TwelveTake-Studios/reaper-mcp

A TwelveTake Studios project.
**Setup guide, examples and FAQ -> twelvetake.com/tools/reaper-mcp**
Listed in the MCP Registry as mcp-name: com.twelvetake/reaper-mcp.
A comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI assistants to control REAPER DAW for mixing, mastering, MIDI composition, and full music production workflows.
**Version:** 1.8.0
Why This Server
Workflow Automation, Not Just API Wrappers
Most MCP servers just wrap REAPER's API and call it a day. This one includes **production workflow helpers** that handle multi-step operations in a single call:
| Tool | What it does for you |
|------|---------------------|
| setup_sidechain_compression() | Creates send, routes to channels 3-4, configures ReaComp's detector input — complete sidechain setup in one call |
| add_mastering_chain() | Adds ReaEQ → ReaComp → ReaEQ → ReaLimit to master track with proper signal flow |
| add_parallel_compression() | Creates a bus track, sets up the send, adds compressor — NY-style compression ready to blend |
| create_bus() | Creates a submix track and routes your specified tracks to it |
| get_project_summary() | Returns track count, all track names/volumes/pans/FX, markers, regions, tempo, time signature — everything your AI needs in one call |
Zero Configuration
- **File-based communication** works immediately — no network setup, no ports to configure
- **Stock REAPER only**: the bridge is a plain Lua script and the analyzer is a JSFX plugin, so you
don't install anything else in REAPER
- Copy the script, run it, connect your AI assistant
179 Tools Covering Real Production Needs
- **Full FX control** — add/remove plugins, get/set any parameter by index, manage presets, bypass
- **FX parameter automation** — automate any plugin knob (flanger depth, filter cutoff, etc.)
- **Complete routing** — sends, receives, sidechain routing to specific channel pairs
- **Automation** — create envelopes, add/edit points, set automation modes
- **MIDI** — create items, add notes individually or in batches, edit velocities
- **MIDI editing** — transpose, quantize with swing, humanize, snap to a scale, stretch, legato,
strum, velocity ramps — each targetable by pitch range, beat window, or channel
- **Audio items** — import, split, duplicate, fade, position, mute
- **Markers & regions** — create, edit, navigate, render by region
- **Measurement**: loudness, loudness range, true peak, the octave-band spectrum and stereo
correlation for the master, a track or an item. It passes the EBU's synthetic compliance signals
for loudness, true peak and loudness range.
- **Undoable edits**: every change the AI makes is one named step in REAPER's undo history
("MCP: delete track"), so Ctrl+Z in REAPER reverses one tool call at a time
Requirements
- REAPER (any recent version; full live suite green through **REAPER 7.79**)
- Python 3.10+ (for the MCP server)
- An MCP-compatible AI assistant
Installation
1. Install the Bridge Script in REAPER
The bridge is a Lua script that runs inside REAPER. The MCP server works on your project
through it. Install it one of three ways.
**Option A: one command, then run it once in REAPER**
That copies reaper_mcp_bridge.lua into REAPER's Scripts folder for your platform, and the
TwelveTake MCP Analyzer, a JSFX plugin that the measurement tools use, into Effects/TwelveTake.
If a different copy of the bridge is already there, it backs that copy up first. It writes nothing
else, and the server never touches your REAPER installation on its own. Pass a path if REAPER is portable or installed
somewhere unusual: --install-bridge "/path/to/REAPER/Scripts".
Then load it in REAPER. Open **Actions → Show action list**:
Click **New action → Load ReaScript**:
Select reaper_mcp_bridge.lua in the Scripts folder and click **Open**:
The script is now in the action list. Select it and click **Run**:
REAPER's console confirms the bridge is running:
Next time, find it by typing mcp bridge in the action list's filter box, or have REAPER
start it for you (below).
**Option B: ReaPack**
If you use ReaPack, open **Extensions → ReaPack → Import repositories**:
and paste this address:
Then open **Extensions → ReaPack → Browse packages**, find **TwelveTake REAPER MCP bridge**,
right-click it, choose **Install**, and click **OK**:
ReaPack adds the script to the action list and installs the analyzer. Run the script from there
as in option A.
**Option C: by hand**
1. Copy reaper_mcp_bridge.lua to your REAPER Scripts folder: