MCP Server

Gridshift includes a built-in MCP Server that allows AI assistants to read project state and control the DAW — including mixing, plugin management, and MIDI composition.

Install for Claude Desktop

Go to Help → Install Claude Extension in Gridshift’s menu bar. This installs the MCP server as an extension in Claude Desktop.

Help menu showing Install Claude Extension option

Add to other clients

The MCP server uses a bridge binary that communicates with Gridshift via Unix socket. Add the following to your client’s MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gridshift": {
      "command": "/Applications/Gridshift.app/Contents/Helpers/GridshiftBridge"
    }
  }
}

Gridshift must be running for the connection to work.

Available tools

Session

Tool	Description
`get_session_overview`	Get project info, transport state, tracks, mixer levels, the timeline’s markers and the buses — the return, bus and master tracks that are not on the timeline, which is how you check whether a return already exists before adding another — in one call. Ask for the `clips` section as well to read the whole arrangement back — every clip’s id, position, length and audio window. That section is off by default because a finished song has hundreds of clips; `clips_track_name` narrows it to one track.

Transport

Tool	Description
`transport_control`	Control playback, recording, loop, tempo, the loop region and the playhead — all via a single `action` parameter (`play`, `stop`, `toggle_playback`, `toggle_loop`, `toggle_recording`, `go_to_beginning`, `set_tempo`, `set_loop`, `set_playhead`). Loop bounds and the playhead are given in beats, so both survive a tempo change.

Tracks

Tool	Description
`track_add`	Add a sample, instrument, or return track.
`track_configure`	Set volume, pan, mute, solo, color and return output routing for one or more tracks in a single call, plus `collapsed` to fold a group shut. Accepts a batch `operations` array. Giving a track inside a group its own color also stops it following the group’s.
`track_rename`	Rename a track.
`group_create`	Create a group track containing existing tracks as children.
`track_move_to_group`	Move a track into a group, or back to the top level.

Sends & Returns

Tool	Description
`send_configure`	Create, adjust, or remove sends from tracks to return tracks (level + pre/post tap). Accepts a batch `operations` array. Create a return track first with `track_add` type `return`.

Plugins

Tool	Description
`available_plugins`	Search installed AU plugins by name or manufacturer.
`plugins_list`	List all loaded plugins across tracks with bypass state and parameter count.
`plugin_get_parameters`	Get plugin parameters with type metadata, value labels, and pagination.
`plugin_configure`	Set parameter values, toggle bypass, and/or configure sidechain routing — all in a single call.
`plugin_add_remove`	Add or remove plugins on tracks. Supports batch operations across multiple tracks.

Clips & MIDI

Tool	Description
`clip_delete`	Delete clips by ID or clear all clips on a track. Works with any clip type.
`clip_configure`	Change clips that are already in the arrangement: move them, resize them, re-window an audio clip into its file, set fades, gain or name. Supports batch operations. Moving a clip along the timeline leaves its audio window alone, and moving the window leaves the clip where it is.
`midi_clip_create`	Create a MIDI clip with optional initial notes. Returns the clip ID for further editing.
`midi_clip_read`	Read all notes from a MIDI clip (pitch, position, duration, velocity).
`midi_clip_edit`	Add, delete, or modify notes in a MIDI clip. Supports batch operations.

Automation

Tool	Description
`automation_create`	Automate a parameter (mixer volume/pan, a plugin parameter, or a send amount) over a time range. Creates the lane and clip, and optionally seeds breakpoints or an LFO. `absolute` sets the value directly; `relative` stacks a modulation layer on top — so you can drive one parameter from several automations. Returns the lane index and clip ID.
`automation_clip_read`	Read an automation clip: its targets, blend mode and range, and breakpoints or LFO shape.
`automation_clip_edit`	Add, delete, modify, or re-curve breakpoints in an automation clip. Supports batch operations.
`automation_lfo`	Configure LFO generate mode on a clip: set the shape, bake it to editable points, or clear it.
`automation_target_configure`	Edit a lane’s parameter bindings: add or remove targets (one curve → many parameters), or change a target’s blend mode or range.

Samples

Tool	Description
`sample_search`	Search the indexed sample library by filename, folder, and category tags.
`sample_place`	Place one or many clips from an audio file, creating a sample track if needed. Each clip is a window into the file: `source_offset_beats` picks where it starts reading, `length_beats` how much it plays, plus fades and gain — which is how one long stem becomes an arrangement of separate sections. Pass `clips` to place many windows of the same file in one call.
`sample_replace_on_track`	Swap the audio source on a sample track, preserving clip positions.

Project

Tool	Description
`project_configure`	Set the project’s musical key, scale and description. The key and scale drive scale highlighting in the piano roll, musical typing, and every sound source that follows the project key.
`marker_configure`	Add, rename, move, recolor or delete the markers in the timeline ruler that label a song’s sections. Markers stick to a beat, so they survive a tempo change.
`project_artwork`	Get, set, or remove the project artwork (cover image). Supports PNG and JPEG.

Writing a whole project

The tools split into two halves. The mixer, plugin, send and ducking tools nudge a project you already have open and are listening to. The rest — placing clips as windows into a file, clip_configure, marker_configure, project_configure, group_create — build a project from nothing. transport_control sits on both sides: it drives playback while you listen, and it also builds — set_tempo before anything is placed, set_loop once there is something to loop over. The piece that makes the second half work is the audio window. A real arrangement is not one clip per file; it is a long stem cut into sections, each clip reading the part of the file that belongs where it sits. Setting source_offset_beats equal to a clip’s start_beat reproduces exactly that cut, so every section stays in sync with the rest of the song. A workable order: set the key and scale with project_configure and the tempo with transport_control; add the tracks and groups; color them; place the audio; write the MIDI parts and automation; wire the sends; label the sections with markers; set the loop region. Then read it back with get_session_overview and include: ["clips"] — that is how the assistant checks its own work, and how a later session picks up where this one stopped.

Design principles

Gridshift’s MCP tools follow best practices for LLM integration:

Workflow-oriented: Tools map to user goals, not internal APIs.
Compound operations: Batch changes in single round-trips (e.g. configure multiple tracks at once).
Rich metadata: Plugin parameters include type info and human-readable labels so the AI can set values correctly without trial-and-error.
Musical context: Project key and scale are included in the session overview so the AI writes in-key MIDI.

Getting Started

Interface

Recording & Input

Editing & Timing

Mixing

Advanced

Project

Install for Claude Desktop

Add to other clients

Available tools

Session

Transport

Tracks

Sends & Returns

Plugins

Clips & MIDI

Automation

Samples

Project

Writing a whole project

Design principles

​Install for Claude Desktop

​Add to other clients

​Available tools

​Session

​Transport

​Tracks

​Sends & Returns

​Plugins

​Clips & MIDI

​Automation

​Samples

​Project

​Writing a whole project

​Design principles

Install for Claude Desktop

Add to other clients

Available tools

Session

Transport

Tracks

Sends & Returns

Plugins

Clips & MIDI

Automation

Samples

Project

Writing a whole project

Design principles