Music

You can control Apple Music on macOS from an MCP client using Music MCP. This server exposes playback commands, library queries, playlists, and an enhanced queue, making it easy to drive the Music app with AI assistants or automation workflows.

How to use

You interact with Music MCP through an MCP client that talks in a standard command protocol. From your client, you can play, pause, skip tracks, adjust volume, and retrieve information about the currently playing track or your library. You can search your library, create and manage playlists, and queue tracks to play next with the enhanced queue features. When you want to queue tracks to play after the current song, use the temporary queue functionality to build an Up Next list that will play in order after the current track.

Key capabilities include:

• Playback control: start, pause, skip, and adjust volume or playback position.

• Current track info: request detailed metadata and playback status.

• Library & search: find tracks, albums, artists, and browse your library.

• Playlists: create, modify, and play playlists.

• Queue management: view and modify the current queue, add tracks to play next, and control playback order.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installing Music MCP:

• macOS is required for Apple Music and AppleScript

• Node.js 18.0.0 or higher

• Apple Music app installed and accessible

• Automation permissions granted to your terminal/app

Install the MCP server using the recommended command:

npx @pedrocid/music-mcp@latest

If you are developing locally, you can clone the project, install dependencies, and build the project before running it:

git clone https://github.com/pedrocid/music-mcp.git
cd music-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Building as a Desktop Extension (optional)

To create a Desktop Extension (.dxt) for distribution, follow these steps:

# Install the DXT CLI tool
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/dxt

# Initialize Desktop Extension (if not already done)
dxt init

# Build the project
npm run build

# Package the extension
dxt pack

The resulting music-mcp.dxt file can be installed directly in Claude Desktop or submitted to the Anthropic extension directory. You may build the extension yourself using the commands above.

Available tools

info

Get diagnostic information about the MCP server status, including version, Music app availability, and current configuration.

execute_music_command

Send playback control commands such as play, pause, next, or toggle playback, with optional volume and position adjustments.

get_music_info

Retrieve information about the current playback, queue, or library status in a specified format.

search_music

Search the music library by query across tracks, albums, artists, or playlists.

manage_playlist

Create, add, remove, rename, delete, or list tracks in playlists.

queue_music

View, add to, or play from a temporary queue that queues tracks to play next, and manage playback order.