After Effects Image Output Plan

The After Effects bridge in MKRShift Nodes has two output flavors, and it's worth knowing which is which. There's a render-plan lane (MKRAfterEffectsRenderPlan, for feeding a render queue) and an image-output lane, and this node is the plan half of the image-output lane. It doesn't write pixels - it builds the JSON plan that MKRAfterEffectsImageOutput consumes, describing where the generated image should end up in your AE project and how it should be treated.

That "how" is the part that makes this node worth having. "Write my result somewhere in AE" is vague; "import it as footage into this named comp, as the background plate" is a plan. Declaring it once in the graph means every run places the result the same way, instead of you redoing the import by hand each time.

How it works

The required inputs nail down the destination:

• asset_path - where the generated image file will live on disk
• image_role - what the image is, semantically (default "footage")
• target_name - the name the asset gets (default "MKRShift Plate")
• apply_mode - how it's applied in AE: import_footage (bring it in as new footage), replace_layer_source (swap the source of an existing layer), or background_plate (treat it as the comp's background)

background_plate is the one to reach for in a typical setup: generate your plate in ComfyUI, and the plan says "this is the background this comp is built around," so the addon places it accordingly instead of dumping footage into the bin and calling it a day.

The optional target_comp_name names the specific comp (empty means the addon uses its default or active comp), and transport_plan_json attaches a network transport plan if you want the handoff to travel over an endpoint or watch-folder lane rather than a plain local path.

Outputs

• image_output_plan_json - the full plan, wired into MKRAfterEffectsImageOutput
• manifest_line - a comma-joined summary (role, mode, target, path)
• summary_json - apply mode, image role, and warnings

Installation

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/criskb/MKRShift_Nodes

Restart ComfyUI, or use ComfyUI Manager ("MKRShift Nodes"). No pip dependencies - it's JSON construction.

Common issues

Same plan-node discipline as the rest of the pack: without the matching runtime node wired in, this just emits text - MKRAfterEffectsImageOutput is what actually writes the file. Second, an empty asset_path produces a plan with a warning and a path that falls back to the output node's default working-directory filename; always set it to a real, writable location. Third, apply_mode is a contract with the addon, not a guarantee: replace_layer_source only works if the named comp actually has a layer whose source is meant to be swapped, so verify the target exists on the AE side or the addon will no-op. And a small naming gotcha - target_name is what the asset is called in AE, not the filename; keep them aligned so the timeline reads clearly. Declare the destination, wire the plan through, and the "get it into AE" step becomes one wire instead of a ritual.