Glossary
Plain, one-line definitions of the terms you meet using Prism with After Effects: MCP, MCP client and server, CEP panel, .zxp, license key, restore point, keyframe, precomp, and PostScript font names.
Plain definitions for the terms you meet while setting up and using Prism. For how the pieces fit together, see how Prism works.
Terms
MCP (Model Context Protocol) — The open standard that lets an AI client connect to outside tools. Prism uses it so your AI can see and edit your After Effects project.
MCP client — The AI app you already use — Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, Windsurf, and more — that connects to Prism over MCP.
MCP server — The hosted service that holds all of Prism's tools and logic. Your AI client calls it; it sends the instruction to the panel to run inside After Effects.
Connector — Another word for an MCP server. When your AI client says "add a connector," it means add an MCP server like Prism.
CEP extension / panel — The small piece of Prism that lives inside After Effects, opened under Window → Extensions → AE Prism. It runs what the server sends and carries no tool logic of its own.
.zxp — The file format the Prism panel ships as. You download it from the License Portal and install it once.
License key — Your permanent key, in the form PRISM-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX, that activates the panel. It covers two devices per plan and never changes when you switch plans.
License Portal — The one place you copy your key, change your plan, download the panel, and free a device slot. See the License Portal.
AI action — One tool call your AI client makes through Prism. 200/month on Free; unlimited on Pro. See usage and limits.
JSON operation — One export or one import through the JSON pipeline; a full round trip is two. See usage and limits.
AI credits — The prepaid wallet for the Prism AI generative tools. 1 credit = $0.01; purchased credits never expire. See usage and limits.
Restore point — A safety snapshot Prism takes automatically before anything destructive, so you can roll back if a change is not what you wanted. How undo and restore points work together is covered in how Prism works.
Round-trip — When something leaves your machine, goes to the server, and comes straight back. Prism round-trips only the one action you ask for; your project files stay on your machine.
Serialize — To turn your After Effects project into structured text (JSON) the AI can read. The JSON pipeline serializes a project, lets the AI edit it, then imports it back as real layers.
Keyframe — A point on a property's timeline that sets a value at a specific frame. Prism writes real, editable keyframes you can move, retime, and ease by hand.
Precomp — A composition nested inside another composition, used to group layers so you can animate or reuse them as one unit.
PostScript font name — The exact internal name of a font, with no spaces — for example, HelveticaNeue-Bold. Prism uses this form when setting text; see troubleshooting for the After Effects font-name gotcha.
Slip — To shift which part of a layer's source plays, without moving the layer's position on the timeline. The layer starts and ends at the same time; only the content inside changes.
Outlines — Text or shapes converted into plain vector paths. The letters become editable shapes but are no longer typeable text. Prism's SVG import keeps real text and shapes instead of flattening them to outlines.
Related
- How Prism works — the read-reason-write loop, the server/panel split, and reversibility.
- License and activation — what the one permanent key covers and how to paste it once.
- Real keyframes, not scripts — why Prism's output is editable.
- Troubleshooting — After Effects quirks like font names and intermittent operations.