Ardour MCP Server

What is ardour-mcp?

ardour-mcp is an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides an interface for controlling the Ardour digital audio workstation via Open Sound Control (OSC) messages. It translates MCP requests into Ardour-specific OSC commands and sends them to a running Ardour instance. The project is under active development and includes a stdio_client_tester binary for testing.

How to use ardour-mcp?

Ensure Rust is installed, Ardour (6.x, 7.x, 8.x, or 9.x) is running, and OSC is enabled in Ardour’s preferences with the listen port set to 3819 (default). Build with cargo build inside the MCP/ardour_mcp_server directory, then run cargo run --bin ardour_mcp_server or the built executable. To test, run cargo run --bin stdio-client-tester while Ardour is running and the server is not running separately (the tester launches it as a child process).

Key features of ardour-mcp

• Control Ardour transport (play, stop, locate, speed).
• Manage tracks (mute, solo, record enable, gain, trim).
• Execute general Ardour menu actions via /ardour/access_action.
• Read Ardour playback state and other status.
• MCP-compliant interface for easy integration.
• Includes a stdio client tester for validation.

Use cases of ardour-mcp

• Automating Ardour transport and track operations from scripts or external tools.
• Integrating Ardour with AI assistants or chat-based workflows via MCP.
• Building custom remote control systems for Ardour sessions.
• Testing and prototyping Ardour OSC commands without manual interaction.
• Extending Ardour functionality by chaining multiple MCP tools.