applemusic-mcp

MCP server for Apple Music. It gives any MCP client (Claude, Cursor, Cline, Windsurf) control of your playlists, library, catalog, discovery, playback, and the Up Next queue. Runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Features

Four engines back the server. Native drives the local Music.app on macOS via AppleScript. API uses Apple Music’s web API (amp-api.music.apple.com) on any OS. Safari drives your signed-in Safari’s MusicKit on macOS (DRM-native, zero install). Chrome runs a local Google Chrome window with MusicKit for DRM audio on any OS. One mode preference picks the engine — auto (default) mixes the best of each: native Music.app for playback on macOS, Safari for the Up Next queue, the API for data, Chrome off-mac. Pin one with native / safari / chrome / api, or override a single playback/queue call with engine=. In the table below, the Browser column covers both the Safari and Chrome web players. ✓ supported, ✗ not possible on that engine, — not applicable there.

Everything in the API column runs anywhere, no browser and no Music app. Browser playback and the queue need a desktop session and a web player — Safari on macOS (no install) or Google Chrome elsewhere.

Setup

Requirements: Python 3.10+ and an Apple Music subscription. The Chrome web player (cross-platform playback + Up Next queue) needs Google Chrome + Playwright. On macOS you can skip both — sign in via Safari and play through the Music app — so the default macOS install is lightweight (no ~500 MB Playwright). Windows/Linux include Playwright automatically (it’s the only path there).

Claude Code, one line:

claude mcp add "Apple Music" -- uvx applemusic-mcp serve

Claude Desktop / Cursor / Cline / Windsurf, install once, then add the config block:

pipx install applemusic-mcp        # or: pip install applemusic-mcp
# Off macOS, also fetch the browser engine:  playwright install chromium
# macOS needs neither (Safari sign-in + Music.app). For the Chrome web player on a
# Mac:  pipx install 'applemusic-mcp[browser]'  then  playwright install chromium

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Apple Music": {
      "command": "applemusic-mcp",
      "args": ["serve"]
    }
  }
}

Restart your client and try “List my Apple Music playlists” or “Play my favorites.” On macOS the local library and playback work immediately. To add catalog music or run on any OS, sign in.

Sign in

Two paths capture the credentials for the cross-platform API.

Apple Developer token (preferred). The sanctioned route, an Apple Developer Program membership with a MusicKit key. One guided command writes the config, mints a 6-month token, and authorizes:

applemusic-mcp login --dev      # prompts for Team ID, Key ID, and .p8 path

See the appendix for getting the MusicKit key.

Web sign-in. The quick path, and what plain applemusic-mcp login does. Your password never touches this tool, sign-in persists, and tokens re-fetch before they expire. You can also sign in conversationally — just ask your assistant. (Web sign-in uses Apple’s web-player API, the same path as open-source clients like Cider and Music Assistant.)

• macOS — reads from a signed-in Safari (no Chrome, no ~500 MB Playwright):

  applemusic-mcp login            # macOS default: harvests from Safari
  applemusic-mcp status           # verify
  

  One-time Safari setting (a security toggle — you enable it, the tool never flips it): Safari → Settings → Advanced → “Show features for web developers”, then the Develop menu → “Allow JavaScript from Apple Events.” Sign into Apple Music at music.apple.com in Safari first. That setting only lets the tool read one cookie — your Apple Music token — from your own signed-in Safari, and you can switch it back off afterward. If it’s off or you’re not signed in, login prints exactly how to fix it (or use --dev, or --chrome). Prefer Chrome on a Mac? pip install 'applemusic-mcp[browser]', then applemusic-mcp login --chrome. Combined with native Music.app playback, a Mac needs no Chrome at all.

• Windows / Linux — opens a local Chrome (Playwright ships by default there; it’s the only path):

  applemusic-mcp login            # opens Chrome to music.apple.com; sign in once
  

Bulk work wants --dev. Web sign-in uses Apple’s public web-player token, and its request quota is shared rather than yours alone. Interactive use never gets near it, but a few hundred catalog searches in an hour — a playlist import, a library migration — will hit HTTP 429. Apple sends no Retry-After on this path and the window is rolling and ~60 minutes long, so a short cooldown doesn’t clear it and retrying extends it. applemusic-mcp login --dev uses your own MusicKit key, which gets its own much larger quota. When you are throttled the tool says so explicitly, rather than letting the empty results read as “song not found.”

What’s sanctioned vs web

This server reaches Apple Music three ways and prefers the most official one available:

• Apple Music API (sanctioned). Your own developer token (from login --dev) against api.music.apple.com, Apple’s documented API.
• Web player (community path). A token from a signed-in music.apple.com session against the web player’s backend — the same approach as Cider and Music Assistant. It fills the few gaps the public API doesn’t expose.
• Music.app (macOS). Local AppleScript automation of your own app. No tokens, no network.

With a developer token, writes go through the sanctioned API; the web path is used only for the operations Apple’s public API can’t do. With web sign-in alone, everything runs on the web path. On macOS, library and playlist edits can also run locally through Music.app. Each write tells you which path it took.

The ✗ cells are operations the column’s path can’t do, so they route elsewhere. One Apple constraint to know: only the client that created a playlist can edit it, so a playlist made in Music.app can’t be written by either the dev-token API or the web player — on macOS those adds go through Music.app locally; off macOS, add to an API/web-created playlist instead.

Usage

Just talk to your assistant:

• “Create a playlist called Road Trip and fill it with upbeat 90s alternative.”
• “Add Hey Jude to my Road Trip playlist, and drop the last 3 tracks from my workout one.”
• “Organize my playlists into Rock, Jazz, and Electronic folders.”
• “Play my workout playlist on shuffle, and queue up Bohemian Rhapsody next.”
• “Find songs similar to Bohemian Rhapsody and add them to my library.”
• “What have I been listening to lately, and what’s topping the charts?”
• “Export my library to CSV.”

Tools

Seven action-based tools keep the MCP context small. Each takes an action and routes to the right engine.

CLI

applemusic-mcp serve            # run the MCP server (your client calls this)
applemusic-mcp login            # web sign-in (macOS: Safari; Windows/Linux: Chrome)
applemusic-mcp login --chrome   # force the Chrome web player (macOS opt-in)
applemusic-mcp login --dev      # Apple Developer token flow (.p8)
applemusic-mcp logout           # sign out (switch accounts)
applemusic-mcp status           # show auth status
applemusic-mcp reset --force    # wipe credentials (keeps your .p8 key file)
applemusic-mcp reset --all --force   # full uninstall: also removes the .p8, profile, and cache

Good to know

• macOS playback needs an unlocked screen and Accessibility permission. Native catalog playback drives Music.app via System Events and moves the cursor to click Play. Grant it under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, or set mode="safari" to play in the Safari web player instead (no Accessibility, no Chrome).
• Safari playback needs one real click to start. The first time you play in a freshly-opened or reloaded Safari tab, the browser requires a genuine click before it will start audio (a standard autoplay rule — we don’t fake it). Click ▶ once in the Apple Music tab, then play/pause/next all work hands-free. If a play command reports the queue is ready but the track sits at 0:00, that’s this — give the tab one click.
• Brand-new playlists take a moment to be addable over the API (cloud propagation). Existing ones are immediate.
• A few macOS-only features have no Apple Music API equivalent: 1 to 5 star ratings, favorites, library snapshots, AirPlay, and nested folder paths.
• If catalog actions start failing, re-run applemusic-mcp login. A handful of user playlists silently revert AppleScript edits (known Music.app bug); the server detects and surfaces the rollback.

Appendix: developer token

The preferred path. With an Apple Developer Program membership:

1. Get a MusicKit key. Apple Developer Portal → Keys → + → name it, check MusicKit, Register → download the .p8 (one time). Note your Key ID and Team ID.
2. Run the guided flow:

   applemusic-mcp login --dev
   

   It prompts for the Team ID, Key ID, and .p8 path (or pass --team-id, --key-id, --key-path), writes ~/.config/applemusic-mcp/config.json, generates the developer token (180 days, auto-renews on use), and authorizes your user token.

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Star History

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License

MIT · Unofficial community project — not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple. Uses your own Apple Music account for personal use; follow Apple’s terms.

mcp-name: io.github.epheterson/applemusic-mcp

Credits

FastMCP · Apple MusicKit · Model Context Protocol

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Built with ❤️ in California by @epheterson and Claude Code.