REAPER DAW MCP server

Provides complete control over REAPER DAW through a Lua bridge script, enabling track management, MIDI operations, FX processing, automation, project settings, and transport controls for music production workflows.
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Setup instructions
Provider
steve hiehn
Release date
Jul 13, 2025
Stats
4 stars

REAPER MCP Server provides a clean API interface to access REAPER DAW functionality through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It uses a hybrid Lua-Python architecture to bridge between your MCP client applications and REAPER's powerful audio production capabilities.

Requirements

Before installation, ensure you have:

  • REAPER 6.83 or newer
  • Python 3.10 or newer
  • LuaSocket library (optional - only for socket-based communication)

Installation

Quick Install (macOS)

The simplest way to install on macOS is using the provided script:

./scripts/install.sh

This script automatically:

  • Installs the Lua bridge to REAPER's Scripts folder
  • Configures REAPER to load the bridge on startup
  • Sets up a Python virtual environment
  • Creates launch scripts
  • Offers to set up auto-start on login

Manual Installation

For more control or if the quick install doesn't work for your environment, follow these steps:

  1. Install Python dependencies
# Create and activate a virtual environment
python3.10 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

# Install the package
pip install -e .
  1. Set up the Lua bridge

The file-based bridge is recommended as it requires no additional dependencies:

# Copy the bridge script to REAPER
cp lua/mcp_bridge_file_v2.lua ~/Library/Application\ Support/REAPER/Scripts/
  1. Load the bridge in REAPER
    • Open REAPER
    • Go to Actions → Show action list
    • Click "Load..." and select mcp_bridge_file_v2.lua
    • Run the action and check the REAPER console for a "MCP Bridge Started" message

Usage

Starting the Server

With REAPER running and the bridge loaded, start the MCP server:

# Make sure your virtual environment is activated
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

# Start the server
python -m server.app

The server should display "Server ready. Waiting for connections..."

Verifying Your Setup

To ensure everything is working:

  1. Check REAPER's console for: "MCP Bridge Started"
  2. Confirm the server shows: "Server ready. Waiting for connections..."
  3. Verify the bridge directory exists at ~/Library/Application Support/REAPER/Scripts/mcp_bridge_data/

Testing the Connection

You can run the test suite to verify functionality:

# Make sure both REAPER and the server are running
pytest tests/ -v

# For just the integration tests
pytest tests/test_integration.py -v

Features

The REAPER MCP Server implements over 750 tools across 40+ categories including:

Core DAW Functions

  • Track management and control
  • Media item and take manipulation
  • MIDI operations
  • Effects/FX management
  • Automation and envelope control
  • Project management
  • Transport and playback control

Music Production Tools

  • Loop and time selection management
  • Bounce and render operations
  • Groove and quantization
  • Bus routing and mixing

Advanced Features

  • Audio analysis and peak detection
  • Video and visual media support
  • Color management
  • Layout and screenset management
  • Script extension support

Communication Flow

The server uses a file-based communication system:

  1. MCP Client sends a request to the MCP Server (via stdio)
  2. MCP Server writes a JSON file to the bridge directory
  3. Lua Bridge reads the file and executes the REAPER API call
  4. Lua Bridge writes the response to a JSON file
  5. MCP Server reads the response and returns it to the MCP Client

Uninstalling

To remove the MCP server:

./scripts/uninstall.sh

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "reaper" '{"command":"python","args":["-m","server.app_file_bridge_full"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

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.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

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",
                "server.app_file_bridge_full"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

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.

How to use the MCP server

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.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
  • Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "reaper": {
            "command": "python",
            "args": [
                "-m",
                "server.app_file_bridge_full"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect

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