musicxml-abc-mcp

MCP server that converts between MusicXML and ABC notation.

What it does

Bridges MusicXML (the standard but verbose XML format) and ABC notation (a compact, human-readable text format). The primary use case is enabling LLM-assisted score editing: MusicXML → ABC → Claude edits → ABC → MusicXML.

ABC is ideal for LLM editing because it is concise enough to fit in a context window and expressive enough to represent most choral music.

Tools

Tool Description
musicxml_to_abc Convert MusicXML to ABC notation; optionally filter to a single part
abc_to_musicxml Convert ABC notation back to MusicXML
validate_abc Parse an ABC string and return errors or warnings
list_capabilities Return server metadata: backend version, ABC standard

Installation

cd musicxml-abc-mcp
uv sync --extra dev

Note: use --extra dev (not --group dev) to install pytest.

Running

uv run musicxml-abc-mcp

No environment variables required.

Usage examples

// Convert full score to ABC
{
  "tool": "musicxml_to_abc",
  "arguments": {"musicxml_path": "/path/to/score.mxl"}
}

// Extract just the Soprano part
{
  "tool": "musicxml_to_abc",
  "arguments": {"musicxml_path": "/path/to/score.mxl", "part_name": "Soprano"}
}

// Convert edited ABC back to MusicXML
{
  "tool": "abc_to_musicxml",
  "arguments": {"abc_text": "X:1\nT:My Song\n...", "output_path": "/tmp/edited.mxl"}
}

// Validate ABC before converting
{
  "tool": "validate_abc",
  "arguments": {"abc_text": "X:1\nT:My Song\n..."}
}

ABC notation basics

This server uses ABC standard v2.1:

  • c (lowercase) = C4 (middle C)
  • C (uppercase) = C3 (one octave below middle C)
  • Apostrophe raises an octave: c' = C5
  • Comma lowers an octave: C, = C2

Round-trips preserve notes within ±2%. Dynamics and complex articulations are not preserved.

Testing

# All tests including integration (round-trip SATB conversion)
VIRTUAL_ENV= .venv/bin/pytest tests/ -v

Dependencies

  • music21 — score parsing; ABC output uses a custom serializer (music21 9.x has no ABC writer)
  • mcp — MCP protocol

System requirements

  • Python 3.11+
  • No system libraries required

Project links

Data verified by PyPI on Aug 16, 2026
Data provided by the project maintainers, verified at the time the release was uploaded to PyPI.

Key dates

PyPI data
Data sourced directly from PyPI's database.
  • Released:
Latest release

1 maintainer

PyPI data
Data sourced directly from PyPI's database.
Avatar for raulkivi from gravatar.com raulkivi

Credits

Author: Raul Kivi

GitHub Statistics

Data verified by PyPI on Aug 16, 2026
The GitHub source repository was provided by the project maintainers and verified by PyPI at the time of upload. Stars, forks, and open issues/PRs are derived from that repository and have not been independently verified.

License

MIT License (MIT)

Requires

Python >=3.11

Provides Extra

dev

Tags

abc llm mcp music musicxml notation

Classifiers

Report project as malware

Download files

Download the file for your platform. If you're not sure which to choose, learn more about installing packages.

Source Distribution

musicxml_abc_mcp-0.1.2.tar.gz (138.3 kB view details)

Uploaded Source

Built Distribution

If you're not sure about the file name format, learn more about wheel file names.

musicxml_abc_mcp-0.1.2-py3-none-any.whl (11.3 kB view details)

Uploaded Python 3

File details

Details for the file musicxml_abc_mcp-0.1.2.tar.gz.

File metadata

  • Download URL: musicxml_abc_mcp-0.1.2.tar.gz
  • Upload date:
  • Size: 138.3 kB
  • Tags: Source
  • Uploaded using Trusted Publishing? Yes
  • Uploaded via: twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14

File hashes

Hashes for musicxml_abc_mcp-0.1.2.tar.gz
Algorithm Hash digest
SHA256 e0463b17e49dc2024567ff6876c16c08aaeeb73426664aea88e7fe26b8c04910
MD5 079544c527ac22983277be464248cb31
BLAKE2b-256 2033c76dd588521fb7430b8b3a0a57673973ee7a2655946286039d9a4c2d8902

See more details on using hashes here.

Provenance

The following attestation bundles were made for musicxml_abc_mcp-0.1.2.tar.gz:

Publisher: publish.yml on raulkivi/music-assistant

Attestations: Values shown here reflect the state when the release was signed and may no longer be current.

File details

Details for the file musicxml_abc_mcp-0.1.2-py3-none-any.whl.

File metadata

File hashes

Hashes for musicxml_abc_mcp-0.1.2-py3-none-any.whl
Algorithm Hash digest
SHA256 2a5fd863649ed66609d1afce6dc3f011ba0c5467edaaad3d235af429baf0b2f7
MD5 73e3204dceb94a1a6c966fa5be03e2d3
BLAKE2b-256 d491719415887d5fd323e89f3d7fb8544ace4b4901201f40a647fb2c20b454f8

See more details on using hashes here.

Provenance

The following attestation bundles were made for musicxml_abc_mcp-0.1.2-py3-none-any.whl:

Publisher: publish.yml on raulkivi/music-assistant

Attestations: Values shown here reflect the state when the release was signed and may no longer be current.

Supported by

AWS Cloud computing and Security Sponsor Datadog Monitoring Depot Continuous Integration Fastly CDN Google Download Analytics Sentry Error logging StatusPage Status page