Livepilot

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Make the change. Hear what happened. Keep what works.

LivePilot connects an AI client to Ableton Live 12. Sketch ideas, edit the set, compare versions, and learn from the choices you keep.

474 tools · 57 domains · macOS + Windows

[!NOTE]

LivePilot works with any MCP client, including Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex,

Cursor, VS Code, and Windsurf. Changes inside the Live set use Ableton's undo stack.

Downloads, saved memory, library scans, and installer changes happen outside the set

and cannot be undone from Ableton.

[!WARNING]

LivePilot is moving quickly. Pin a version for repeatable studio or live-performance setups,

and check the changelog before updating.

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Start Here

The setup wizard installs the Ableton Remote Script, creates the Python environment, copies the Max for Live Analyzer, and checks the connection:

npx livepilot --setup

Using Claude Desktop? Download the latest livepilot- .mcpb from Releases and double-click it.

See Install for client-specific setup and manual options.

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What's New in v1.30.0

LivePilot now spends far less context describing itself and gives clearer answers about what it actually knows.

• A focused first contact. Normal sessions advertise 28 useful entry points instead of sending all 474 schemas up front. The rest remain searchable and directly callable.
• Options that mean something. Decorative Composer, Atlas, and routing parameters are gone; sample roles and material filters now change the result; unsupported abstract events fail with concrete guidance instead of disappearing silently.
• Evidence with a label. Mix and evaluation reports separate measured audio, setup-derived heuristics, and artistic judgment. “Less bright” and other reduction goals now score in the right direction.
• Depth when it earns its keep. Quick creative requests take a quick path. Three-way exploration, broad memory reads, and full critic passes are reserved for real ambiguity.
• More resilient sessions. Startup no longer waits on optional services, ambiguous network failures do not replay destructive edits, and project memory follows the Live set rather than ordinary edits inside it.

Previous release v1.29.0 introduced learned perceptual taste, honest confidence gates, optional CLAP distance, and named Arrangement locators.

Full details in the CHANGELOG.

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What LivePilot Does

LivePilot works at two levels: exact control when you know what you want, and informed help when you do not.

Under the hood: a 5,264-device atlas, 683 mapped drum kits, 29 sample-processing techniques, 44 semantic moves, real-time and offline listening, and 12 planning and evaluation systems. The sections below show how each part works.

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Two Ways to Talk to LivePilot

Start with the language that fits the moment. Both routes reach the same tool surface.

Route A — Artist / aesthetic shorthand

*"Sound like J Dilla."* *"Make this feel more like Burial."* *"BoC-style pads."*

Use a producer or genre as shorthand for rhythm, density, space, texture, and device choices. LivePilot translates the reference into techniques rather than pretending to clone someone's identity.

Route B — Direct musical intent

*"Push the snare 4 ms early, keep the kick on-grid, add ±2 ms timing variation to the hats,

and cut 3 dB around 380 Hz on the snare."*

When the detail matters, name it: notes, milliseconds, dB, frequency, modulation depth, envelope shape, send level, automation curve, scale degree, or voice leading.

Mixing the routes

Most sessions use both. Start broad, listen, then get specific where the track needs it.

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Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐

│ │ │ KNOWLEDGE PERCEPTION MEMORY │ │ ────────────── ────────────── ────────────── │ │ │ │ Device Atlas 9-band FFT recall by mood, │ │ 5264 devices RMS / peak genre, texture │ │ 120 enriched pitch tracking 29 techniques │ │ 683 drum kits key detection replay into session │ │ │ │ Sample Engine Corpus Intelligence Taste Graph │ │ Splice (local SQLite) EmotionalRecipe move preferences │ │ Browser search GenreChain device affinities │ │ Filesystem scan PhysicalModelRecipe novelty tolerance │ │ 6 fitness critics AutomationGesture │ │ │ │ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │ │ │ Device │ │ M4L │ │ Technique │ │ │ │ Atlas │──│ Analyzer │──│ Memory │ │ │ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌──────┴───────┐ ┌──────┴───────┐ ┌──────┴───────┐ │ │ │ Sample │ │ Corpus │ │ Composer │ │ │ │ Engine │ │ Intelligence│ │ Engine │ │ │ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ │ │ └─────────────────┼──────────────────┘ │ │ ▼ │ │ ┌─────────────────┐ │ │ │ 474 MCP Tools │ │ │ │ 57 domains │ │ │ └────────┬────────┘ │ │ │ │ │ Remote Script ──┤── TCP 9878 │ │ M4L Bridge ─────┤── UDP 9880 / OSC 9881 │ │ Splice (local) ─┤── SQLite (downloaded samples) │ │ │ │ │ ┌────────────────┐ │ │ │ Ableton Live │ │ │ │ 12 │ │ │ └────────────────┘ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

How the pieces connect

Remote Script (remote_script/LivePilot/) — A Python ControlSurface that runs inside Ableton's process. Listens on TCP 9878. All Live Object Model calls execute on Ableton's main thread via schedule_message. Detects Ableton version at startup and enables four capability tiers: Core (12.0+), Enhanced Arrangement (12.1.10+), Full Intelligence (12.3+), Collaborative (12.4+).

MCP Server (mcp_server/) — Python FastMCP server. Validates inputs, routes commands to the Remote Script over TCP, manages the M4L bridge, and runs the atlas, sample engine, composer, planning, and evaluation systems. This is what your AI client connects to.

M4L Bridge (m4l_device/) — Optional Max for Live Audio Effect on the master track. Provides deep LOM access through Max's LiveAPI that the ControlSurface API can't reach. UDP 9880 (M4L to server) carries spectral data and LiveAPI responses. OSC 9881 (server to M4L) sends commands. The 38 spectral/analyzer tools strictly require the bridge; device and sample tools that call the bridge also have graceful fallbacks, so core functionality works without it. Backed by 32 bridge commands for hidden parameters, Simpler internals, warp markers, display values, and Simpler warp / Compressor sidechain writes that live on child objects Python can't reach.

Device Atlas (mcp_server/atlas/) — In-memory indexed JSON database. 5264 devices with browser URIs (bundled baseline), 120 enriched with YAML sonic profiles (mood, genre, texture, recommended chains). 7 indexes: by_id, by_name, by_uri, by_category, by_tag, by_genre, by_pack. Reverse-index device_techniques_index.json powers atlas_techniques_for_device (146 cross-references across 58 devices). Device and preset choices resolve against the atlas before loading, which reduces guessed names and dead ends. v1.22.0+: run scan_full_library after install to index your packs, User Library, and plugins into ~/.livepilot/atlas/device_atlas.json — your personal atlas overrides the baseline and survives npm updates.

Sample Engine (mcp_server/sample_engine/) — Searches three sources simultaneously: BrowserSource (Ableton's library), SpliceSource (local Splice catalog via SQLite), FilesystemSource (user directories). Every result passes through a 6-critic fitness battery (key, tempo, spectral, genre, mood, technical). 29 processing techniques (Surgeon precision vs. Alchemist experimentation). Builds complete sample processing plans with warp, slice, and effect recommendations.

Splice Client (mcp_server/splice_client/) — Searches Splice's catalog through two layers: the local SQLite database (sounds.db, already-downloaded samples) and the live gRPC API (full catalog, including samples you haven't downloaded yet). The gRPC client auto-detects Splice's dynamic port via port.conf, handles self-signed TLS, and enforces