Exode MCP Tools: What the Server Can Change in a File

Artboards and objects

These tools read and write the file itself, and they are what an agent uses to orient before changing anything. A prompt that starts with "list the artboards and summarise this file" gets better results than one that jumps straight to edits.

• ls_artboards, read_artboard, get_artboard: find and read .exode files in the workspace.
• get_artboard_summary: a short report of what exists, or a workspace-wide audit when called without a path.
• create_from_template: start a new file from a base template.
• update_artboard_config: size, fit mode, alignment, device frame and responsive settings.
• open_editor: open the file in the desktop editor.

Animation and physics

The animation group covers both keyframe timelines and real springs. A spring is set as stiffness, damping and mass rather than as a hand-tuned curve, which is why prompts about feel work better here than prompts about keyframes.

• create_spring_animation: spring motion with stiffness, damping and mass.
• add_keyframe, animate_properties, create_timeline: keyframe and multi-property timeline work.
• add_stagger: offset several objects for an entrance sequence.
• generate_wiggle: procedural noise, in the style of a wiggle expression.
• add_motion_path: bind an object to a shape-defined path.
• update_object_physics, update_global_physics: gravity, wind, mass and restitution for physics objects.

State machines, inputs and logic

This is the group that makes the file more than a timeline. States hold animations, inputs hold values, and transitions connect them with conditions. Object interactions add trigger-to-action rules without a full state graph.

• add_input, edit_input: booleans, numbers, triggers, text and arrays.
• add_layer, edit_state, delete_state: state machine layers and states.
• add_transition, edit_entry_conditions: conditional transitions between states.
• add_logic_node: boolean, math, comparison and scroll or pointer inputs.
• add_object_interaction: when a click, hover, drag or focus trigger fires, do an action.
• add_behavior: proximity, magnetic, parallax, drag and the rest of the behaviour list.
• add_flow_rule: sequence animations on load, on scroll, after a delay or when a variable changes.

Components, imports and tokens

These tools turn a description into structure, which is useful when the mechanical part of a screen is not the interesting part.

• scaffold_ui_component: a button, switch, slider or card with logic already attached.
• generate_hero: a full hero artboard with animation and a hover state.
• import_svg, import_image, add_3d_model, add_video: bring assets into a file.
• css_to_exode, lottie_to_exode, rive_to_exode: convert an existing asset into an artboard.
• import_design_tokens, apply_design_system: apply colour and type tokens to matching objects.

Exports and validation

Two sets of tools that pair well: what you ask for at the end, and what you ask for before you trust the result.

• export_react_code: a self-contained React component with CSS keyframes.
• export_animation: render a video from the file, headless.
• validate_artboard: cross-references, broken transitions, orphaned references, bounds and overlaps.
• lint_artboard: structural problems, with an autoFix option.
• search_objects: regex search across every artboard in the workspace.

What no tool will do

No tool will tell you whether the motion is good. Validation catches a broken graph, not a wrong one: a state machine can be perfectly valid and still be the wrong interaction.

No tool will see your running app, match your design system without tokens, or replace a review in the editor. And no tool needs a connection to the internet, which is worth knowing if your team has rules about where prompts and files go.