AbletonMCP connects Ableton Live to Claude AI through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), allowing Claude to directly interact with and control Ableton Live. This integration enables prompt-assisted music production, track creation, and Live session manipulation.

Give feedback, get inspired, and build on top of the MCP: Discord. Made by Siddharth

• Structured MCP tools: Every tool returns ok, error, object_type, object_ref, and state
• Deeper session control: Inspect session tracks, return tracks, the master track, devices, nested chains, parameters, and transport state
• Production editing workflows: Create, rename, duplicate, delete, launch, and stop tracks, scenes, and clips
• Mixer and device control: Adjust arm, mute, solo, volume, pan, sends, tempo, metronome, and device parameters
• Stock browser loading: Browse Ableton's device browser and load stock instruments or effects onto session, return, or master tracks
• Safer destructive changes: Track, scene, clip, and device removals require confirm_destructive=true

The system consists of two main components:

1. Ableton Remote Script (AbletonMCP_Remote_Script/__init__.py): A MIDI Remote Script for Ableton Live that exposes a newline-delimited JSON socket bridge
2. MCP Server (MCP_Server/server.py): A Python MCP server that exposes explicit Ableton tools and forwards them to the Remote Script

To install Ableton Live Integration for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @ahujasid/ableton-mcp --client claude

• Ableton Live 10 or newer
• Python 3.10 or newer
• uv package manager

If you're on Mac, please install uv as:

brew install uv

Otherwise, install from [uv's official website][https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/]

⚠️ Do not proceed before installing UV

Follow along with the setup instructions video

1. Go to Claude > Settings > Developer > Edit Config > claude_desktop_config.json to include the following:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "AbletonMCP": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "ableton-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Run ableton-mcp without installing it permanently through uvx. Go to Cursor Settings > MCP and paste this as a command:

uvx ableton-mcp

⚠️ Only run one instance of the MCP server (either on Cursor or Claude Desktop), not both

Follow along with the setup instructions video

1. Download the AbletonMCP_Remote_Script/__init__.py file from this repo

2. Copy the folder to Ableton's MIDI Remote Scripts directory. Different OS and versions have different locations. One of these should work, you might have to look:

   For macOS:

   • Method 1: Go to Applications > Right-click on Ableton Live app → Show Package Contents → Navigate to: Contents/App-Resources/MIDI Remote Scripts/
   • Method 2: If it's not there in the first method, use the direct path (replace XX with your version number): /Users/[Username]/Library/Preferences/Ableton/Live XX/User Remote Scripts

   For Windows:

   • Method 1: C:\Users[Username]\AppData\Roaming\Ableton\Live x.x.x\Preferences\User Remote Scripts
   • Method 2: C:\ProgramData\Ableton\Live XX\Resources\MIDI Remote Scripts\
   • Method 3: C:\Program Files\Ableton\Live XX\Resources\MIDI Remote Scripts\ Note: Replace XX with your Ableton version number (e.g., 10, 11, 12)

3. Create a folder called 'AbletonMCP' in the Remote Scripts directory and paste the downloaded '__init__.py' file

4. Launch Ableton Live

5. Go to Settings/Preferences → Link, Tempo & MIDI

6. In the Control Surface dropdown, select "AbletonMCP"

7. Set Input and Output to "None"

1. Ensure the Ableton Remote Script is loaded in Ableton Live
2. Make sure the MCP server is configured in Claude Desktop or Cursor
3. The connection should be established automatically when you interact with Claude

Once the config file has been set on Claude, and the remote script is running in Ableton, you will see a hammer icon with tools for the Ableton MCP.

• Inspect transport, selections, session tracks, return tracks, the master track, devices, nested chains, and parameters
• Create MIDI and audio tracks plus session clips
• Browse stock Ableton browser roots and paths, then load instruments/effects by URI or browser path
• Rename and recolor tracks, scenes, and clips
• Launch and stop scenes and clips
• Duplicate and delete tracks, scenes, clips, and devices with explicit confirmation
• Adjust track arm, mute, solo, volume, pan, sends, tempo, metronome, top-level device parameters, and nested chain device parameters
• Add MIDI notes and update clip loop boundaries

Here are some examples of what you can ask Claude to do:

• "Create an 80s synthwave track" Demo
• "Create a Metro Boomin style hip-hop beat"
• "Show me all tracks, inspect the full device chain on track 2, and list the parameters on the synth inside Rack chain 1"
• "Create a new MIDI track named Bassline, arm it, and set its volume to -6 dB"
• "Create a 4-bar MIDI clip on track 1 slot 0 and add a simple melody"
• "Duplicate scene 3 with confirmation and launch the new scene"
• "Rename clip slot 1 on track 2 to Intro Hook and set its loop from 0 to 8 bars"
• "Turn the metronome on and set the tempo to 120 BPM"
• "Set device parameter 5 on track 0 device 1 to 0.65"
• "Inspect the rack on track 2, then set the nested synth filter cutoff by parameter index using its device_path and chain_path"
• "Set a quantized stock Ableton parameter by label, like choosing an oscillator mode via value_item"
• "Inspect the nested device chain on track 3 so you can suggest mastering moves based on the current stock Ableton chain"
• "Inspect the master track device chain and suggest mastering adjustments based on the current stock Ableton chain"
• "List devices on return track 0 and adjust a send effect parameter there"
• "Browse instruments, load Analog onto a new MIDI track, then inspect its parameters"
• "Browse audio_effects and load EQ Eight onto the master track"
• "Delete track 4 with confirmation"

• Connection issues: Make sure the Ableton Remote Script is loaded, and the MCP server is configured on Claude
• Timeout errors: Try simplifying your requests or breaking them into smaller steps
• Have you tried turning it off and on again?: If you're still having connection errors, try restarting both Claude and Ableton Live

The system uses a simple JSON-based protocol over TCP sockets:

• Commands are sent as newline-delimited JSON objects with a type and params
• Responses are newline-delimited JSON objects with ok, error, object_type, object_ref, and state

• This version is optimized for one local Ableton install rather than broad Live-version compatibility
• The tool focuses on session view, mixer, device workflows, and stock browser loading; arrangement editing is not part of this pass
• Ableton's API does not expose every UI concept. Modulation matrix routing and some stock-device type selectors are not available as normal parameters, so those may still require manual intervention in Live
• Third-party VSTs may expose cryptic or incomplete parameter metadata compared with stock Ableton devices
• Browser loading is aimed at stock Ableton devices first. Third-party plugin insertion may require different browser paths and may be less reliable
• Always save your Live Set before extensive experimentation

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

This is a third-party integration and not made by Ableton.