使用说明
Vision
The supreme form of communication is music.
The final evolution of human communication is music. Music doesn't reach you through words alone. It speaks soul to soul, thought by thought, synapse by synapse.
It is the most complete way to share something with someone: two people inside the same sound, at the same moment.
What it is
An AI studio partner for DJs and electronic music producers. Describe the idea, and Claude builds it in your open Ableton Live set: grooves, basslines, sounds from your own sample libraries, filter sweeps, full arrangements. You stay in the creative seat.
Install
Works with any MCP client. We build and test it mostly with Claude Code on macOS, so that's the smoothest setup. Paste this into your coding agent:
Install Ableton DJ MCP from https://github.com/gpulga/ableton-dj-mcp and connect
it to this coding agent, following docs/Setup.md. Show me the setup plan for
approval, then verify the installation.
The agent does the terminal part. You do two clicks inside Live when it asks.
Manual install, Claude Desktop, other clients
git clone https://github.com/gpulga/ableton-dj-mcp.git
cd ableton-dj-mcp
npm run setup
setup installs the Live device and bridge, then prints the exact command to
connect your AI client. No npm install or build step.
Claude Desktop without a terminal: grab the .zip and .mcpb from the
latest release and
follow
these steps.
Cursor and other MCP clients work too: see Setup.
Requires Ableton Live 12.3+ with Max for Live (12.4+ for sample loading), Node.js 24+, macOS or Windows.
Make music
Start any session with "connect to ableton", then just ask:
"Set the tempo to 124 and write a rolling 16th-note bassline in A minor, 8 bars, single octave."
"Find a 124 BPM bass loop in F minor in my sample libraries and load it on a new track."
"Turn the groove in this top loop into MIDI and put the kick on a Drum Rack."
"Sweep the filter from 200 Hz to 8 kHz across the build, then read back what Live shows."
"Build an intro, an 8-bar reveal, a breakdown and a drop from these clips."
Cmd+Z undoes one AI action at a time.
What it can do
| Area | Highlights |
|---|---|
| Write | MIDI in bar|beat notation, transform expressions (velocity += rand(-5, 5)), Euclidean and named rhythms |
| Sound | Native devices and racks by name, presets by browser URI, samples into Simpler and drum pads, params in real units |
| Your sounds | Search your own sample libraries (Live's Places) by name, with BPM and key read from file names |
| Rework | Turn an audio loop into MIDI (drums, melody, harmony), a Simpler, or a sliced Drum Rack |
| Automate | Clip envelopes in Hz, dB and %, six curve shapes, recipes for sweeps, fades, dub throws and washouts |
| Arrange | Session and Arrangement, scenes, locators, duplicate to the timeline, with warnings when a write cuts another clip |
| Perform | Play, stop, loop, fire scenes and clips, record, capture MIDI, undo and redo |
| Know-how | Genre guides for house, tech house, indie dance, melodic techno, afro house, techno, psytrance, loaded on demand |
26 tools, all prefixed adj-. Full parameters:
Tools Reference.
How it works
Claude ──stdio──▶ portal ──HTTP :3350──▶ Max for Live device ──▶ Live API
Python bridge (UDP) ──▶ browser, automation, conversions
A Max for Live device on any track runs the MCP server. A small portal connects your AI client to it. A Python remote script reaches what Max can't: the browser, clip envelopes, Live's audio conversions and undo history. Architecture →
FAQ
Which version of Ableton Live do I need?
Live 12.3 or later with Max for Live: Suite, or Standard with the Max for Live add-on. Loading samples into Simpler and drum pads needs Live 12.4. Intro and Lite don't include Max for Live, so they can't run the device.
Which AI can I use?
Any MCP client: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and others. We build and test it mostly with Claude Code on macOS, so that's the smoothest setup. Client setup details are in Setup.
Can it use my own samples?
Yes. It searches the folders you've added to Live's Places, reading BPM and key from file names, and can load any sample into a Simpler, a drum pad or an audio clip.
macOS or Windows?
Both. Most of the testing happens on macOS. Linux isn't supported, since Ableton Live doesn't run there.
How do I update?
cd ableton-dj-mcp
git pull
npm run setup
Then quit and reopen Live, so it loads the new bridge.
Something isn't working
Check Troubleshooting, then open an issue or ask in Discussions.
Docs
Setup · Tools · Notation · Vision · Roadmap · Contributing · Discussions
License
Free and open source under GPL-3.0-or-later.
