Distribution

How ableton-mind reaches end users for the 0.1.1 release.

Release status

0.1.1 is published on npm, GitHub Releases and the official MCP Registry. Glama has a server listing, but a Glama hosted release is a separate release action that must be completed in the Glama admin UI. Smithery metadata is present in smithery.yaml, but the hosted listing can lag indexing. Do not assume ghcr.io is live without checking the container registry.

Ableton integration has two pieces:

• MCP server: Node.js process launched by Claude Desktop, Codex, Cursor, npm, Docker, Smithery, or another MCP client.
• Remote Script: Python files under live/AbletonMind/ that must be installed into Ableton Live's User Library and activated in Live preferences.

Hosted channels can run the MCP server, but they cannot control a local Ableton Live instance unless the Remote Script bridge is reachable from that server.

The Remote Script bridge binds to 127.0.0.1 by default and rejects non-loopback hosts unless ABLETON_MIND_ALLOW_REMOTE=1 is set. Use that only behind a trusted OS/network boundary.

Source install

Use this path when developing the repo or validating a local checkout.

npm ci
npm run build
npm run install:remote-script
npm run test:bridge
npm start

Developer install uses a symlink by default. Reopen Live's Control Surface after edits to reload the script.

node scripts/install-remote-script.mjs --check
node scripts/install-remote-script.mjs --copy --force

npm

Install from npm:

npm install -g ableton-mind
ableton-mind-install-remote-script
ableton-mind-doctor
ableton-mind

The npm package includes:

• compiled server in dist/
• runtime recipes and knowledge assets
• live/AbletonMind/ Remote Script runtime without tests/cache
• ableton-mind-install-remote-script for installing the Remote Script into Ableton's User Library
• registry/listing metadata files

Validate the package before publishing:

npm pack --dry-run --json
npm publish --dry-run

Claude Desktop .mcpb

Build locally:

npm run build
npm run build:mcpb

Install by dragging build/ableton-mind-0.1.1.mcpb into Claude Desktop or by using an MCPB installer.

The bundle installs and runs the Node MCP server. It also includes the Remote Script files and installer script for reference, but Claude Desktop does not automatically copy those files into Ableton Live. Install the Remote Script separately through the npm/source installer, then activate it in Live:

Live -> Preferences -> Link/Tempo/MIDI -> Control Surface -> AbletonMind.

Claude Code plugin marketplace

The Claude Code marketplace catalog lives at .claude-plugin/marketplace.json. It lists a lightweight ableton-mind plugin in plugins/ableton-mind/ that starts the published npm MCP server with npx -y ableton-mind@0.1.1.

Validate the catalog before sharing:

claude plugin validate .

Add the GitHub-hosted marketplace and install the plugin:

claude plugin marketplace add Pantani/ableton-mind
claude plugin install ableton-mind@ableton-mind

The plugin starts the Node MCP server only. Users still need to install the Remote Script and activate AbletonMind in Live preferences before the MCP tools can control Ableton Live.

MCP Registry

server.json is the MCP Registry manifest. It uses mcpName/server name:

io.github.Pantani/ableton-mind

Before submission, verify version sync:

node -e "const p=require('./package.json'),s=require('./server.json'); console.log(p.version, p.mcpName, s.name, s.version, s.packages[0].version)"

0.1.1 is published as an active latest version in the official MCP Registry. Re-run mcp-publisher validate before publishing any future version.

Smithery and Glama

smithery.yaml and glama.json are listing metadata for hosted catalog channels. Glama is listed at:

https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/Pantani/ableton-mind

A Glama listing is not the same thing as a Glama release. To create the hosted Glama release, use maintainer access on Glama:

1. Claim the server from the Glama server score/listing flow if it has not been claimed yet.
2. Open the Dockerfile admin page:

https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/Pantani/ableton-mind/admin/dockerfile

3. Configure the build spec, command arguments, environment variable schema and placeholder parameters.
4. Click Deploy and wait for the build test to start the MCP server successfully.
5. Click Make Release, enter the version and publish.

Suggested Glama admin values for this repo:

• Build steps:

["npm ci", "npm run build"]

• CMD arguments:

["node", "dist/index.js"]

• Required environment variables: none
• Optional environment variables: ABLETON_MIND_HOST, ABLETON_MIND_PORT, ABLETON_MIND_LOG_LEVEL, ABLETON_MIND_TIMEOUT_MS

Use Glama's guide for the exact current UI labels: https://glama.ai/blog/2026-03-15-how-to-make-a-release

smithery publish

Hosted Smithery/Glama listings are useful for discovery and remote MCP server hosting. They still need network access to the user's local Ableton bridge. For most musicians, local npm or .mcpb is the primary install path.

Docker and ghcr.io

Local build:

docker build -t ableton-mind .
docker run --rm -i --network host ableton-mind

Release workflow tags for stable releases:

ghcr.io/pantani/ableton-mind:v0.1.1
ghcr.io/pantani/ableton-mind:latest

Prerelease tags keep only their exact version tag and do not move latest.

macOS / Linux

--network host lets the container reach 127.0.0.1:9876 on Linux. On macOS Docker Desktop, host.docker.internal is usually more reliable:

docker run --rm -i \
  -e ABLETON_MIND_HOST=host.docker.internal \
  -e ABLETON_MIND_PORT=9876 \
  ableton-mind

Windows

Docker Desktop networking varies by backend. Prefer WSL2 when possible:

docker run --rm -i \
  -e ABLETON_MIND_HOST=host.docker.internal \
  -e ABLETON_MIND_PORT=9876 \
  ableton-mind

If the container cannot reach the bridge, use npm or .mcpb locally instead.

For a container or hosted MCP server that truly needs to reach Live from another host, set ABLETON_MIND_HOST on the Remote Script side and opt in with ABLETON_MIND_ALLOW_REMOTE=1. Do not expose the bridge on an untrusted network.

Release workflow

.github/workflows/release.yml runs on v* tags. It verifies manifest version sync, runs typecheck/lint/tests/build, builds the .mcpb, creates or updates the GitHub Release, pushes ghcr.io images, and publishes npm only when explicitly enabled.

npm behavior:

• prerelease tags containing - are skipped
• stable tags publish only when ABLETON_MIND_AUTO_NPM_PUBLISH=true and NPM_TOKEN is configured
• manual npm publish remains the default for 0.1.1

Required GitHub Actions secrets/variables:

Name	Used by
NPM_TOKEN	optional npm publish with provenance
ABLETON_MIND_AUTO_NPM_PUBLISH	repository variable that opts into automatic npm publish
GITHUB_TOKEN	automatic GitHub Release and ghcr.io push

Doctor CLI

ableton-mind-doctor

The doctor checks Node, Remote Script installation, bridge reachability, knowledge assets, recipes and MCP primitive imports.