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<img src="docs/assets/banner-en.jpg" alt="Audio Studio MCP: local AI music and sound effects for Claude Code and any MCP client" width="820">
<p>
<a href="LICENSE"><img alt="License: MIT" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-6b4dff?style=flat-square"></a>
<img alt="macOS Apple Silicon" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/macOS-Apple_Silicon-111?style=flat-square&logo=apple">
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<a href="https://github.com/kanaworksai-hue/audio-studio-mcp/stargazers"><img alt="GitHub stars" src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/kanaworksai-hue/audio-studio-mcp?style=flat-square&logo=github&label=stars&color=f5c518"></a>
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<p><a href="https://github.com/kanaworksai-hue"><img src="docs/brand/kanaworks-mark.png" height="22" alt="" align="absmiddle"></a> <a href="https://github.com/kanaworksai-hue"><b>A KanaWorks_AI project</b></a></p>
**English** | [简体中文](README.zh-CN.md) | [日本語](README.ja.md)
[🎧 Listen to samples](https://kanaworksai-hue.github.io/audio-studio-mcp/) · [Quick start](#-quick-start) · [Tools](#-tools) · [FAQ](#-faq) · [⭐ Star](#-like-it-star-it)
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**Audio Studio MCP** gives Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and any other [MCP](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) client a sound studio that runs on your own Mac. Ask for background music or a sound effect in plain language; the model generates it locally with [Stable Audio 3](https://github.com/Stability-AI/stable-audio-3). Then it can loop it, normalize the loudness and export it for your game engine or video editor. There is no cloud service and no API key, and generating doesn't cost anything.
<p align="center">
<img src="docs/assets/demo-en.png" alt="A real Claude Code session: one request produces two lo-fi BGM candidates and a seamless OGG loop for Godot" width="820">
<br><sub>A real session, shortened. Claude picked a loop length of exactly 11 bars so the beat stays in time when it repeats.</sub>
</p>
## ✨ Highlights
<table>
<tr>
<td align="center" width="25%"><img src="docs/assets/icon-generate.png" width="72" alt=""><br><b>Generate</b><br><sub>BGM, instrument loops and sound effects from one sentence, 1–4 candidates per call</sub></td>
<td align="center" width="25%"><img src="docs/assets/icon-edit.png" width="72" alt=""><br><b>Edit</b><br><sub>Re-style a whole clip, regenerate a time range, or extend a track</sub></td>
<td align="center" width="25%"><img src="docs/assets/icon-process.png" width="72" alt=""><br><b>Finish</b><br><sub>Seamless loops, fades, loudness (LUFS), 48 kHz WAV / OGG / FLAC</sub></td>
<td align="center" width="25%"><img src="docs/assets/icon-local.png" width="72" alt=""><br><b>Local</b><br><sub>Runs on Apple Silicon with MLX. No account or upload needed</sub></td>
</tr>
</table>
- **Reproducible:** every file gets a `.json` sidecar with its prompt, seed and settings.
- **Prompting built in:** the server teaches the client the official Stable Audio 3 prompt format, so a request like "make it sound like a creaky door" becomes a prompt the model understands.
- **Same output as upstream:** for the same seed, results are bit-for-bit identical to the official `sa3` CLI.
## 🎧 Hear it
All of these were generated by this server on an M1 Mac and were not edited by hand. **[Open the sample page →](https://kanaworksai-hue.github.io/audio-studio-mcp/)**
| | Sample | Prompt |
|---|---|---|
| <img src="docs/samples/lofi_cafe.svg" width="200" alt=""> | [**Lo-fi cafe**](https://kanaworksai-hue.github.io/audio-studio-mcp/#lofi_cafe)<br><sub>music · 30 s · 85 BPM</sub> | Lo-fi hip-hop chill track with mellow electric piano, soft vinyl crackle, low-pass filtered drums… |
| <img src="docs/samples/epic_orchestral.svg" width="200" alt=""> | [**Epic orchestral**](https://kanaworksai-hue.github.io/audio-studio-mcp/#epic_orchestral)<br><sub>music · 30 s</sub> | Epic cinematic orchestral trailer music with thundering taiko drums, soaring French horns… |
| <img src="docs/samples/chiptune_adventure.svg" width="200" alt=""> | [**Chiptune adventure**](https://kanaworksai-hue.github.io/audio-studio-mcp/#chiptune_adventure)<br><sub>music · 20 s · 150 BPM</sub> | Upbeat 8-bit chiptune adventure theme with a bright square wave lead… |
| <img src="docs/samples/glass_shatter.svg" width="200" alt=""> | [**Glass shatter**](https://kanaworksai-hue.github.io/audio-studio-mcp/#glass_shatter)<br><sub>sfx · 3 s</sub> | source: glass bottle · action: shattering on impact · material: thick green glass · space: concrete floor |
| <img src="docs/samples/rain_thunder.svg" width="200" alt=""> | [**Rain & thunder**](https://kanaworksai-hue.github.io/audio-studio-mcp/#rain_thunder)<br><sub>sfx · 12 s</sub> | source: heavy rain and distant thunder · space: outdoor forest at night, wide stereo |
| <img src="docs/samples/synthwave_drive_extended.svg" width="200" alt=""> | [**Synthwave, extended**](https://kanaworksai-hue.github.io/audio-studio-mcp/#synthwave_drive_extended)<br><sub>edit · 20 s → 40 s</sub> | `edit_audio` continue: a 20-second track extended to 40 seconds |
MP3s are in [`docs/samples/`](docs/samples), with prompts and seeds in [`samples.json`](docs/samples/samples.json).
## 🧭 How it works
```mermaid
flowchart LR
U["You<br/>“make a cozy cafe BGM”"] --> C["Claude Code · Desktop<br/>Cursor · any MCP client"]
C -- "MCP" --> S["audio-studio-mcp<br/>generate · edit · process"]
S --> M["Stable Audio 3<br/>MLX on Apple Silicon"]
M --> F["WAV / OGG / FLAC + .json<br/>ready for game & video"]
```
## 🚀 Quick start
**Requirements:**
- Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later), 16 GB RAM recommended
- About 6 GB of disk for the model
- `git` and [`ffmpeg`](https://ffmpeg.org) (`brew install ffmpeg`)
```bash
git clone https://github.com/kanaworksai-hue/audio-studio-mcp.git
cd audio-studio-mcp
./install.sh
```
The installer sets up [`uv`](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) if needed, clones the official Stable Audio 3 runtime into `vendor/` at a tested commit, creates `.venv/`, and downloads the **medium** model (1.4B, ~5.9 GB) from [Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/stabilityai/stable-audio-3-optimized). It finishes by printing the exact command to register the server:
```bash
claude mcp add --scope user audio-studio -- /path/to/audio-studio-mcp/.venv/bin/audio-studio-mcp
```
<details>
<summary><b>Claude Desktop, Cursor and other clients</b></summary>
Add this to `claude_desktop_config.json`, `.cursor/mcp.json` or your client's MCP config:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"audio-studio": {
"command": "/path/to/audio-studio-mcp/.venv/bin/audio-studio-mcp"
}
}
}
```
</details>
<details>
<summary><b>Installer options</b></summary>
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| `--model all` | Also download the small, fast `sm-music` and `sm-sfx` models (+2.6 GB) |
| `--skip-weights` | Don't download now; the first generation downloads them |
| `-y` | Install `uv` without asking |
Downloads are anonymous. Logging in with `hf auth login` raises Hugging Face's rate limit.
</details>
> [!TIP]
> **Let your agent install it.** Paste this into Claude Code:
> *"Install https://github.com/kanaworksai-hue/audio-studio-mcp by following its README, then register it as an MCP server."*
Then just ask:
- "Make a 60-second lo-fi BGM loop at 85 BPM for a cafe scene, give me 3 candidates."
- "I need a heavy wooden door slamming in a stone hallway. Export it as OGG for Godot."
- "Extend this track to 90 seconds and normalize it to −16 LUFS."
## 🧰 Tools
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| `generate_audio` | Text to BGM, instrument loop/stem or sound effect. 1–4 candidates per call, `bpm`, structured SFX fields |
| `edit_audio` | `variation` (re-style the whole clip), `inpaint` (regenerate a time range), `continue` (extend). 1–4 candidates |
| `process_audio` | Trim → trim silence → mono → resample / loudness → seamless loop → fades → peak normalize or ceiling → WAV / OGG / FLAC. Never modifies the input |
| `unload_models` | Free the model memory right away |
<details>
<summary><b>Parameter notes</b></summary>
- **`audio_type`**: `music` / `instrument` / `sfx` / `raw`. The server adds the prefix the model was trained with (`TrackType: Music, VocalType: Instrumental,` …). Without the SFX prefix, sound effects often come out as music.
- **`variations`**: 1–4 candidates with seeds `seed, seed+1, …`. Use `seed: -1` or leave it out for a random seed.
- **`sound_source` / `sound_action` / `sound_material` / `sound_space`**: describe a sound effect by what makes it, how it evolves, its texture and the space it is in.
- **`peak_ceiling_db`** (default −1): a safety ceiling. Louder peaks are turned down and quieter audio is never boosted. Use `process_audio` to normalize.
- **`process_audio` normalization**: `peak` is common for SFX. `loudness` normalizes to a target LUFS: −14 for streaming/video, −16 for game BGM, −23 for broadcast.
Generated files are 44.1 kHz 24-bit stereo WAV, written to `outputs/` in this folder. Each one has a `<name>.json` next to it. Processed files keep the original generation info under `source`.
</details>
## ⚙️ Configuration
<details>
<summary><b>Environment variables</b></summary>
| Variable | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| `AUDIO_STUDIO_OUTPUT_DIR` | `<repo>/outputs` | Where audio files are written |
| `AUDIO_STUDIO_IDLE_UNLOAD_MIN` | `10` | Free the models after this many idle minutes (`0` = never) |
| `AUDIO_STUDIO_SA3_MODEL` | `medium` | `medium` (best quality, up to 380 s), `sm-music` or `sm-sfx` (small and fast, up to 120 s) |
| `AUDIO_STUDIO_MLX_CACHE_GB` | `1` | Cap on MLX's buffer cache. Without it, a long generation can leave ~6 GB cached |
| `AUDIO_STUDIO_SA3_DIR` | `<repo>/vendor/stable-audio-3` | Use another stable-audio-3 checkout |
| `AUDIO_STUDIO_BACKEND` | `auto` | `auto` or `sa3-mlx` |
| `AUDIO_STUDIO_FFMPEG` | `ffmpeg` on `PATH` | Path to ffmpeg |
Pass them with `claude mcp add ... -e NAME=value` or in the `env` block of your client config.
</details>
<details>
<summary><b>Share one server between sessions</b></summary>
Each client session normally starts its own server process. Models load on the first call and are freed after the idle timeout. To keep one warm process for every session, run it as a local HTTP server. It only listens on `127.0.0.1`.
```bash
.venv/bin/audio-studio-mcp --http 8765 --preload
claude mcp add --scope user --transport http audio-studio http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp
```
</details>
## ⚡ Performance
Medium model on an M1 Mac with 16 GB:
| Task | Time |
|---|---|
| Two 3 s sound effects, cold start | ~13 s |
| 20 s of music, warm | ~10 s (2× real time) |
| Continue to 35 s, incl. loading the encoder | ~27 s |
| 15 s of music with `sm-music`, warm | ~1 s |
Loaded models use about 5–7 GB of memory. They are freed after the idle timeout or by `unload_models`.
## 📝 Prompting tips
<details>
<summary><b>From the official Stable Audio 3 prompt guide</b></summary>
1. **English, 1–2 sentences, up to ~45 words.** Avoid vocal words such as vocals, singer or lyrics.
2. **Music:** genre + adjectives → lead instruments → supporting layers → drums/rhythm → mood. Put the tempo in `bpm`.
> Lo-fi hip-hop chill track with mellow electric piano, soft vinyl crackle, low-pass filtered drums and soft plucked bass for a relaxed, dreamy vibe.
3. **Sound effects:** fill in source, action, material and space.
> source: glass bottle / action: shattering on impact, fragments scattering / material: thick green glass, sharp bright transient / space: concrete floor, close-up, dry
4. **Match the length to the content:** impacts 1–3 s, actions 3–6 s, ambience 6–15 s+, loops 6–20 s, full tracks 120–300 s (max 380 s).
5. **Timing instructions** like "climax at 15 s" are not followed reliably. Generate first, then use `inpaint` or `continue`.
6. The defaults `steps=8` and `cfg=1.0` are the official settings. For stricter prompt adherence, or to use `negative_prompt`, try `cfg` 3–7 (about 2× slower).
7. Results vary a lot by seed. Ask for 2–4 `variations` and pick the best.
The full guide is also sent to the client as the server's instructions.
</details>
## ❓ FAQ
<details>
<summary><b>Does it run on Windows, Linux or Intel Macs?</b></summary>
Not yet. It needs an Apple Silicon Mac today. The model runtime sits behind a backend interface, and a Windows backend for NVIDIA GPUs is planned.
</details>
<details>
<summary><b>Can it make songs with vocals?</b></summary>
No. Stable Audio 3 generates instrumental music and sound effects. It cannot produce intelligible singing or lyrics.
</details>
<details>
<summary><b>Can I use the generated audio commercially?</b></summary>
The code here is MIT. The model weights are under the [Stability AI Community License](https://huggingface.co/stabilityai/stable-audio-3-optimized), which sets the terms for the model and what it generates. Read it before commercial use. At the time of writing it allows commercial use for individuals and organizations with less than US$1M in annual revenue.
</details>
<details>
<summary><b>Will an 8 GB Mac work?</b></summary>
It hasn't been tested. The medium model needs about 5–7 GB while loaded, so 16 GB is recommended. The small `sm-music` / `sm-sfx` models are lighter.
</details>
<details>
<summary><b>My loop clicks at the seam.</b></summary>
Use WAV or OGG for loops. MP3 adds padding at the start and end, so it can't loop seamlessly. Also try a longer `loop_crossfade_ms`, or ask the model to cut on a bar line.
</details>
## 🗺️ Roadmap
- [x] Apple Silicon backend (Stable Audio 3, MLX)
- [ ] Windows backend for NVIDIA GPUs
- [ ] LoRA support (the upstream runtime already has it)
Issues and pull requests are welcome.
## ⭐ Like it? Star it
If Audio Studio made a sound you ended up using, please click **⭐ Star** at the top of the [repository page](https://github.com/kanaworksai-hue/audio-studio-mcp). It's free, takes one second, and helps more than it looks:
- **More people find it.** Stars make the project easier to discover on GitHub, so more game developers and video makers get to use it.
- **It keeps updates coming.** Every star tells me someone finds this useful. That's what keeps me working on the next update, like the Windows backend and LoRA support.
Other ways to help: [open an issue](https://github.com/kanaworksai-hue/audio-studio-mcp/issues) for a bug or an idea, or share a sound you made on X and tag [@KanaWorks_AI](https://x.com/KanaWorks_AI).
## 🛠️ Development
```bash
uv run pytest # offline tests, no model needed
.venv/bin/python scripts/smoke_test.py # end-to-end with the real model (~30 s)
```
```
src/audio_studio_mcp/
server.py MCP tools (backend-independent)
prompts.py prompt building and the instructions sent to clients
post.py post-processing and export
backends/base.py backend interface
backends/sa3_mlx.py Stable Audio 3 on Apple Silicon
```
A new platform is added as another backend in `backends/`.
## 📄 License and credits
- **This project:** [MIT](LICENSE).
- **Stable Audio 3 runtime:** downloaded into `vendor/` at install time. It is © Stability AI and MIT-licensed.
- **Model weights:** licensed under the [Stability AI Community License](https://huggingface.co/stabilityai/stable-audio-3-optimized). They are downloaded from Hugging Face, not distributed here.
- **Brand:** the KanaWorks_AI name, logo and the Kana character are © KanaWorks_AI and are **not** covered by the MIT license. See [docs/brand](docs/brand/README.md).
- **Built on:** [Stable Audio 3](https://github.com/Stability-AI/stable-audio-3), [MLX](https://github.com/ml-explore/mlx) and the [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io).
This is an independent project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Stability AI, Apple or Anthropic.
<br>
<div align="center">
<a href="https://x.com/KanaWorks_AI"><img src="docs/brand/kana-wave.png" width="150" alt="Kana, the KanaWorks_AI mascot, waving"></a>
<p><b>Made with ♥ by <a href="https://x.com/KanaWorks_AI">KanaWorks_AI</a></b></p>
<p><sub>If Audio Studio saves you time, a ⭐ keeps the updates coming and helps others find it. More projects: <a href="https://github.com/kanaworksai-hue">github.com/kanaworksai-hue</a></sub></p>
</div>
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