livemcp 1.2.3

The definitive Model Context Protocol bridge for Ableton Live

LiveMCP

MCP server that exposes Ableton Live's internal Python API to AI assistants. 200 tools across 7 categories: session, clips, tracks, devices, mixer, arrangement, grooves.

Quick Start

1. Install the Remote Script

uvx livemcp --install

That's it. Works on macOS, Windows, and WSL. Auto-detects your Ableton installation and copies the remote script into the right place.

For local development on macOS, use a symlinked install instead:

uv run livemcp --install --symlink-install
# or: bash scripts/dev_install.sh

2. Enable in Ableton

1. Open Ableton Live 12
2. Go to Preferences > Link, Tempo & MIDI
3. Under Control Surface, select LiveMCP
4. Status bar shows: LiveMCP: Server started on port 9877

3. Add to Your AI Assistant

Claude Code (~/.mcp.json) or Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "LiveMCP": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["livemcp"]
    }
  }
}

Ableton Lifecycle Helpers (macOS)

Use the packaged helper when Live gets stuck on save, crash-recovery, or restore prompts:

uv run livemcp --restart-ableton
uv run livemcp --launch-ableton
uv run livemcp --quit-ableton

--restart-ableton clears remote_script/__pycache__, removes Ableton crash-recovery markers from ~/Library/Preferences/Ableton/Live */, quits Live, relaunches the detected Ableton app, accepts common crash/restore dialogs when macOS Accessibility is available, and waits for the LiveMCP socket on port 9877.

Config file locations:

OS	Path
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux	~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Tool Reference

Category	Count
Session	73
Clips	40
Tracks	32
Devices	27
Mixer	14
Arrangement	9
Grooves	5
Total	200

Session Tools (73)

Tool	Description
get_session_info	Tempo, time signature, track count, transport state
get_song_time / set_song_time	Current playhead position
get_song_smpte_time	SMPTE timecode (hours, minutes, seconds, frames)
set_tempo	Set BPM
start_playback / stop_playback / continue_playing	Transport controls
stop_all_clips	Stop all playing clips
trigger_record	Toggle session recording
get_record_mode / set_record_mode	Arrangement recording on/off
get_link_state / set_ableton_link_enabled / set_ableton_link_start_stop_sync_enabled	Ableton Link and Start/Stop Sync
set_tempo_follower_enabled	Tempo Follower on/off
get_count_in_state	Count-in duration and active count-in state
get_session_record_status / set_session_record	Session Record state and status
set_time_signature	Numerator and denominator
set_loop_region	Loop on/off, start, length
undo / redo	Undo/redo
tap_tempo	Tap tempo
set_metronome	Metronome on/off
set_midi_recording_quantization	Quantization during recording
capture_midi	Capture recently played MIDI
capture_and_insert_scene	Capture playing clips into a new scene
get_cue_points	List all locators/cue points
create_locator / delete_locator	Locator CRUD
jump_to_cue / jump_to_next_cue / jump_to_prev_cue	Navigate cue points
get_selected_track / set_selected_track	Track selection
get_selected_scene / set_selected_scene	Scene selection
get_scene_properties	Scene tempo and time signature
get_scene_info	Scene name, color, is_empty, clip count
get_scene_clips	All clips in a scene across all tracks
set_scene_tempo / set_scene_time_signature	Per-scene tempo and time sig
set_scene_name / set_scene_color	Scene appearance
fire_scene / duplicate_scene / delete_scene / create_scene	Scene management
set_groove_amount / set_scale	Global groove and scale
get_application_info	Live version (major, minor, bugfix)
get_livemcp_info	Remote-script transport protocol version and capability flags
get_application_dialog / press_current_dialog_button	Inspect and control Ableton dialog boxes
get_application_cpu_usage	Average and peak Live CPU usage
get_available_main_views / is_view_visible	Discover valid view names and visibility
show_view / hide_view / focus_view	Control Ableton UI views
toggle_browse	Toggle browser hot-swap mode
get_session_metadata	Song time, length, CPU load
get_view_state	Current view, follow song, draw mode, visible views
get_selected_device / select_device	Read and change selected device
get_selected_parameter	Inspect the selected parameter
get_selected_chain	Inspect the selected rack chain
set_follow_song / set_draw_mode	Toggle view options
select_clip_in_detail	Open clip in Detail View
get_punch_state / set_punch_in / set_punch_out	Punch in/out
re_enable_automation	Re-enable overridden automation
get_session_automation_record / set_session_automation_record	Automation arm
show_message	Display text in Ableton's status bar

Clip Tools (40)

Tool	Description
create_clip / create_session_audio_clip / delete_clip / duplicate_clip	Clip CRUD
fire_clip / stop_clip	Launch and stop clips
get_clip_properties	Full clip info (type, length, loop, markers)
set_clip_properties	Batch set name, color, mute, gain, pitch, loop points
set_clip_name / set_clip_color / set_clip_muted	Individual properties
set_clip_loop	Loop on/off, start, end
set_clip_gain / set_clip_pitch	Audio gain and pitch shift
set_clip_launch_mode / set_clip_trigger_quantization	Launch behavior
set_clip_warp_mode / set_clip_warping	Warping control
set_clip_ram_mode / set_clip_velocity_amount	RAM mode and velocity sensitivity
get_clip_playing_position	Current playhead within clip
get_clip_fades / set_clip_fades	Audio clip fade in/out lengths
duplicate_clip_loop / crop_clip	Loop duplication and cropping
quantize_clip	Quantize clip contents
add_notes_to_clip / get_notes_from_clip / remove_notes_from_clip / clear_clip_notes	Basic MIDI note editing
get_notes_extended	Notes with probability, velocity deviation, release velocity
add_notes_extended	Add notes with full MidiNoteSpecification params
modify_notes	Modify existing notes in place
replace_all_notes	Atomic note replacement (clear + add in one call)
remove_notes_extended	Remove notes by pitch/time range
get_clip_envelope / insert_clip_envelope_step / clear_clip_envelope / clear_all_clip_envelopes	Automation envelopes

Track Tools (32)

Tool	Description
get_track_info / get_all_tracks_info	Track details
create_midi_track / create_audio_track / create_return_track	Create tracks
delete_track / delete_return_track / duplicate_track	Track management
set_track_name / set_track_color	Appearance
set_track_properties	Batch set name, volume, pan, mute, solo, arm, color
get_track_routing / set_track_input_routing / set_track_output_routing	I/O routing
set_track_monitoring	Monitor modes (auto, in, off)
get_group_info	Group track children
fold_track	Fold/unfold group tracks
get_return_tracks / get_return_track_sends / set_return_track_send	Return tracks
get_track_freeze_status	Check if track is frozen
get_track_output_meter	Real-time output level
get_clip_slot_status	Playing, recording, triggered state
set_clip_slot_color	Clip slot color
get_take_lanes / create_take_lane	Take-lane inspection and creation
create_take_lane_midi_clip / create_take_lane_audio_clip	Create clips inside take lanes

Device Tools (27)

Tool	Description
get_browser_tree / get_browser_items_at_path	Browse Ableton's content library
load_instrument_or_effect	Load any instrument or effect by URI, path, or name
load_drum_kit	Load drum rack presets
load_device_on_master / load_device_on_return	Load to master/return tracks
get_device_parameters / set_device_parameter	Raw parameter values (0.0–1.0)
get_device_display_values	Human-readable values ("2500 Hz", "-12 dB", "On")
get_master_device_parameters / set_master_device_parameter	Master track devices
get_return_device_parameters / set_return_device_parameter	Return track devices
get_master_track_devices / get_return_track_devices	List devices
get_rack_chains / set_chain_mixer_value	Rack chain contents, activator, pan, volume, sends
get_drum_chains / set_drum_chain_property	Drum-chain note routing and choke settings
get_drum_pads / set_drum_pad_mute / set_drum_pad_solo	Drum rack pads
delete_device / delete_master_device / delete_return_device	Remove devices
move_device / enable_device	Reorder and enable/disable

Mixer Tools (14)

Tool	Description
get_mixer_state	All tracks: volume, pan, mute, solo, arm, sends
set_track_volume / set_track_pan	Level and panning
set_track_mute / set_track_solo / set_track_arm	Mute, solo, arm
set_track_send	Send levels
get_master_mixer_state / set_master_volume / set_master_pan	Master track
set_crossfade_assign	Crossfader assignment (A/B/none)
get_track_output_meter	Per-track output metering
get_master_output_meter	Master output level (L/R)
get_return_track_output_meter	Return track metering
get_all_track_meters	All meters in one call

Arrangement Tools (9)

Tool	Description
get_arrangement_clips	All clips on a track's timeline
get_arrangement_length	Total arrangement length
create_arrangement_midi_clip	Create MIDI clip at position
create_arrangement_audio_clip	Place audio file on timeline
duplicate_to_arrangement	Copy session clip to arrangement
delete_arrangement_clip	Remove arrangement clip
get_arrangement_overdub / set_arrangement_overdub	Overdub toggle
trigger_back_to_arrangement	Return to arrangement playback

Groove Tools (5)

Tool	Description
get_groove_pool	List all grooves in the pool
get_groove_properties	Timing, random, velocity amounts
set_groove_property	Modify groove parameters
set_clip_groove	Assign groove to clip
remove_clip_groove	Clear groove assignment

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     AI Assistant                         │
│              (Claude, or any MCP client)                 │
└────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
                         │ MCP Protocol (stdio)
┌────────────────────────▼────────────────────────────────┐
│                   MCP Server                             │
│            src/livemcp/ (FastMCP)                        │
│                                                          │
│   200 tool functions with type hints + docstrings        │
│   7 modules: session, tracks, clips, devices,            │
│              mixer, arrangement, grooves                 │
└────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
                         │ TCP Socket (localhost:9877)
┌────────────────────────▼────────────────────────────────┐
│              Ableton Remote Script                       │
│         remote_script/LiveMCP/ (Python 3.11)            │
│                                                          │
│   Handler registry: READ (socket thread)                 │
│                      WRITE (main thread via Queue)       │
│   3-strategy browser: URI → path → recursive search      │
└────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
                         │ Live Object Model
┌────────────────────────▼────────────────────────────────┐
│                  Ableton Live 12                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key design decisions:

• Thread safety — Read operations run on the socket thread. Write operations are scheduled on Ableton's main thread via schedule_message() + Queue to prevent crashes.
• Handler registry — READ_HANDLERS and WRITE_HANDLERS dicts replace if/elif chains. Adding a tool = one handler function + one dict entry.
• 3-strategy browser — Finds devices by URI match, path navigation, or recursive name search. Handles spaces, special characters, and nested folders automatically.

Development

# Clone and set up
git clone https://github.com/alaarab/livemcp.git
cd livemcp

# Install remote script into Ableton
uv run livemcp --install
# or: bash scripts/install.sh

# Run the MCP server locally
uv run livemcp

# Restart Ableton and wait for LiveMCP to come back
uv run livemcp --restart-ableton

# Build, test, and publish the current version
bash scripts/publish.sh --dry-run

# Verify tool count
uv run python -c "from livemcp.server import mcp; print(len(mcp._tool_manager._tools), 'tools')"

Project Structure

livemcp/
├── src/livemcp/              # MCP server (pip/uvx installable)
│   ├── server.py             # FastMCP app, registers all tool modules
│   ├── connection.py         # TCP client to remote script
│   └── tools/                # 7 tool modules
│       ├── session.py        # 73 session tools
│       ├── clips.py          # 40 clip tools
│       ├── tracks.py         # 32 track tools
│       ├── devices.py        # 27 device tools
│       ├── mixer.py          # 14 mixer tools
│       ├── arrangement.py    # 9 arrangement tools
│       └── grooves.py        # 5 groove tools
├── remote_script/LiveMCP/    # Ableton MIDI Remote Script
│   ├── __init__.py           # create_instance() entry point
│   ├── server.py             # TCP server + handler dispatch
│   ├── browser.py            # 3-strategy device loading
│   └── handlers/             # 7 handler modules (matching tools/)
└── scripts/
    ├── install.sh            # Wrapper for `uv run livemcp --install`
    ├── dev_install.sh        # Wrapper for `uv run livemcp --install --symlink-install`
    ├── publish.sh            # Test/build/publish helper
    ├── uninstall.sh          # Wrapper for `uv run livemcp --uninstall`
    └── restart_ableton.sh    # Wrapper for `uv run livemcp --restart-ableton`

Known Limitations

These are Ableton Live API limitations, not LiveMCP bugs:

Feature	Status	Notes
Follow Actions	Not in API	Confirmed by Cycling '74
Stem Separation	Not in API	UI-only feature (Live 12.3+)
Track Freeze/Flatten	Read-only	Can check is_frozen, cannot trigger freeze
Warp Markers	Read-only	Cannot add/move/delete warp markers
Automation Envelopes	Limited	Can sample/insert values, cannot create from scratch
Group Tracks	Cannot create	Can read group info, cannot create groups
Groove Removal	API bug	clip.groove = None crashes; raises informative error

License

MIT