Music Studio
ABC sheet music + Strudel live coding studio with ext-apps widgets, harmony tools, and share links.
MCP Music Studio
Two-mode creative music studio for AI: scored composition (ABC notation with sheet music) and live performance (Strudel live coding with TidalCycles). Interactive UI renders inline in Claude Desktop, claude.ai, and other MCP clients.
Quick Start — No Install Required
Paste this URL into any MCP client that supports remote servers:
https://mcp-music-studio.linxule.workers.dev/mcp
Claude Desktop / claude.ai: Settings → Connectors → Add Connector → paste the URL above → done.
Claude Code:
claude mcp add --transport http music-studio https://mcp-music-studio.linxule.workers.dev/mcp
That's it — ask Claude to play a song or create a beat.
What You Get
Scored Composition (ABC Notation)
Write sheet music → see it rendered → hear it played with multi-instrument audio.
- 8 style presets — rock, jazz, bossa, waltz, march, reggae, folk, classical — one parameter adds drums + bass + chord accompaniment
- 30 instruments — piano, strings, brass, woodwinds, synths — selectable by name
- Visual sheet music — notes highlight as they play
- Streaming render — sheet music appears as the AI types
- WAV download — export audio as WAV files directly from the UI
get-music-guide— 7 reference topics (instruments, drums, ABC syntax, arrangements, genres, styles, MIDI directives)
Live Performance (Strudel)
Write code → hear it play → edit in a live REPL.
- TidalCycles mini-notation in JavaScript
- 72 drum machine banks + 128 GM instruments + built-in synths
- Full effects chain — filters, reverb, delay, FM synthesis
- Editable REPL — users can tweak the code and hear changes instantly
- Record & download — capture live audio and export as WAV
get-strudel-guide— 7 reference topics (mini-notation, sounds, effects, patterns, genres, tips, advanced)
Shared
search-music-docs— semantic search over strudel.cc and ABCJS documentation
Local Install (Optional)
The remote URL above works without any local setup. If you prefer running locally (offline use, lower latency), install via npm:
CLI One-Liners
# Claude Code
claude mcp add music-studio -- npx -y mcp-music-studio --stdio
# Codex CLI
codex mcp add -- npx -y mcp-music-studio --stdio
# Gemini CLI
gemini mcp add -- npx -y mcp-music-studio --stdio
# OpenCode
opencode mcp add music-studio -- npx -y mcp-music-studio --stdio
JSON Config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.)
Claude Desktop — edit config file
| OS | Path |
|---|---|
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json |
| Windows | %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json |
| Linux | ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json |
{
"mcpServers": {
"music-studio": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-music-studio", "--stdio"]
}
}
}
VS Code / Trae / PearAI
Add to .vscode/mcp.json — note: uses "servers" not "mcpServers":
{
"servers": {
"music-studio": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-music-studio", "--stdio"]
}
}
}
Cursor
Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"music-studio": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-music-studio", "--stdio"]
}
}
}
Windsurf
Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"music-studio": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-music-studio", "--stdio"]
}
}
}
Windows
On Windows, npx is a .cmd file and requires a shell wrapper:
{
"mcpServers": {
"music-studio": {
"command": "cmd",
"args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "mcp-music-studio", "--stdio"]
}
}
}
Render modes (for non-ext-apps clients)
The server auto-detects ext-apps support. For clients that don't support it (Cherry Studio, CLI environments), use --render-mode:
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
auto (default) | Inline UI for Claude Desktop, VS Code |
browser | Saves HTML and opens in system browser |
html | Returns HTML as embedded resource |
{
"mcpServers": {
"music-studio": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-music-studio", "--stdio", "--render-mode", "browser"]
}
}
}
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
play-sheet-music | ABC notation → visual sheet music + multi-instrument audio |
play-live-pattern | Strudel code → live-coded patterns with synthesis + effects |
get-music-guide | ABC reference (7 topics: instruments, drums, syntax, genres...) |
get-strudel-guide | Strudel reference (7 topics: sounds, effects, patterns, genres...) |
search-music-docs | Semantic search over strudel.cc and ABCJS docs |
Development
bun install
bun run dev # watch + serve (hot reload)
bun run build # production build
bun run test # run tests
Attribution
Forked from the Sheet Music Server example from MCP ext-apps by Anthropic, licensed under MIT.
License
MIT
Installation
Source-derived launch command. Check the maintainer’s required arguments and credentials before running:
npx -y mcp-music-studioSet up in your AI client
Merge this template into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Keep existing servers. Add any arguments, credentials, and permissions required by the maintainer; this template has not been install-tested.
{
"mcpServers": {
"io-github-linxule-mcp-music-studio": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-music-studio"
]
}
}
}Restart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. Confirm the server appears connected in the client’s tool list, then try a read-only example from its documentation.
Claude Desktop setup referencePackage
mcp-music-studionpmCompatible MCP Clients
Music Studio works with any MCP-compatible client. Copy the config snippet from the Configuration section above and add it to the file shown for your client, then restart the application.
- Claude Desktop
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonRestart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. - Cursor
~/.cursor/mcp.jsonRestart Cursor for changes to take effect. - VS Code
.vscode/mcp.jsonReload VS Code window for changes to take effect. - Windsurf
~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonRestart Windsurf for changes to take effect. - Claude Code
.mcp.jsonSave at the project root, then start Claude Code in that project and review the MCP server approval prompt. Keep real credentials out of shared files.