AbletonLiveMCP: MCP server for Ableton Live

AbletonLiveMCP is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Ableton Live. It lets AI assistants like Claude read and edit your Live Set through a local Remote Script.

What you can do

• Read your session, tracks, clips, notes and device parameters.
• Edit the mixer and MIDI notes, load installed devices and build effect chains.
• Write Session clip automation and make bounded arrangement edits.
• Work with stock drum kits and existing rack macros through optional toolsets.

Writes start disabled. The server reads changes back and reports what Live stored. See supported operations and limits.

Requirements

• Ableton Live 12.2 on Windows is the qualified setup. Other Ableton Live 12 versions and macOS are untested. The validation record lists the tested cases.
• Python 3.10 or later, on the same machine and user account as Live.
• An MCP client that supports stdio. Deletion also needs a client with form elicitation.
• Internet access to PyPI, or Git or a downloaded release wheel instead.

Install

The package is on PyPI as zx-ableton-live-mcp; it installs the abletonlivemcp commands. In Windows PowerShell, create an environment in a folder you will keep:

py -3 -m venv .venv
.venv/Scripts/python.exe -m pip install zx-ableton-live-mcp

On macOS, use python3 -m venv .venv and .venv/bin/python instead. You can also install a wheel from GitHub Releases, or a tag from Git: pip install "git+https://github.com/zdhoward/abletonlivemcp@v1.1.0". For pipx or uv, see installation alternatives and upgrades.

Set up the Remote Script

1. Close Live. Find your User Library in Live's Preferences/Settings > Library. Pass that folder to the installer; it must contain a Presets folder:

   .venv/Scripts/abletonlivemcp-install.exe "<path to your User Library>"
   

   On macOS, use .venv/bin/abletonlivemcp-install.

2. Start Live. In Preferences > Link/Tempo/MIDI > Control Surface (called Settings > Link, Tempo & MIDI in Live 12), select AbletonLiveMCP in a free slot.

The installer creates Remote Scripts/AbletonLiveMCP in your User Library and a private ~/.abletonlivemcp/bridge.json. That file contains a secret. Never share it or put it in an MCP client config.

Connect your MCP client

Replace C:/path/to/.venv/Scripts/abletonlivemcp.exe below with the absolute path to the environment you created. On macOS, use the absolute .venv/bin/abletonlivemcp path. Open a new client session after saving the configuration.

Claude Desktop and Cursor

For Claude Desktop, open Settings > Developer > Edit Config and merge this into claude_desktop_config.json. For Cursor, use ~/.cursor/mcp.json.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "abletonlive": {
      "command": "C:/path/to/.venv/Scripts/abletonlivemcp.exe",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Quit and reopen Claude Desktop after saving.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport stdio --scope user abletonlive -- "C:/path/to/.venv/Scripts/abletonlivemcp.exe"

VS Code

In your workspace's .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "abletonlive": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "C:/path/to/.venv/Scripts/abletonlivemcp.exe",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

For any other stdio client, launch abletonlivemcp with no arguments, or the installed environment's Python with -m abletonlivemcp.server.

Enable writes and try it

1. Open a disposable Set or save a copy in Live. Ask your assistant to call live_hello with {}. Check script.match, read_only and the capability report.
2. Call live_get_session with {} to read tempo, transport and session counts.
3. Stop playback yourself. In your existing ~/.abletonlivemcp/bridge.json, change "read_only": true to "read_only": false. Preserve the secret and other fields.
4. Call live_set_session with {"metronome": true}, then live_get_session to check it. Restore the original metronome value with the same tool when done.

Set read_only back to true when you finish. The switch takes effect without a restart. New configs allow only transport and edit. Other permissions are opt-in; see local permissions. Ordinary edits do not ask for confirmation. After an unknown outcome, read the state before another write.

Troubleshooting

• If Live resets the Control Surface to None, check the User Library and Live's Log.txt: %APPDATA%/Ableton/Live 12.2/Preferences/Log.txt on Windows. Use the folder for your exact Live version.
• The bridge uses 127.0.0.1:9877. Check for a port conflict or another Live instance.
• After upgrading, close Live, rerun the Remote Script installer and restart Live and the MCP client. A version/build mismatch in live_hello needs this reinstall.
• If the client cannot find the command, use the absolute executable path from your installation environment.

See setup and troubleshooting for macOS log paths and installer errors.

FAQ

What is AbletonLiveMCP?

It is an open-source Ableton Live MCP server. An AI assistant uses its tools to inspect and edit a Live Set through the Model Context Protocol.

Which Live versions work?

Live 12.2 on Windows is qualified for the cases in the validation record. Other versions have not been qualified.

Does it work on Mac?

macOS is untested. The installer has platform-specific file permission handling, but I have not qualified it against Live on a Mac.

Is it safe, and can it change my Set without asking?

Writes are disabled by default. Once you enable them, ordinary edits can run without another prompt. Deletion needs a separate permission and a confirmation form. Keep a copy of your Set; batches have no rollback. See write safety.

Which AI clients work with it?

Use a client with stdio MCP support, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code. The configurations above launch the same server. Client versions differ in their support for form elicitation, which destructive tools require.

More information

• Setup, upgrades and troubleshooting
• Toolsets and usage
• Local permissions
• Validation and known limits
• Changelog and 1.0.0 release notes
• Contributing and tests, security reporting and MIT license