Distribution

How ableton-mind reaches end users for the 0.1.0 release.

Release status

0.1.0 is prepared locally but not published until the final manual gate. Do not assume npm, GitHub Release, MCP Registry, Smithery, Glama, or ghcr.io are live before the release commands are run.

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.

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

After publish:

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-0.1.0.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.

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)"

Submit only after the npm package and GitHub Release asset are available.

Smithery and Glama

smithery.yaml and glama.json are listing metadata for hosted catalog channels.

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:v0.1.0
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.

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 0.1.0

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.