The REAPER MCP Server is a powerful tool that enables AI agents to create fully mixed and mastered tracks in REAPER, handling both MIDI and audio operations through the Model Context Protocol. It provides comprehensive control over project management, track operations, MIDI editing, and audio processing.
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/itsuzef/reaper-mcp.git
cd reaper-mcp
# Create and activate a virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
# Install the package
pip install -e .
The easiest way to get started is to use the provided startup script:
# Start REAPER first
open /Applications/REAPER.app # On macOS
# or start REAPER manually on other platforms
# Then start the MCP server
./scripts/start_reaper_mcp_server.sh # On Unix/Mac
For Windows users, use one of the provided Windows scripts:
# Using Command Prompt (CMD)
scripts\start_reaper_mcp_server.bat
# Using PowerShell
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\start_reaper_mcp_server.ps1
By default, the server will use OSC mode, which is more reliable and doesn't require the ReaScript API to be working correctly. You can configure the server using command-line arguments:
# Start in OSC mode (default)
./scripts/start_reaper_mcp_server.sh --mode=osc # Unix/Mac
scripts\start_reaper_mcp_server.bat --mode=osc # Windows CMD
powershell -File scripts\start_reaper_mcp_server.ps1 -mode osc # Windows PowerShell
# Start in ReaScript mode
./scripts/start_reaper_mcp_server.sh --mode=reapy # Unix/Mac
scripts\start_reaper_mcp_server.bat --mode=reapy # Windows CMD
powershell -File scripts\start_reaper_mcp_server.ps1 -mode reapy # Windows PowerShell
# Configure OSC settings (Unix/Mac)
./scripts/start_reaper_mcp_server.sh --host=192.168.1.110 --send-port=8000 --receive-port=9000
# Configure OSC settings (Windows CMD)
scripts\start_reaper_mcp_server.bat --host=192.168.1.110 --send-port=8000 --receive-port=9000
# Configure OSC settings (Windows PowerShell)
powershell -File scripts\start_reaper_mcp_server.ps1 -host "192.168.1.110" -sendPort 8000 -receivePort 9000
# Enable debug logging
./scripts/start_reaper_mcp_server.sh --debug # Unix/Mac
scripts\start_reaper_mcp_server.bat --debug # Windows CMD
powershell -File scripts\start_reaper_mcp_server.ps1 -debug # Windows PowerShell
/opt/homebrew/Cellar/[email protected]/3.x.x/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.x/Python
C:\Path\to\Python\python3x.dll
python scripts/setup_reaper_python.py
The server provides the following MCP tools:
create_project
: Creates a new REAPER projectcreate_track
: Creates a new track in the current projectlist_tracks
: Lists all tracks in the current projectadd_midi_note
: Adds a MIDI note to a trackget_project_info
: Gets information about the current projectIf you're experiencing issues with the ReaScript API, try using the OSC mode instead:
./scripts/start_reaper_mcp_server.sh --mode=osc
Make sure REAPER is configured correctly for OSC:
If you're having issues running the MCP server on Windows:
Script Execution Issues:
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
-ExecutionPolicy Bypass
flag as shown in the examplesPath Issues:
C:\Program Files\REAPER\reaper.exe
, modify if neededVirtual Environment:
venv\Scripts\activate
Firewall Blocking:
Administrator Rights:
To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:
claude mcp add-json "reaper" '{"command":"python","args":["-m","reaper_mcp","--mode=osc"]}'
See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.
There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json
file so that it is available in all of your projects.
If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json
file.
To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".
When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json
file will be opened and you can add your server like this:
{
"mcpServers": {
"reaper": {
"command": "python",
"args": [
"-m",
"reaper_mcp",
"--mode=osc"
]
}
}
}
To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json
file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.
Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.
The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.
You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.
To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:
1. Find your configuration file:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
2. Add this to your configuration file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"reaper": {
"command": "python",
"args": [
"-m",
"reaper_mcp",
"--mode=osc"
]
}
}
}
3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect