Conduit - local AI MIDI Generator

Description

Conduit connects Ableton Live to a local AI running on your own machine. Type something like "4-bar techno kick pattern" or "8-note ambient melody in C minor" and it writes MIDI clips directly into your selected track.

NO cloud, NO API keys, NO subscriptions. Everything runs locally and privately through Ollama!

TWO MODES:

- Chat — Talk to the AI about your session. It sees your BPM, tracks, time signature, and more.

- Generate — Describe what you want, get MIDI clips written straight into your session.

FEATURES:

- 8 genre modules (techno, house, dnb, dubstep, hip-hop, ambient, IDM, trance)

- Session-aware — reads your BPM, time sig, track names, and selected track

- Pattern clipboard — auto-saves generated patterns, paste to re-use them

- Undo — revert the last generated clip

- 100% local and private — uses Ollama with llama3.2 (3B), no cloud needed

REQUIREMENTS:

- macOS or Windows

- Ableton Live 11/12 with Max for Live

- Ollama (free, open source — https://ollama.com)

- Python 3.9+

- ~4GB free RAM

---------- SETUP — macOS ----------

1. Install Ollama — download from https://ollama.com, drag to Applications, open it once

2. Double-click "Install Conduit.command" — it checks your system, downloads the AI model (~2GB first time), and installs everything

3. In Ableton: Browser > User Library > MIDI Effects > Conduit — drag onto a MIDI track

4. The server starts automatically — no terminal needed

If macOS blocks the script, right-click it and choose Open instead of double-clicking.

Requires Python 3 (most Macs have it — check with: python3 --version).

---------- SETUP — Windows ----------

IMPORTANT: Do NOT manually copy files from the ZIP. Use the installer — it handles everything including a Windows security step that prevents the device from loading.

1. Install Ollama — download from https://ollama.com/download and run it

2. Install Python 3.9+ from https://python.org/downloads — CHECK "Add Python to PATH" during install

3. Download Conduit from https://github.com/jordanaftermidnight/conduit (Code > Download ZIP), extract the ZIP

4. Double-click "Install Conduit.bat" — it checks your system, downloads the AI model (~2GB first time), and installs everything

5. In Ableton: Browser > User Library > MIDI Effects > Conduit — drag onto a MIDI track

6. The server starts automatically — no terminal needed

WINDOWS TROUBLESHOOTING: If the device shows in the browser but won't load (nothing happens, no error), Windows is blocking the downloaded files. Right-click Conduit.amxd in File Explorer, click Properties, check "Unblock" at the bottom, click OK. Do the same for conduit-bridge.js. Restart Ableton after unblocking. Running "Install Conduit.bat" from the latest version does this automatically.

---------- TIPS ----------

Be specific: "16-note hi-hat pattern with offbeat accents" works better than "make some hats"

Mention note counts: "8 notes", "16 steps", "4-bar phrase"

Reference genre conventions: "303-style acid bassline", "amen break variation"

The AI understands music theory — scales, intervals, chord names, subdivisions

Full documentation, source code, and technical details:

https://github.com/jordanaftermidnight/conduit

If Conduit is useful in your workflow, consider supporting the project:

https://ko-fi.com/jordanaftermidnight

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## Tags

MIDI, AI, LLM, generator, drums, melody, bassline, pattern, Ollama, local, generative