Claude Desktop Installation

Anthropic's Claude Desktop app is one of the easiest (and recommended) ways to use Producer Pal.

Requirements

Grab both downloads, then follow the steps below:

1. Max for Live DeviceProducer_Pal.amxd — for Ableton Live2. Claude Desktop ExtensionProducer_Pal.mcpb — for Claude Desktop

• Ableton Live 12.3+ with Max for Live. Live 12.4 or later is recommended — some features don't work on older versions of Live. Use the version of Max bundled with Live, or make sure your standalone Max is up to date.
• Claude Desktop (requires Anthropic account)

Installation Steps

1. Install the Max for Live Device

Download Producer_Pal.amxd, the Producer Pal Max for Live device, and add it to a MIDI track in Ableton Live:

It should display "Producer Pal Running" or something isn't working.

2. Download the Claude Desktop Extension

Download the Producer Pal Claude Desktop Extension (Producer_Pal.mcpb)

3. Install the Extension in Claude Desktop

Go to Claude Desktop → Settings → Extensions and:

If you already have extensions installed, drag and drop Producer_Pal.mcpb into the Extensions screen:

Or, if you have never installed a Claude Desktop extension before, you need to click "Advanced settings" on the Extensions screen, then click "Install extension...", and choose the Producer_Pal.mcpb file.

4. Complete the Installation

Don't forget to click "Install" and complete the Claude Desktop installation:

About the security warning: Anthropic displays this warning for all extensions as a general security measure. Producer Pal is open source and you can review the entire codebase on GitHub before installing. The extension only accesses Ableton Live through the Max for Live device.

5. Verify Installation

You should see Producer Pal tools in Claude's "Connectors" menu (make sure it's enabled when starting a conversation):

6. Start Using Producer Pal

1. Start a conversation with "connect to ableton"
2. Allow Producer Pal tools to be used when Claude tries to use them:

Advanced settings

The extension exposes a few optional settings under Claude Desktop → Settings → Extensions → Producer Pal. Most people never need to touch these — the defaults are recommended.

• Ableton device URL — where to reach the Max for Live device (default http://localhost:3350). Change only if you moved the device's port or are connecting over the network.
• Allow configuration overrides — off by default. While off, the settings below are ignored and Producer Pal uses whatever is set on the device and in the chat UI. Turn it on to let these settings override the device — including forcing a setting off.
• MIDI notation — overrides how Producer Pal reads and writes clip notes. Three valid values: barbeat (recommended for Claude Sonnet, Opus, and Fable), stark (pairs well with Small model mode), or midi-json (pairs well with JSON output). Leave blank, or enter anything else, to keep the device's current setting (barbeat by default).
• Small model mode — simplifies the tools and instructions for smaller models. May improve results with Claude Haiku; not recommended otherwise, since Claude Sonnet, Opus, and Fable handle the full toolset.
• Direct Live API — enables the advanced ppal-live-api tool for direct access to the Live Object Model. An escape hatch for custom control and debugging when the standard tools aren't enough — not recommended as a default.
• JSON output — returns tool results as JSON instead of the compact default. Not recommended for normal use (it increases token usage), but useful when you want Claude to run code on the results.

Device stays authoritative by default

The four settings below Allow configuration overrides take effect only when that toggle is on. When they do, MIDI notation, Small model mode, Direct Live API, and JSON output are pushed to the device as global settings — they also change in the chat UI and for any other connected MCP client. While the toggle is off, the extension leaves every device setting untouched.

Troubleshooting

If it doesn't work, see the Troubleshooting Guide.