FL Studio MCP server

The FL Studio MCP Server is a powerful tool that connects Claude AI to FL Studio, allowing you to use AI to create music directly in your digital audio workstation. This server leverages the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to enable communication between Claude and FL Studio's MIDI functionality.

Installation Guide

Prerequisites

• FL Studio installed on your computer
• Claude desktop application with MCP capability
• Python environment (preferably with conda)

Step 1: Download and Place Files

Place the Test Controller folder in the FL Studio hardware settings directory:

Image-Line/FL Studio/Settings/Hardware

Important: Do not rename this folder or any files inside it.

Step 2: Configure MCP for Claude

1. Follow the official MCP setup guide at Model Context Protocol Quickstart
2. When editing the claude_desktop_config files, make sure to change any references from weather.py to trigger.py
3. If the Hammer icon doesn't appear in Claude, close the Claude process via Task Manager and restart it

Step 3: Set Up Virtual MIDI Ports

Windows Users

1. Download and install LoopMIDI from Tobias Erichsen's website
2. Open LoopMIDI and add a new port using the + button

Mac Users

Mac systems should have MIDI ports automatically configured to receive data.

Step 4: Configure FL Studio MIDI Settings

1. Open FL Studio
2. Navigate to Options > MIDI Settings
3. In the Input tab, select the MIDI input you created with LoopMIDI
4. Change the controller type from "(generic controller)" to "Test Controller"

Step 5: Install Required Python Packages

1. Navigate to the folder containing trigger.py (the MCP server file)
2. Activate your conda environment (as configured in the Claude MCP setup)
3. Run the following command to install necessary packages:

uv pip install httpx mido python-rtmidi typing fastmcp FL-Studio-API-Stubs

Step 6: Configure MIDI Port

1. Ask Claude to get available MIDI ports
2. Copy the name of the port you created (with its number if on Windows)
3. Open trigger.py in a text editor
4. Replace the default port with your copied port name:

output_port = mido.open_output('loopMIDI Port 2')  # Replace with your port name

Using the MCP Server

Creating Music with Claude

1. Start a new chat with Claude and ensure the MCP server is connected (hammer icon should be visible)
2. Select the instrument you want to record to in FL Studio
3. Ask Claude to create melodies, chord progressions, or drum patterns
4. The notes will be live-recorded to the piano roll of the selected instrument

Recommended Prompt Format

When starting a new chat, you can use this format to guide Claude:

Here is format for notes: note(0-127),velocity(0-100),length in beats(decimal),position in beats(decimal)

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues during setup or use, join the community Discord at https://discord.gg/ZjG9TaEhvy for assistance.

Additional Resources

• Visit Veena Studio for an AI-powered DAW that works in your browser for free

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 "flstudio" '{"command":"python","args":["trigger.py"]}'

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": {
        "flstudio": {
            "command": "python",
            "args": [
                "trigger.py"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "flstudio": {
            "command": "python",
            "args": [
                "trigger.py"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect