AppleMusic

This MCP server lets you control the Apple Music app on macOS through a lightweight command interface. With it, you can play, pause, skip tracks, search your library, and manage playlists from an external MCP client, making media control fast and scriptable.

How to use

Connect your MCP client to the itunes_control MCP server and use the provided commands to control Apple Music. You can start playback, pause, skip tracks, search for tracks, play specific songs, and create playlists. Each command is designed to feel like driving Apple Music from a script, with results returned to your client so you can build automation workflows.

How to install

Prerequisites you need to meet before you start are straightforward. You will install a small runtime helper, ensure Python is available, and verify the macOS Apple Music app is installed.

# Install the helper runtime
$ brew install uv

Next, create the configuration snippet that exposes the MCP server through the runtime helper. Place this in your CLAUDE desktop configuration so the MCP client can discover and use the server.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "itunes_control": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["-p", "3.13", "-n", "mcp-applemusic"]
    }
  }
}

Additional setup notes

Start the Python-based MCP server that provides the Apple Music control functions. Run this from the directory containing the server script.

python server.py

Available tools

itunes_play

Start playback of the Apple Music player.

itunes_pause

Pause the currently playing track.

itunes_next

Skip to the next track in the current playlist.

itunes_previous

Return to the previous track in the current playlist.

itunes_search

Search the Apple Music library for tracks using a query string.

itunes_play_song

Play a specific song by name or identifier.

itunes_create_playlist

Create a new playlist and populate it with a list of songs.

itunes_library

Retrieve statistics or details about the Apple Music library.