FL Studio MCP Server

Control FL Studio using natural language through Claude AI via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Features

• Transport Control: Play, stop, record, get playback state
• Pattern Management: Create, select, and rename patterns
• Channel Rack: View all channels with volume, pan, mute status
• Mixer Info: Get mixer track information

Requirements

• FL Studio (Windows/macOS)
• Node.js 18+
• Virtual MIDI Driver:
  • Windows: loopMIDI
  • macOS: Use IAC Driver (built-in) - see instructions below
  • Linux: Use ALSA virtual MIDI ports

Installation

1. Clone and Build

git clone https://github.com/your-repo/fl-studio-mcp.git
cd fl-studio-mcp
npm install
npm run build

2. Set Up Virtual MIDI Ports

Windows (loopMIDI)

1. Install loopMIDI
2. Create two ports:
   • FL Bridge In (commands to FL Studio)
   • FL Bridge Out (responses from FL Studio)

macOS (IAC Driver)

1. Open Audio MIDI Setup (Applications > Utilities)
2. Show MIDI Studio (Window > Show MIDI Studio)
3. Double-click IAC Driver
4. Check "Device is online"
5. Add two ports:
   • FL Bridge In
   • FL Bridge Out

Linux (ALSA)

sudo modprobe snd-virmidi
# Creates virtual MIDI ports accessible via ALSA

3. Install FL Bridge Script

Copy the fl-bridge folder to FL Studio's Hardware folder:

• Windows: Documents\Image-Line\FL Studio\Settings\Hardware\FLBridge\
• macOS: Documents/Image-Line/FL Studio/Settings/Hardware/FLBridge/

The folder should contain:

FLBridge/
├── device_FLBridge.py
├── protocol/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── sysex.py
│   └── commands.py
└── handlers/
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── transport.py
    ├── state.py
    └── patterns.py

4. Configure FL Studio MIDI Settings

1. Open FL Studio
2. Go to OPTIONS > MIDI settings
3. Click "Rescan MIDI devices" or "Update MIDI scripts"

Input Section:

• Select FL Bridge In
• Set Controller type to FL Bridge
• Assign Port 0

Output Section:

• Select FL Bridge Out
• Assign Port 0

Critical: Both input and output must have the same port number (e.g., Port 0) for FL Studio to link them correctly.

5. Configure Claude Code

Create .mcp.json in your project directory:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fl-studio": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/fl-studio-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "FL_PORT_TO_FL": "FL Bridge In",
        "FL_PORT_FROM_FL": "FL Bridge Out"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables:

Variable	Description	Default
FL_PORT_TO_FL	MIDI port for sending commands to FL Studio	FL Bridge In
FL_PORT_FROM_FL	MIDI port for receiving responses from FL Studio	FL Bridge Out
FL_DEBUG	Enable debug logging (1 or true)	disabled
FL_DEBUG_FILE	Custom path for debug log file	./fl-studio-mcp-debug.log

Note: Use full path to node if using a version manager like fnm or nvm.

Usage

Once configured, Claude can control FL Studio:

"Start playing the project"
"Stop playback"
"Show me all the channels"
"Create a new pattern called 'Intro'"
"What's the current transport state?"

Available Tools

Tool	Description
transport_play	Start playback
transport_stop	Stop playback
transport_record	Toggle recording
transport_state	Get current transport state
get_channels	List all channels
get_mixer	Get mixer track info
get_patterns	List all patterns
pattern_select	Select a pattern by index
pattern_create	Create a new pattern
pattern_rename	Rename a pattern

Troubleshooting

"FL Bridge" not appearing in Controller type dropdown

• Ensure device_FLBridge.py has # name=FL Bridge as the first line
• Click "Update MIDI scripts" in MIDI settings
• Restart FL Studio if needed

Commands timeout

1. Check FL Studio Script output (View > Script output) for errors
2. Verify both ports have the same port number in MIDI settings
3. Check loopMIDI shows data flowing (Total data counters)

MCP server won't connect

• Verify virtual MIDI ports are running
• Check port names match exactly (case-sensitive)
• Use full path to node.exe if using version managers

Debug Logging

Enable debug logging to troubleshoot issues:

"env": {
  "FL_PORT_TO_FL": "FL Bridge In",
  "FL_PORT_FROM_FL": "FL Bridge Out",
  "FL_DEBUG": "1"
}

Logs are written to fl-studio-mcp-debug.log with automatic rotation (max 1000 lines).

Architecture

┌─────────────┐    stdio     ┌─────────────┐    MIDI SysEx    ┌─────────────┐
│  Claude AI  │◄────────────►│  MCP Server │◄────────────────►│  FL Studio  │
│             │              │  (Node.js)  │                  │  (Python)   │
└─────────────┘              └─────────────┘                  └─────────────┘
                                   │                                │
                                   ▼                                ▼
                             loopMIDI/IAC                    FL Bridge Script
                             Virtual MIDI                   (device_FLBridge.py)

License

MIT