applemusic-mcp

MCP server for Apple Music. It gives any MCP client (Claude, Cursor, Cline, Windsurf) control of your playlists, library, catalog, discovery, playback, and the Up Next queue. Runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

A Mac or an Apple Music subscription is all you need. Four engines, chosen per call: Music.app and Safari on a Mac, the Apple Music API and Chrome on any OS.

Features

Four engines back the server. Native drives the local Music.app on macOS via AppleScript. API uses Apple Music's web API (amp-api.music.apple.com) on any OS. Safari drives your signed-in Safari's MusicKit on macOS (DRM-native, zero install). Chrome runs a local Google Chrome window with MusicKit for DRM audio on any OS. One mode preference picks the engine — auto (default) mixes the best of each: native Music.app for playback on macOS, Safari for the Up Next queue, the API for data, Chrome off-mac. Pin one with native / safari / chrome / api, or override a single playback/queue call with engine=. In the table below, the Browser column covers both the Safari and Chrome web players. ✓ supported, ✗ not possible on that engine, — not applicable there.

Everything in the API column runs anywhere, no browser and no Music app. Browser playback and the queue need a desktop session and a web player — Safari on macOS (no install) or Google Chrome elsewhere.

Setup

Requirements: Python 3.10+, plus either a Mac or an Apple Music subscription. The Chrome web player (cross-platform playback + Up Next queue) needs Google Chrome + Playwright. On macOS you can skip both — sign in via Safari and play through the Music app — so the default macOS install is lightweight (no ~500 MB Playwright). Windows/Linux include Playwright automatically (it's the only path there).

Claude Code, one line:

claude mcp add "Apple Music" -- uvx applemusic-mcp serve

Claude Desktop / Cursor / Cline / Windsurf, install once, then add the config block:

pipx install applemusic-mcp        # or: pip install applemusic-mcp
# Off macOS, also fetch the browser engine:  playwright install chromium
# macOS needs neither (Safari sign-in + Music.app). For the Chrome web player on a
# Mac:  pipx install 'applemusic-mcp[browser]'  then  playwright install chromium

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Apple Music": {
      "command": "applemusic-mcp",
      "args": ["serve"]
    }
  }
}

Restart your client and try "List my Apple Music playlists" or "Play my favorites." On macOS the local library and playback work immediately. To add catalog music or run on any OS, sign in.

Sign in

Two paths capture the credentials for the cross-platform API.

Apple Developer token (preferred). The sanctioned route, an Apple Developer Program membership with a MusicKit key. One guided command writes the config, mints a 6-month token, and authorizes:

applemusic-mcp login --dev      # prompts for Team ID, Key ID, and .p8 path

See the appendix for getting the MusicKit key.

Web sign-in. The quick path, and what plain applemusic-mcp login does. Your password never touches this tool, sign-in persists, and tokens re-fetch before they expire. You can also sign in conversationally — just ask your assistant. (Web sign-in uses Apple's web-player API, the same path as open-source clients like Cider and Music Assistant.)

• macOS — reads from a signed-in Safari (no Chrome, no ~500 MB Playwright):

  bash

  Copy

  applemusic-mcp login            # macOS default: harvests from Safari
  applemusic-mcp status           # verify
  

  One-time Safari setting (a security toggle — you enable it, the tool never flips it): Safari → Settings → Advanced → "Show features for web developers", then the Develop menu → "Allow JavaScript from Apple Events." Sign into Apple Music at music.apple.com in Safari first. That setting only lets the tool read one cookie — your Apple Music token — from your own signed-in Safari, and you can switch it back off afterward. If it's off or you're not signed in, login prints exactly how to fix it (or use --dev, or --chrome). Prefer Chrome on a Mac? pip install 'applemusic-mcp[browser]', then applemusic-mcp login --chrome. Combined with native Music.app playback, a Mac needs no Chrome at all.

• Windows / Linux — opens a local Chrome (Playwright ships by default there; it's the only path):

  bash

  Copy

  applemusic-mcp login            # opens Chrome to music.apple.com; sign in once
  

Bulk work wants --dev. Web sign-in uses Apple's public web-player token, and its request quota is shared rather than yours alone. Interactive use never gets near it, but a few hundred catalog searches in an hour — a playlist import, a library migration — will hit HTTP 429. Apple sends no Retry-After on this path and the window is rolling and ~60 minutes long, so a short cooldown doesn't clear it and retrying extends it. applemusic-mcp login --dev uses your own MusicKit key, which gets its own much larger quota. When you are throttled the tool says so explicitly, rather than letting the empty results read as "song not found."

What's sanctioned vs web

This server reaches Apple Music three ways and prefers the most official one available: