mcp-server-ableton

Model Context Protocol server for Ableton Live, enabling AI agents to control your Ableton session over OSC.

Architecture

graph LR
    Agent[AI Agent] -->|MCP JSON-RPC over stdio| Server[mcp-server-ableton]
    Server -->|UDP :11000| OSC[AbletonOSC]
    OSC -->|Max for Live| Ableton[Ableton Live]

graph TD
    subgraph MCP Tools
        A[Atomic Tools] --> T[Transport: play, stop, tempo]
        A --> TR[Tracks: volume, mute, rename]
        A --> C[Clips: fire, stop, notes]
        A --> D[Devices: list, set params]
        A --> S[Scenes: list, fire]

        B[Compound Tools] --> MP[Musical Phrase: clip + notes + device params]
        B --> ACS[Adjust Clip Sound: notes + device params]
        B --> Batch[Batch: sequence of atomic actions]
        B --> SS[Session State: full snapshot]
    end

The server communicates with Ableton Live through AbletonOSC, a Max for Live device that exposes Ableton's API over OSC (UDP). The MCP server translates tool calls into OSC messages and parses the responses.

Requirements

• Ableton Live with AbletonOSC loaded as a Max for Live device

Usage

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

With uvx:

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

With rvx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ableton": {
      "command": "rvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-ableton"]
    }
  }
}

nix run github:vaporif/mcp-server-ableton

cargo install --git https://github.com/vaporif/mcp-server-ableton

AbletonOSC Setup

Install the bundled AbletonOSC device into your Ableton User Library:

mcp-server-ableton install

Then drag AbletonOSC from your User Library onto any track in Ableton.

Tools

Tools are designed for bulk operations — compound tools combine multiple actions into a single MCP call to minimize round-trips between the agent and server.

Every tool response includes a session_summary with current tempo, playback state, and selected track for context.

Debugging

RUST_LOG=debug mcp-server-ableton

Development

nix develop
just setup-hooks
just check

Credits

• AbletonOSC by Daniel Jones - Max for Live device providing OSC control of Ableton Live

License

GPL-3.0-or-later