🎛️ Ableton Skills

Claude Skills for Ableton Live producers

Workflows for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and Gemini CLI

License: MIT Skills Commands Ableton Live PRs Welcome

Quick install · Skills · Commands · Why · FAQ · Contributing

TL;DR

# Claude Code
git clone https://github.com/glincker/ableton-skills ~/.claude/skills/ableton

# Cursor
git clone https://github.com/glincker/ableton-skills && cp -r ableton-skills/skills/* .cursor/rules/

# Done. Open your AI assistant. Ask: "Make me a 4-bar lo-fi house loop in C minor"

You also need an Ableton MCP server. We recommend uisato/ableton-mcp-extended.

Why this exists

Open-source Ableton MCP servers (uisato/ableton-mcp-extended, ahujasid/ableton-mcp) give your AI agent the plumbing to talk to Live. They don't tell it how to actually be useful to a music producer.

Generic Claude knows music theory but won't:

  • High-pass your pads at 100 Hz to clean up mud
  • Voice-lead a string ensemble while respecting Vln1's range (G3 to G6)
  • Catch kick-bass masking at 80 Hz, the most common cause of "muddy mix"
  • Humanize a lo-fi hi-hat with the right velocity curve and swing
  • Know that a trap beat at 140 BPM is half-time, not slow

This is the prompt-engineering layer on top of the MCP servers. Skills that make a generic AI assistant act like a co-producer.

Co-pilot, not generator

We do not compete with Suno, Udio, or AIVA. The user owns the melody, emotion, and structure. We handle the mechanical translation tax: track scaffolding, voice leading, velocity curves, mix diagnostics, MIDI cleanup, articulation choices, DAW navigation.

How we compare

ableton-skills Generic Claude ahujasid/ableton-mcp uisato/ableton-mcp-extended
MCP server included no no yes yes
Producer-aware skills yes no no no
Music-theory voice leading yes partial no no
Mix diagnostic workflow yes no no no
MIDI humanization yes no no no
Genre-aware drum patterns yes partial no no
Slash commands yes no no no
CLAUDE.md drop-in yes no no no
Multi-platform 4 n/a Claude only Claude + Cursor
Active maintenance yes n/a stale yes

Quick install

Claude Code

git clone https://github.com/glincker/ableton-skills ~/.claude/skills/ableton

Drop CLAUDE.md into your Ableton project root for project-scoped context:

cp ~/.claude/skills/ableton/CLAUDE.md /path/to/your/ableton-project/

Cursor

git clone https://github.com/glincker/ableton-skills
cp -r ableton-skills/skills/* /path/to/your/project/.cursor/rules/

Codex CLI

git clone https://github.com/glincker/ableton-skills
echo "Reference: $(pwd)/ableton-skills/CLAUDE.md" >> /path/to/your/project/AGENTS.md

Gemini CLI

Same as Codex but reference from GEMINI.md.

MCP server (required separately)

You also need an Ableton MCP server. Install one of:

Follow that repo's install instructions, then restart your AI assistant.

The 12 skills

# Skill What it does
1 producer-mode Sets up tracks, picks instruments, scaffolds arrangements from a brief
2 mixer-doctor Diagnoses muddy/harsh/lifeless mixes, suggests EQ/comp/bus moves
3 midi-cleanup Humanizes velocity, fixes voice leading, quantizes intelligently
4 arrangement-coach Promotes Session loops to Arrangement, builds intro/verse/drop/outro
5 sound-designer Designs synth patches on Operator/Wavetable/Analog/Drift
6 reference-match Translates "make it sound like X" into actionable production moves
7 mastering-prep Pre-master audit: headroom, mono, LUFS, frequency balance
8 chord-pro Generates progressions with proper voicing across instruments
9 groove-builder Idiomatic drum patterns by genre with humanization
10 sidechain-setup Sidechain compression routing kick to bass, vocal to bed
11 tempo-coach Tempo, time signature, half-time vs full-time, swing guidance
12 vocal-chain Vocal processing chains for pop/rap/indie/lo-fi/R&B

More skills coming weekly, see Roadmap.

Slash commands

Command Purpose
/ableton-init Bootstrap a clean project: return tracks, master chain, labeled tracks
/ableton-export Pre-export audit: levels, mono, sample rate, bit depth
/ableton-snapshot Save a markdown snapshot of session state
/ableton-debug Diagnose connection or behavior issues

Demo

"Make a 4-bar lo-fi house loop in C minor: bass, kick, hat, soft pad. Humanize the hat."

[demo gif placeholder, will record one of producer-mode from prompt to populated session]

The skills tell the AI how to interpret that brief like a producer would: pick the right instruments, set the right tempo, voice the chords properly, write idiomatic patterns, then humanize the velocity curve on the hi-hat with accent preservation.

FAQ

Yes. This repo ships skills (prompt instructions for the AI). The actual DAW connection is handled by an MCP server. We recommend uisato/ableton-mcp-extended. Install that, then drop these skills on top.

Right now Ableton Live only. Logic and Reaper adapters are in the roadmap (same skills, different DAW backends). The skill content is mostly DAW-portable; what changes is the MCP tool names.

No. This is a co-pilot, not a generator. The user writes melodies, sets the emotion, decides the structure. We handle voice leading, humanization, mix diagnostics, and DAW navigation. If you want full song generation, use Suno or Udio and import the audio.

Every skill defaults to stock Ableton instruments and effects (Operator, Wavetable, Analog, Drift, EQ Eight, Compressor, Glue, Limiter). If a skill mentions a third-party plugin it's optional, with a stock fallback.

No. Every skill follows a "read before write, confirm before destructive" pattern. The CLAUDE.md template enforces this. You can also use /ableton-snapshot before risky changes to checkpoint your session.

Claude itself uses internet (Anthropic's API). The skills are local markdown files. Once Claude has loaded a skill, the actual DAW operations happen through the MCP server, which runs locally and talks to Ableton via socket.

Yes. MIT license, no restrictions on output. The AI is a tool you used; the music you make is yours.

Awesome lists are curation. We're a focused skill bundle for one domain (music production in Ableton). We test skills against a real MCP server, follow a consistent format, and merge contributor PRs. Awesome lists link to skills; we ship skills.

Open a skill request issue or PR directly. PRs that follow the SKILL.md format and include a tested workflow get merged within 7 days.

Roadmap

Shipping next

  • live-performance: Session-view setup for live performance/DJ
  • genre-pack-cinematic: orchestral template + idiomatic patterns
  • genre-pack-lofi: lo-fi hip-hop pack
  • genre-pack-edm: EDM/big-room pack
  • vst-introspect: auto-detect installed VSTs and map to skills
  • automation-coach: when/how to automate parameters

Multi-DAW

  • Logic Pro adapter, same skills, different MCP backend
  • Reaper adapter
  • FL Studio adapter

Tooling

  • One-line installer (npx ableton-skills install)
  • VS Code extension for skill authoring
  • Public skill registry / browser

Compatibility

MCP server Tested Notes
uisato/ableton-mcp-extended yes Recommended. Most tools mapped.
ahujasid/ableton-mcp partial Works for producer-mode, midi-cleanup. Limited for advanced skills.
jpoindexter/ableton-mcp partial 200+ tools but less actively maintained.
Custom / local fork unknown If your fork follows the standard tool naming, skills should work. Open an issue if not.
AI assistant Tested Skill format
Claude Code yes ~/.claude/skills/
Cursor yes .cursor/rules/
Codex CLI yes Reference via AGENTS.md
Gemini CLI yes Reference via GEMINI.md
Continue.dev unknown Untested but should work
Aider unknown Untested

Credits

This project is inspired by, and credits, every PR author whose work got closed without merge on the original Ableton MCP repo. We honor the contributors:

  • @hidingwill (PR #66, #69-71, the 230+ tools work)
  • @marcoloco23 (PR #63, handlers/ split)
  • @voxxit (PR #53, Command Pattern refactor)
  • @jhurliman (PR #51, comprehensive tool surface)
  • @grayplex (PR #77, Foundation Repair)
  • @LofiFren (PR #84, clip editing, mixer, scenes)
  • @meleyal (PR #83, get_notes_from_clip)
  • @oottoo (PR #82, Arrangement view)
  • @bombsandbottles (PR #87, arrangement clip)
  • @FelixLueth (PR #86, #88, typo fix + refactor)
  • ...and many more.

The skill workflows draw from public music-theory and production knowledge: Adler's The Study of Orchestration, Persichetti, Mike Senior's Mixing Secrets, Bobby Owsinski's The Mixing Engineer's Handbook, and the collective wisdom of r/ableton, r/wearethemusicmakers, and r/edmproduction.

License

MIT. Made by Glincker. PRs get merged.

Star us on GitHub if this helps your production workflow.

Issues · Discussions