📌Overview

Purpose: The Ableton Live MCP Server enables seamless communication between large language models (LLMs) and Ableton Live using the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Overview: This server implements the MCP to facilitate interaction with Ableton Live through OSC (Open Sound Control). Utilizing the AbletonOSC framework, it offers extensive OSC address mapping to control various tools within MCP clients effectively.

Key Features:

MCP-Compatible API: Provides a robust API for commanding Ableton Live directly from MCP clients, enhancing workflow efficiency.
OSC Message Handling: Utilizes the python-osc library for reliable OSC message transmission and reception, ensuring smooth communication with Ableton Live.
Request-Response Implementation: Supports handling requests and responses for commands directed at Ableton Live, simplifying user interaction through clear feedback.

Ableton Live MCP Server

Overview

The Ableton Live MCP Server implements 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 maps available OSC addresses to MCP-accessible tools.

This project consists of two main components:

mcp_ableton_server.py: The MCP server handling 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.
Uses python-osc for OSC messaging.
Implements request-response handling for Ableton Live commands.

Installation

Requirements

Python 3.8+
python-osc
fastmcp
uv (recommended Python package installer)
AbletonOSC as a control surface

Installation Steps

Install uv:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/your-username/mcp_ableton_server.git
cd mcp_ableton_server

Install the project and dependencies:
```
uv sync
```
Install AbletonOSC following its instructions.

Usage

Running the OSC Daemon

Start the OSC daemon, which handles communication between the MCP server and Ableton Live:

uv run 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 on port 11001

Example Commands

Ask an LLM like Claude:

Prepare a set to record a rock band.
Set the input routing channel of all tracks named "voice" to Ext. In 2.

Configuration

Default server and daemon settings (localhost):

MCP Server Socket: 65432
Ableton Live OSC Port (Send): 11000
Ableton Live OSC Port (Receive): 11001

To modify, 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 Configuration

Configure Claude Desktop to use this server by adding to the mcpServers section in its config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Ableton Live Controller": {
      "command": "/path/to/your/project/.venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/path/to/your/project/mcp_ableton_server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Contributing

Contributions are welcome via issues, feature requests, and pull requests.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

Model Context Protocol (MCP)
python-osc
Daniel John Jones for AbletonOSC implementation
Ableton Third Party Remote Scripts
Julien Bayle (Structure Void) for inspiration

TODO

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

ableton-live-mcp-server