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Ableton Vibe MCP Server

Provides an MCP server to control Ableton Live via the Ableton Vibe integration, enabling programmatic MIDI actions and device management.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

View docs

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "androidstern-ableton-vibe": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "<path-to-repo>/ableton-vibe/ableton-mcp.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

This MCP server lets you control Ableton Live through a dedicated microservice that you run locally. It bridges MIDI actions with an MCP client, enabling automated or scripted Ableton workflows from your preferred controller or automation tool.

How to use

Ensure Ableton Live is running. Start the MCP server you configured, then restart your MCP client to establish a fresh connection. You can ask your MCP client to perform actions like creating a MIDI track or triggering devices in Ableton. For example, you may send a command to create a MIDI track at a specific index, which the server translates into Ableton operations via the midi-remote script.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need Node.js and the package managers yarn and pnpm. Install them if you don’t have them yet.

# Install yarn globally
npm install --global yarn

# Install pnpm (via Homebrew on macOS)
brew install pnpm

How to install

Clone the Ableton MIDI script and set up the MCP server for Ableton Live.

git clone https://github.com/leolabs/ableton-js.git
cd ableton-js
yarn ableton11:start
```

```bash
git clone https://github.com/androidStern/ableton-vibe.git
cd ableton-vibe
pnpm i
```

Build the server and prepare it for use.

How to install

Create the MCP config that points to the local server script. Replace path-to-repo with the actual path where you cloned the ableton-vibe project.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ableton-vibe": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["<path-to-repo>/ableton-vibe/ableton-mcp.js"]
    }
  }
}

How to install

Place the configuration in your Claude MCP configuration location. Example path on a typical Mac setup is shown here.

path-to-repo replaced with the repository directory
"mcpServers": {
  "ableton-vibe": {
    "command": "node",
    "args": ["<path-to-repo>/ableton-vibe/ableton-mcp.js"]
  }
}

Additional sections

Supported environments and debugging tips are included here. If you need to inspect what the MCP server is doing, you can run the inspector to quickly debug and then open the provided URL.

Configuration notes

You should restart the client that uses the MCP server after you start or reconfigure the server so the new connection is picked up.

Troubleshooting

If Ableton is not responding, verify that Ableton Live is running and that the midi-remote script is installed. Rebuild and reload the MCP server if you updated the code. Use the inspector to verify the server is listening and reachable.

Notes on usage

The server is designed to work with macOS setups using the provided commands. If you are on a different OS, expect small adjustments in temp directory handling and path resolutions.

Using the test script

There is an example script named test-browser.js that shows how to add a device to your Ableton set programmatically. Make sure Ableton is running and the midi-remote script is installed before running this script.

node test-browser.js

Available tools

ableton-mcp.js

Main MCP server script that interfaces with Ableton Live through the Ableton JS bridge and MIDI remote script.

test-browser.js

Example script to programmatically add a device to an Ableton set while Ableton is running and the MIDI remote script is installed.

mcp inspector

Debugging tool to inspect the MCP server by running an inspector and opening the provided URL.