messier-live

Agent-driven live sets in Ableton Live. An MCP server that gives an AI a real DJ rig: two decks over Session View, a beat clock it can actually hear, performance FX macros, and a crate that knows every track's BPM and key.

Spun out of KOTOPIA9X/kaios's kaios_music, stripped to the live-performance core.

Architecture

Claude / any MCP client
        │ MCP (stdio)
messier-live server (Python)
        │ TCP :9877 (commands)          UDP :9878 (telemetry, 10 Hz)
        ▼                                ▲
MessierLive Remote Script ── inside Ableton Live

Telemetry is the point: the Remote Script pushes transport, bar/beat, playing clips, and levels ten times a second, so the agent fires clips on the downbeat, crossfades in bars instead of seconds — and the same stream later feeds a website visualizer.

Install

# 1. the server
pip install -e ".[analysis]"

# 2. the remote script
cp -r remote_script/MessierLive "~/Music/Ableton/User Library/Remote Scripts/"
# Ableton > Settings > Link/MIDI > Control Surface: MessierLive

# 3. register with Claude Code
claude mcp add messier-live -- messier-live

Prepare a set

# analyze your tracks (BPM, key -> Camelot, energy) into ~/.messier-live/crate.json
python -m messier_live.crate.analyze ~/Music/dj-crate

Build the Live set template — two deck tracks with an EQ Three and a PERF FX rack each (templates/README.md).

Tools

Layer	Tools
session	`diagnose`, `live_status`, `get_session_info`, `play`, `stop`, `set_tempo`, `save_project`
decks	`setup_decks`, `deck_status`, `load_to_deck`, `fire_deck` (bar-quantized), `stop_deck`, `set_deck_volume`, `crossfade`, `eq_kill`
fx	`set_fx_macro`, `fx_sweep`, `fx_pulse`, `kill_all_fx`, `list_deck_devices`, `get_device_parameters`, `set_device_parameter`
crate	`crate_list`, `suggest_next_track` (BPM ±8% + Camelot + energy), `prepare_deck`

A set, from the agent's side:

diagnose() → deck_status()
suggest_next_track(bpm=140, camelot="7A", energy_direction="up")
prepare_deck("B", "<file>", match_tempo=False)
crossfade(to_deck="B", bars=8)
fx_pulse("A", "Glitch", bars=1)   # on the way out
eq_kill("B", "low"); eq_kill("B", "low", restore=True)  # drop trick

See USAGE.md for the full manual: set prep, tagging, running sets, and the human/agent collaboration contract (touch detection, 16-bar ownership, modes).

Collaboration layer

Telemetry v2 reports every shared control (macros, EQ, faders, clips) at 10 Hz. The agent journals its own writes; unexplained drift = a human hand. Touched controls become human-owned (16 bars for FX/EQ/faders, until-stop for clips), all agent tools yield on them, and a fired clip re-routes the set plan through the human's choice. Modes: solo / copilot / crew.

Roadmap

WebSocket relay: rebroadcast telemetry + agent narration for a live website visualizer
Serum2 track: agent-composed stabs/risers between tracks
Preset hotswap (load_preset by name via browser API)
Recorded set replay logs (for the visualizer's offline mode)
Global set optimizer (current planner is greedy with lookahead-0)