Setup
About
Setup is an MCP server that integrates with Ableton Live using the ableton-js library, allowing Claude to control Ableton through MIDI commands. It is intended for Ableton users who want to automate tasks via natural language.
Explore
- Connects Claude to Ableton Live via MCP
- Currently supports only one tool: create a MIDI track
- Built on ableton-js for Ableton 11
- Tested on macOS only
- Includes a debugging inspector (npm run inspect)
Setting up with Highlight
This MCP is not yet compatible with Highlight’s one-click setup. However, you can still use it with Highlight by following these steps:
- Download and install Highlight from highlightai.com/download
- Navigate to the plugins tab and select "Add Custom Plugin"
-
Configure the plugin with the settings below
Plugin Name
SetupCommand (node, npx, python, etc.)Please refer to the README for specific instructions on how to obtain API keys or other required environment variables.
- Enable "Start Automatically" if you want the plugin to start when Highlight launches
From the repository
1. Install deps: yarn cause ableton-js uses it for some build scripts and pnpm.
npm install --global yarn
brew install pnpm
2. Install the midi-script in ableton:
git clone https://github.com/leolabs/ableton-js.git && cd ableton-js && yarn ableton11:start
3. Clone the ableton-vibe mcp server if you havent yet:
git clone https://github.com/androidStern/ableton-vibe.git && cd ableton-vibe && pnpm i
4. Build and watch changes:
npm run build
5. Add mcp config to claude. General instructions here
replace path-to-repo with path to wherever you cloned ableton-vibe
as for where claude's config is: on my machine the mcp config is in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json/
{
"mcpServers": {
"ableton-vibe": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["<path-to-repo>/ableton-vibe/ableton-mcp.js"]
}
}
}
Claude Desktop / Cursor
Paste into your MCP client config file to install this server.
{
"mcpServers": {
"setup": {
"ableton-vibe": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"<path-to-repo>/ableton-vibe/ableton-mcp.js"
]
}
}
}
}McpServers
{
"ableton-vibe": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"<path-to-repo>/ableton-vibe/ableton-mcp.js"
]
}
}1. Install deps: yarn cause ableton-js uses it for some build scripts and pnpm.
npm install --global yarn
brew install pnpm
2. Install the midi-script in ableton:
git clone https://github.com/leolabs/ableton-js.git && cd ableton-js && yarn ableton11:start
3. Clone the ableton-vibe mcp server if you havent yet:
git clone https://github.com/androidStern/ableton-vibe.git && cd ableton-vibe && pnpm i
4. Build and watch changes:
npm run build
5. Add mcp config to claude. General instructions here
replace path-to-repo with path to wherever you cloned ableton-vibe
as for where claude's config is: on my machine the mcp config is in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json/
{
"mcpServers": {
"ableton-vibe": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["<path-to-repo>/ableton-vibe/ableton-mcp.js"]
}
}
}
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