The Ableton Cookbook

What is this?

The Ableton Cookbook is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that bridges AI assistants (like Claude) with Ableton Live. It gives AI the ability to understand your production workflows, analyze your sessions, and help you work smarter - not replace you.

🗂️ Archivist

Parse .als files offline
Extract track info & devices
Analyze project structure
No Ableton running required

🎚️ Operator

Real-time Live control
Read track volumes & devices
Control parameters live
Via AbletonJS MIDI script

📚 Historian

Python version control
Semantic versioning
Visual HTML timelines
Track production changes

🔬 Analyzer

PHP rack analysis
Parse drum racks (.adg)
Analyze presets (.adv)
Effect chain inspection

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+ (for MCP server)
Python 3.7+ (for version control)
PHP 7.4+ (for rack analysis)
Ableton Live (for real-time control)
Claude Desktop (to use the MCP tools)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/teamallnighter/ableton-cookbook-mcp.git
cd ableton-cookbook-mcp

2. Build the MCP server:

cd packages/mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

3. Configure Claude Desktop:

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ableton": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/ableton-cookbook-mcp/packages/mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

4. Restart Claude Desktop

You should now see 16 Ableton tools available in Claude!

Documentation

The Vision

"Share and discover Ableton Live production recipes"

We're building a platform where producers can share their workflow "recipes" - not to replace creativity, but to augment it. Think of it like a cookbook: you follow a recipe, but add your own twist. The AI helps you discover techniques, understand patterns, and accelerate your workflow.

Key principle: Opt-in sharing only. Your projects stay private unless you explicitly share them. This is about trust - we're building for producers, by producers.

Roadmap

Phase 1: Proof of Concept ✓

MCP server with 16 tools working. Foundation complete.

Phase 2: Easy Setup 🚧

Desktop installer, no terminal commands needed.

Phase 3: Community

Web platform for sharing recipes. Laravel + database.

Phase 4: Discovery

Search, recommendations, export integrations.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Whether it's bug reports, feature requests, documentation, or code - your input helps make this tool better for all producers.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.