Strudel Live Coding

Strudel MCP Server

🎵 Open source MCP server for AI-powered music generation with Strudel.cc

Status: Actively developed | Experimental | Contributions welcome

An experimental Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables Claude to control Strudel.cc for AI-assisted music generation, live coding, and algorithmic composition.

Current State: Functional but under active development. Core features work reliably, but expect rough edges. Test coverage is at 78% with 1470 tests passing (1521 total, 51 skipped). See open issues for known limitations.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Quick Reference
• Quick Start
• Available Tools
• Usage Examples
• Architecture
• Advanced Usage
• Configuration
• Security
• Troubleshooting
• Development
• Contributing

✨ Features

🎹 Complete Music Control

• 65 MCP Tools: Comprehensive suite for music creation and manipulation
• Real Browser Automation: Direct control of Strudel.cc through Playwright
• Live Audio Analysis: Real-time frequency analysis via Web Audio API
• Pattern Generation: AI-powered creation across 8+ music genres
• Music Theory Engine: Scales, chords, progressions, euclidean rhythms
• Session Management: Save, load, undo/redo with pattern storage

🔧 Testing & Development Status

• ✅ Test Suite: 1470 tests passing (1521 total, 51 skipped)
• ✅ Code Coverage: 78% statement coverage (goal: 80%)
• ✅ Browser Integration: Works with live Strudel.cc website
• ✅ Audio Analysis: Real-time FFT analysis functional
• ✅ Pattern Generation: Core music generation features working
• ✅ OIDC Publishing: Secure npm publishing with provenance attestation

Not Production-Ready: This is experimental software under active development. Use for exploration and experimentation. Expect breaking changes, bugs, and incomplete features. See CONTRIBUTING.md to help improve it.

🎼 Example Patterns

Explore 17 curated example patterns across 10 genres in patterns/examples/:

• Techno: Hard techno, minimal techno
• House: Deep house, tech house
• Drum & Bass: Liquid, neurofunk
• Ambient: Dark ambient, drone
• Trap: Modern trap, cloud trap
• Jungle: Classic jungle, ragga jungle
• Jazz: Bebop, modal jazz
• Intelligent DnB: Atmospheric, liquid, LTJ Bukem style
• Trip Hop: Portishead, Massive Attack, Flying Lotus style
• Boom Bap: DJ Premier, Alchemist, golden era hip hop

Each example includes pattern code, BPM, key, and description. See patterns/examples/README.md for details.

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

Requirement	Version	Notes
Node.js	18.x or 20.x	LTS versions recommended
npm	9+	Comes with Node.js
Chromium	Latest	Auto-installed by Playwright
Audio output	Any	Required for playback (speakers/headphones)

Optional: Docker for containerized deployment.

From npm

npm install -g @williamzujkowski/strudel-mcp-server

# Install browser (required once)
npx playwright install chromium

From Source

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/williamzujkowski/strudel-mcp-server.git
cd strudel-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Install Chromium for browser automation
npx playwright install chromium

# Build the project
npm run build

🚀 Quick Reference

Common commands for immediate use:

Action	Command
Initialize browser	init
Create techno beat	generate_pattern with style: "techno"
Play pattern	play
Stop playback	stop
Get current pattern	get_pattern
Analyze audio	analyze
Save pattern	save with name: "my-pattern"
Undo last change	undo

One-shot workflow:

compose with style: "dnb", key: "Am", bpm: 174, auto_play: true

🎯 Quick Start

1. Add to Claude

# If installed globally
claude mcp add strudel strudel-mcp

# If built from source
claude mcp add strudel node /path/to/strudel-mcp-server/dist/index.js

2. Start Using

claude chat

Then ask Claude:

• "Initialize Strudel and create a techno beat"
• "Generate a jazz chord progression in F major"
• "Create a drum & bass pattern at 174 BPM"

🛠️ Available Tools (65)

Core Control (10 tools)

Tool	Description	Example
init	Initialize Strudel in browser	"Initialize Strudel"
write	Write pattern to editor	"Write pattern: s('bd*4')"
play	Start playback	"Play the pattern"
stop	Stop playback	"Stop playing"
clear	Clear editor	"Clear the editor"
get_pattern	Get current pattern	"Show current pattern"
append	Add to pattern	"Add hi-hats"
insert	Insert at line	"Insert at line 2"
replace	Replace text	"Replace bd with sn"
pause	Pause playback	"Pause"

Pattern Generation & Manipulation (10 tools)

Tool	Description	Options
generate_pattern	Complete patterns	techno, house, dnb, ambient, trap, jungle, jazz, intelligent_dnb, trip_hop, boom_bap
generate_drums	Drum patterns	All styles + complexity (0-1)
generate_bassline	Bass patterns	techno, house, dnb, acid, dub, funk, jazz, intelligent_dnb, trip_hop, boom_bap
generate_melody	Melodic lines	Any scale, custom length
generate_variation	Pattern variations	subtle, moderate, extreme, glitch
transpose	Transpose notes	±12 semitones
reverse	Reverse pattern	-
stretch	Time stretch	Factor 0.1-10
quantize	Quantize to grid	1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc.
humanize	Add timing variation	Amount 0-1

Music Theory (6 tools)

Tool	Description	Options
generate_scale	Generate scales	major, minor, modes, pentatonic, blues
generate_chord_progression	Chord progressions	pop, jazz, blues, rock, folk
generate_euclidean	Euclidean rhythms	hits/steps/sound
generate_polyrhythm	Polyrhythms	Multiple patterns
generate_fill	Generate drum fills	All styles, 1-4 bars
apply_scale	Apply scale to notes	Any scale

Effects (4 tools)

Tool	Description
add_effect	Add audio effect (reverb, delay, etc.)
remove_effect	Remove an effect from the chain
set_tempo	Set BPM (60-200)
add_swing	Add swing feel (0-1 amount)

Session Management (5 tools)

Tool	Description
save	Save pattern with tags
load	Load saved pattern
list	List all patterns
undo	Undo last action
redo	Redo action

Pattern History (3 tools)

Tool	Description
list_history	Browse pattern history with timestamps and previews
restore_history	Restore a previous pattern by ID
compare_patterns	Compare two patterns showing line-by-line differences

Audio Analysis (6 tools)

Tool	Description
analyze	Basic audio analysis (frequency, playing state)
analyze_spectrum	FFT spectral analysis
analyze_rhythm	Rhythm complexity analysis
detect_tempo	BPM detection
detect_key	Musical key detection
validate_pattern_runtime	Validate pattern with browser error checking

UX & Browser Control (6 tools)

Tool	Description
compose	One-shot pattern generation with auto-play
status	Get current browser/playback state
diagnostics	Detailed system diagnostics
show_browser	Bring browser window to foreground
screenshot	Capture browser screenshot
show_errors	Display captured console errors

Performance (2 tools)

Tool	Description
performance_report	Timing metrics and bottleneck analysis
memory_usage	Memory consumption statistics

AI Feedback (1 tool)

Tool	Description	Options
get_pattern_feedback	AI-powered creative feedback via Gemini	includeAudio: analyze audio (default: false), style: hint for context

Note: Requires GEMINI_API_KEY environment variable. Returns pattern complexity, estimated style, strengths, and suggestions.

🎵 Usage Examples

Basic Pattern Creation

Create a Simple Beat

You: Initialize Strudel and create a simple techno beat

Claude: [Initializes browser]
        [Generates and writes pattern]
        [Starts playback]

Pattern created:
setcpm(130)
stack(
  s("bd*4"),
  s("~ cp ~ cp"),
  s("hh*8").gain(0.4)
).gain(0.8)

Generate a Bassline

You: Add a techno bassline in C

Claude: [Generates bassline]
        [Appends to current pattern]

Added: note("c2 c2 c2 c2").s("sawtooth").cutoff(800)

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README truncated. View full README on GitHub.