Ableton MCP

MCP server by Siddharth Ahuja

Control Ableton Live from your assistant: create tracks, MIDI clips and arrangements, and load instruments and effects.

Runs locally (Runs on your machine: its page has the install command)Runs with uvx

Install Ableton MCP

Runs on your machine. Your client starts it with this command:

uvx ableton-mcp

Needs uv (Python) on your computer. The setup steps below show where the command goes in each client.

Share this server

Opens this page, with the install command and setup steps.

mcp.tc/i/ableton

About

Connects an AI assistant to Ableton Live through a socket-based Remote Script. You can create and edit MIDI and audio tracks, write MIDI clips with notes, load instruments and effects from Ableton's library, build full arrangements in Arrangement View, and control playback and clip launching.

It runs locally over stdio with uvx ableton-mcp and needs no sign-in or API key. Ableton Live 10 or newer must be running with the AbletonMCP Remote Script installed and selected as a Control Surface. Anonymous telemetry is included and can be disabled.

What you can do

  • Create and modify MIDI and audio tracks
  • Create and edit MIDI clips with notes
  • Load instruments, effects and sounds from Ableton's library
  • Build song sections in Arrangement View
  • Start and stop playback and fire clips
  • Control transport across Session and Arrangement View

Tools

Local servers list their tools once they’re running, and this one doesn’t publish its list in advance. Your client shows them after you add it.

Example prompts

  • Create a new MIDI track with a bass instrument and add a four-bar bassline.

  • Build an arrangement with intro, buildup, drop, breakdown and outro.

  • Load a reverb on the drum track and start playback.

  • Add a MIDI clip with a C minor chord progression to the selected track.

Set up

Every client starts Ableton MCP on your machine with the same command. Pick yours; the page remembers your choice.

Claude Code

  1. Run this in a terminal, in your project folder:
claude mcp add --transport stdio ableton -- uvx ableton-mcp
  1. Start Claude Code and type /mcp. ableton should show as connected.

Add --scope user to make it available in every project.

Claude Desktop

  1. Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config. It opens claude_desktop_config.json. Add:
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ableton": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "ableton-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
  1. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop.

Needs uv (Python) on your computer. The file lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on macOS and %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows.

Cursor

Or add it by hand to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (this project):

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

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

VS Code

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"ableton","type":"stdio","command":"uvx","args":["ableton-mcp"]}'

Or commit it to the repo in .vscode/mcp.json:

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "ableton": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "ableton-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

Devin Desktop

  1. Add it to ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json (macOS and Linux) or %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json (Windows):
mcp_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ableton": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "ableton-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
  1. Refresh the MCP server list in Cascade.

Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf.

Codex

codex mcp add ableton -- uvx ableton-mcp

Or edit ~/.codex/config.toml directly:

config.toml
[mcp_servers.ableton]
command = "uvx"
args = ["ableton-mcp"]

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add ableton uvx ableton-mcp

This adds it to the current project. Add -s user to use it everywhere.

Any client

Most clients that start local servers accept this shape:

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

Zed puts servers under context_servers in its settings, with the same command, args and env fields.

Needs uv (Python) on your computer.

FAQ

Can I paste mcp.tc/i/ableton into my MCP client?

No. Ableton MCP runs on your own computer, started by your client, so it has no web address to connect to. The quick link is the page to share; the install command is uvx ableton-mcp.

Does Ableton MCP need an API key?

No. It doesn’t declare any keys or environment variables. It runs with your user account’s permissions, so check what its tools can reach.

Is Ableton MCP a remote or a local server?

Local. Your client starts it as a process on your computer with uvx ableton-mcp, which needs uv (Python).

What can Ableton MCP do?

You can create and modify MIDI and audio tracks, create and edit MIDI clips with notes and load instruments, effects and sounds from Ableton's library.

Which clients can use it?

Any client that starts local servers: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Devin Desktop, Codex, Gemini CLI, Zed and others. claude.ai and ChatGPT only connect to remote servers.

Who wrote this page?

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