ReaperMCP

AI-powered music production in REAPER through the Model Context Protocol

Quick Start • Why ReaperMCP? • Features • Tools Reference • Architecture • Changelog • Contributing • Troubleshooting

ReaperMCP connects any MCP-compatible AI assistant to REAPER, giving it full control over music production. Talk to your AI assistant and it composes, mixes, masters, and measures your music in real-time — the AI chooses every note, rhythm, and CC itself.

181 tools across 26 modules cover the full workflow: MIDI composition and patterns, a vocal-chop pipeline, FX and automatic genre-tuned mixing/mastering (35 style profiles), sends and routing, and post-production QC — batch editing, ReaScript automation, silence/click detection.

No cloud. Nothing leaves your machine. ReaperMCP runs entirely locally through a file-based Lua IPC bridge inside REAPER — your project, audio, and MIDI stay on your computer. Bring whatever AI client you already use (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, any MCP client) — ReaperMCP handles REAPER.

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Demo

Works With

ReaperMCP works with any AI client that supports the Model Context Protocol:

• Claude Desktop — Anthropic's desktop app
• Claude Code — CLI agent
• Cursor — AI code editor with MCP support
• LM Studio — run local models with MCP tool access
• Any other MCP-compatible client

Why ReaperMCP?

• Deep control, not just playback. Most AI-audio integrations expose basic transport — play, stop, record. ReaperMCP exposes REAPER's actual production surface: genre-aware automatic mixing/mastering across 35 style profiles, a vocal-chop pipeline, drum-pattern and chord-progression shorthand, and post-production QC. The AI can produce a track end-to-end, not just push buttons on one you already made.
• 100% local. No cloud calls, no API keys, nothing leaves your machine — REAPER and the AI talk over a file-based bridge on disk, not a server you don't control.
• Actively maintained. CI runs the full test suite across 3 OS × 4 Python versions on every change. Issues get read, discussed, and shipped — not just filed and forgotten.
• Composable with companion tools. Pairs with SongForge-MCP (local AI music/vocal generation) and Audacity-MCP (audio cleanup, mastering, and local transcription) — generate, produce, and clean up without leaving the same AI conversation.

Quick Start

1. Get ReaperMCP

Option A: Click the green Code button above → Download ZIP → extract to a folder — works with nothing pre-installed, easiest on a brand new machine.

Option B: Clone with git (lets you git pull for updates later):

A fresh Windows install doesn't ship with git — check first:

git --version

If that says "not recognized", install it, then close and reopen your terminal:

winget install --id Git.Git -e --source winget

(winget itself ships with Windows 11 and up-to-date Windows 10. If winget isn't found either, grab the installer directly from git-scm.com.)

macOS/Linux almost always have git already — git --version to check, or brew install git / sudo apt install git if not.

git clone https://github.com/xDarkzx/Reaper-MCP.git

Option C: Already have Python? Install the published package straight from PyPI:

pip install xdarkzx-reaper-mcp

This gives you the reaper-mcp command directly — but you'll still need reaper_scripts/reaper_mcp_server.lua for Step 3 below, since that one file isn't bundled into the PyPI package (grab it from the repo, or download it directly).

2. Run the installer

Windows: either double-click install.bat in File Explorer, or — if you're already in a terminal from the git clone step above — just keep going in the same PowerShell/Command Prompt window:

cd Reaper-MCP
.\install.bat

macOS / Linux:

cd Reaper-MCP
bash install.sh

The installer installs reaper-mcp locally and optionally configures Claude Desktop — no manual JSON editing needed.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "reaper": {
      "command": "reaper-mcp"
    }
  }
}

3. Load the Lua script in REAPER

Used the one-click installer? Already done — it sets up REAPER to auto-load the script on every launch. Just open (or restart) REAPER.

Manual install?

1. Open REAPER
2. Go to Actions → Show action list
3. Click Load ReaScript...
4. Navigate to reaper_scripts/reaper_mcp_server.lua and select it
5. Click Run

This only loads it for the current session — you'll need to re-run it each time REAPER restarts. See docs/INSTALLATION.md for the auto-start setup.

4. Start producing

Open your AI client and start talking:

"Create 4 tracks: strings, brass, piano, and drums"
"Compose an 8-bar orchestral string arrangement in D minor"
"Add ReaEQ to the piano track and cut the low end below 200Hz"
"Set the tempo to 90 BPM and loop the first 8 bars"

REAPER must be open with the Lua script running. ReaperMCP communicates through file-based IPC — it can't launch REAPER for you.

See the full Installation Guide for detailed setup on all platforms and MCP clients.

Features

181 Tools Across 26 Modules