
npx export-to-ae uninstallRemove the skill
/export-to-aeRun it inside Claude Code

export-to-ae is a free, open skill for Claude Code. Claude makes the first draft, and you finish it in After Effects.