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  "description": "Today, I stumbled across an Ableton Live MCP server that lets tools like Claude or Codex control Ableton using natural language. Here's how I set it up.",
  "path": "/til/2026/03/14/control-ableton-live-with-natural-language-mcp-setup/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-14T21:00:46.000Z",
  "site": "https://danielraffel.me",
  "tags": [
    "Ableton Live MCP server",
    "Ableton",
    "GitHub - hidingwill/AbletonBridge: 322 tools connecting LLM’s to Ableton Live322 tools connecting LLM’s to Ableton Live. Contribute to hidingwill/AbletonBridge development by creating an account on GitHub.GitHubhidingwill",
    "uv",
    "review this issue"
  ],
  "textContent": "Today, I stumbled across an Ableton Live MCP server that lets AI agents like Claude or Codex control Ableton using natural language.\n\nFor example, you can ask things like:\n\n  * Create a MIDI track with a drum rack\n  * Add a reverb to the current track\n  * Launch scene 3\n\n\n\nThe project lives here:\n\nGitHub - hidingwill/AbletonBridge: 322 tools connecting LLM’s to Ableton Live322 tools connecting LLM’s to Ableton Live. Contribute to hidingwill/AbletonBridge development by creating an account on GitHub.GitHubhidingwill\n\nBelow are the commands I used to install it on macOS.\n\n* * *\n\n## 1. Install uv (required)\n\nBoth projects use uv to run the MCP server.\n\n\n    curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh\n\n\n* * *\n\n## 2. Install the Remote Script\n\nClone the repo and copy the Remote Script into Ableton's User Library:\n\n\n    git clone https://github.com/hidingwill/AbletonBridge.git ~/Code/AbletonBridge\n\n    cp -R ~/Code/AbletonBridge/AbletonBridge_Remote_Script \\\n      \"$HOME/Music/Ableton/User Library/Remote Scripts/AbletonBridge\"\n\n\n* * *\n\n## 3. Register the MCP server\n\nI use Claude and Codex, so I set them both up:\n\n\n    claude mcp add --scope user AbletonBridge -- uv run --directory \"$HOME/Code/AbletonBridge\" ableton-bridge\n    codex mcp add AbletonBridge -- uv run --directory \"$HOME/Code/AbletonBridge\" ableton-bridge\n\n\n* * *\n\n## 4. Configure Ableton Live\n\nLaunch **Ableton Live** , then go to:\n\n**Settings → Link, Tempo & MIDI**\n\nSet:\n\n\n    Control Surface: AbletonBridge\n    Input: None\n    Output: None\n\n* * *\n\n## 4. Ask Your Agent to Control Ableton\n\nAfter installing the MCP server, quit and reopen your agent so it registers the server. For example, if you’re using Claude, close and relaunch it.\n\nThen open Ableton Live and ask the agent to do something like:\n\n\n    set up a new session with a 909 drum track at 148 BPM, add a vintage-style synth, a 70s-style bass sound, and generate a few simple melodies\n\nStarting the prompt in ClaudeWhen the prompt finished it explained what it did in AbletonOpening the Ableton Session that Claude setup\n\nWhat it sounds like\n\nI don’t see myself actually using this, but it’s pretty interesting that it’s even possible. It’s impressive that Ableton exposes a mature API that makes this kind of integration feasible.\n\nWhile it wouldn’t really inspire me to make music this way, I could see it being useful for learning Ableton interactively or for automatically setting up more complex sessions.\n\n* * *\n\n## **Windows note**\n\nIf you’re on Windows and the install fails, review this issue from the original source repository (this post links to a more developed fork) before proceeding. The **Remote Script path may differ** , and installing into the **User Library** may not work on some systems.",
  "title": "How to Control Ableton Live with Natural Language (MCP Setup)",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-16T04:28:10.001Z"
}