Use MotionUI in the Claude desktop app

You do not need a terminal to use MotionUI with Claude. The Claude desktop app works in two ways. A regular chat gets the After Effects and Figma tools through the Claude installer. Claude Code in the Code tab gets them through Connect in the MotionUI app, and it is also the way to use MotionUI for Premiere.

Option 1: a regular Claude chat

1. Install the MotionUI panel from the After Effects tab of the MotionUI app.

2. Open the AI tab and choose Open Claude installer under Claude chat.

3. Claude opens the installer for MotionUI for After Effects. Click Install, then restart Claude.

4. Open After Effects, the MotionUI panel and your composition.

5. Start a new chat and ask: “Inspect my open comp without changing anything.” Claude should list the composition and its layers.

This works in normal chats and in Cowork. After a MotionUI update, run Open Claude installer again so Claude gets the new tools.

Option 2: Claude Code in the Code tab

1. Open the Code tab of the Claude app once. That installs Claude Code.

2. In the AI tab of the MotionUI app, choose Connect next to Claude Code.

3. For Premiere Pro, also choose Connect in the Premiere tab.

4. Start a new Claude Code session. Sessions that were already open do not see the new tools.

Connecting also writes a short house rule into Claude Code’s instructions: work in After Effects and Premiere through the MotionUI tools, never by clicking around or through scripts.

Which one should I use?

A regular chat is enough for After Effects and Figma: building and animating scenes, importing frames, camera moves and rebuilding a reference from a file on your computer. Choose Claude Code if you also edit in Premiere Pro, or when Claude should work with other files and folders on your computer as part of the job.

What about ChatGPT?

ChatGPT chats cannot use the MotionUI tools, because they cannot reach the apps on your computer. Codex, OpenAI’s coding agent, works like Claude Code: connect it in the AI tab of the MotionUI app.

All AI tools need MotionUI Pro.