Ableton Live MCP Server

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What is ableton-live-mcp-server

The Ableton Live MCP Server is a specialized server designed to bridge communication between large language models (LLMs) and the Ableton Live music production software. Developed by Simon-Kansara, it operates using the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a universal standard that facilitates secure connections between AI systems and various data sources. Through this server, users can control Ableton Live via Open Sound Control (OSC) messages, enhancing the capabilities of AI assistants to interact with music production environments seamlessly.

How to Use ableton-live-mcp-server

To use the Ableton Live MCP Server, you'll need to follow a few setup steps:

Install Requirements: Ensure you have Python 3.8 or higher, along with the necessary Python packages such as python-osc for OSC communication and fastmcp for MCP support.
Clone and Install: Download the server repository to your local machine. Once cloned, install the required dependencies using your preferred package manager.
Run the OSC Daemon: Start the osc_daemon.py script to initiate the OSC communication. This script listens for commands from MCP clients and forwards them to Ableton Live, while also processing responses.
Configure Ports: By default, the server operates on localhost with specific ports for the MCP server and OSC communication. These can be customized in the configuration file if needed.
Integration with AI Tools: Use tools like Claude Desktop to send commands to the server, such as setting up audio tracks or adjusting input channels.

Key Features of ableton-live-mcp-server

MCP Compatibility: Provides a comprehensive MCP API for controlling Ableton Live, allowing AI assistants to execute complex commands within the music production software.
OSC Communication: Utilizes the Open Sound Control protocol to communicate efficiently with Ableton Live, ensuring low-latency and robust message exchange.
Python-Based: Built using Python, leveraging libraries like python-osc for OSC message handling and fastmcp for MCP support, making it accessible and modifiable for developers.
Request-Response Handling: Implements a system for handling requests and responses to and from Ableton Live, facilitating real-time interaction and feedback.
Customizable Configuration: Default settings for ports and other parameters can be easily adjusted to fit specific user needs or network environments.
Community and License: Open for contributions, users can submit issues or feature requests to enhance functionality. The server is distributed under the MIT License, promoting open-source collaboration.

In summary, the ableton-live-mcp-server provides a powerful tool for integrating AI capabilities with music production in Ableton Live, offering flexibility and control over creative processes through standardized protocols and modern communication technologies.

📌 Overview

The Ableton Live MCP Server is a server implementing the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to facilitate communication between LLMs and Ableton Live. It uses OSC (Open Sound Control) to send and receive messages to/from Ableton Live. It is based on AbletonOSC implementation and exhaustively maps available OSC adresses to tools accessible to MCP clients. ontrol Ableton Live with LLMs This project consists of two main components:

mcp_ableton_server.py: The MCP server handling the communication between clients and the OSC daemon.
osc_daemon.py: The OSC daemon responsible for relaying commands to Ableton Live and processing responses.

✨ Features

Provides an MCP-compatible API for controlling Ableton Live from MCP clients.
Uses python-osc for sending and receiving OSC messages.
Based on the OSC implementation from AbletonOSC.
Implements request-response handling for Ableton Live commands.

⚡ Installation

Requirements

Python 3.8+
python-osc (for OSC communication)
fastmcp (for MCP support)
AbletonOSC as a control surface

Installation Steps

Install uv

pip install uv

Clone the repository:

git clone 
cd mcp_ableton_server

Install dependencies:

uv install python-osc fastmcp

Install the MCP Server This assumes that you're using Claude Desktop

mcp install mcp_ableton_server.py

Install AbletonOSC Follow the instructions at AbletonOSC

🚀 Usage

Running the OSC Daemon

The OSC daemon will handle OSC communication between the MCP server and Ableton Live:

python osc_daemon.py

This will:

Listen for MCP client connections on port 65432.
Forward messages to Ableton Live via OSC on port 11000.
Receive OSC responses from Ableton on port 11001.

Example Usage

In Claude desktop, ask Claude: Prepare a set to record a rock band Set the input routing channel of all tracks that have "voice" in their name to Ext. In 2

⚙️ Configuration

By default, the server and daemon run on localhost (127.0.0.1) with the following ports:

MCP Server Socket: 65432
Ableton Live OSC Port (Send): 11000
Ableton Live OSC Port (Receive): 11001 To modify these, edit the AbletonOSCDaemon class in osc_daemon.py:

self.socket_host = '127.0.0.1'
self.socket_port = 65432
self.ableton_host = '127.0.0.1'
self.ableton_port = 11000
self.receive_port = 11001

Claude Desktop Configurations

macOS: ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

"mcpServers": {
"Ableton Live Controller": {
 "command": "uv",
 "args": [
 "run",
 "--with",
 "mcp[cli]",
 "--with",
 "python-osc",
 "mcp",
 "run",
 "/Users/simonkansara/Desktop/mcp-ableton-server/mcp-ableton-server.py"

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues, feature requests, or pull requests to improve this project.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

Model Context Protocol (MCP)
python-osc for OSC handling
Daniel John Jones for OSC implementation with AbletonOSC
Ableton Third Party Remote Scripts
Julien Bayle @Structure Void for endless inspirations and resources.

TODO

Explore resources and prompts primitives opportunities.
Build a standalone Ableton Live MCP client.

How to Use

To use the ableton-live-mcp-server, follow these steps:

Visit https://github.com/Simon-Kansara/ableton-live-mcp-serverhttps://github.com/Simon-...
Follow the setup instructions to create an account (if required)
Connect the MCP server to your Claude Desktop application
Start using ableton-live-mcp-server capabilities within your Claude conversations

Additional Information

Created

February 24, 2025

Company

Simon-Kansara

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