feat(browser): add /live/browser/* handlers for loading presets via OSC#200
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keshav55 wants to merge 1 commit intoideoforms:masterfrom
Open
feat(browser): add /live/browser/* handlers for loading presets via OSC#200keshav55 wants to merge 1 commit intoideoforms:masterfrom
keshav55 wants to merge 1 commit intoideoforms:masterfrom
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Problem
-------
AbletonOSC exposes clip/track/device/scene/song handlers but no way to
LOAD instruments or audio effects onto tracks programmatically. External
clients wanting to drive Live end-to-end have to ask humans to drag
presets from the browser, which is a UX hole for agent-driven setups.
Solution
--------
New BrowserHandler in abletonosc/browser.py that uses Live's
Live.Application.get_application().browser to search the stock browser
tree and load the first matching item onto a specified track.
New OSC endpoints:
/live/browser/list_categories
→ replies (category_names...) for the top-level roots
(sounds, instruments, drums, audio_effects, midi_effects, samples,
plugins, clips, user_library, current_project, packs, max_for_live)
/live/browser/list_children [category, max_items=30]
→ replies (category, child_names...) one level under the root —
useful for discovery before loading.
/live/browser/load_by_query [track_index, query]
→ BFS the user-facing roots in priority order (sounds → instruments
→ drums → samples → packs → user_library). Select track_index,
load_item() the first loadable item whose name contains `query`
(case-insensitive substring). Reply with the loaded item name or ""
if no match.
/live/browser/load_from_category [track_index, category, query]
→ same but restricted to one top-level root. Safer for avoiding
accidental matches across categories.
Search is capped at MAX_ITEMS_SCANNED=2000 and MAX_DEPTH=6 to avoid
walking 100k-item preset libraries on pathological queries.
Reload-ordering fix
-------------------
`manager.py`'s `reload_imports()` re-ordered so the PACKAGE is reloaded
BEFORE individual submodules. Previously, `importlib.reload(abletonosc.browser)`
would fail silently when `browser` wasn't yet an attribute of the cached
`abletonosc` package (as happens on the first reload after adding a new
submodule), short-circuiting the whole reload. Now we reload the package
first (which re-runs __init__.py and picks up any new `from .browser import`
lines), then iterate known submodules tolerantly.
Why it matters
--------------
For external tooling that programmatically builds Live sessions (agent-driven
production, automated test sessions, education tools), this closes the one
remaining "you still need a human to drag presets" gap. Combined with
existing track/clip/device handlers, it's now possible to drive a session
from empty project → loaded instruments → MIDI clips → playing — all via
OSC, zero clicks.
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What
Adds a new
BrowserHandlerthat exposes Live's browser API over OSC, so external clients can load instruments and audio effects onto tracks without asking humans to drag presets.Four new endpoints:
/live/browser/list_categories— enumerate top-level browser roots/live/browser/list_children [category, max_items=30]— names of one level under a root/live/browser/load_by_query [track_index, query]— search across user-facing roots, load first loadable match onto track/live/browser/load_from_category [track_index, category, query]— restricted-scope versionSearch is capped (
MAX_ITEMS_SCANNED=2000,MAX_DEPTH=6) so pathological queries don't walk the full library.Why
AbletonOSC already covers clips, tracks, devices, scenes, song. The missing piece for end-to-end programmatic session building (agents, automated test sessions, education tools) was preset loading. Currently external clients have to ask humans to drag instruments from the browser, which is a UX hole for agent-driven workflows.
With these endpoints, a client can now go from empty Live project → tracks with instruments loaded → MIDI clips written → playing — all via OSC.
Extra:
reload_imports()ordering fix inmanager.pyOn
/live/api/reloadafter adding a new submodule (first reload afterbrowser.pyexists), the previous implementation would hitimportlib.reload(abletonosc.browser)beforeabletonosc.browserwas an attribute of the cached package, throwAttributeError, and short-circuit the rest of the reload. The fix: reload the package first (re-runs__init__.py, picks up newfrom .browser import BrowserHandler), then iterate submodules tolerantly (getattr(abletonosc, modname, None); skip if absent).Test notes
/live/browser/list_categoriesreturns all 12 expected roots;/live/browser/load_from_category [track, 'audio_effects', 'compressor']correctly inserts a Compressor onto the target track./live/api/reloadafter adding browser.py in-place).Backwards compatibility
Purely additive — no existing endpoints or reply shapes changed.
Context
This was built while driving Ableton from an AI agent (atris-studio, private). Happy to iterate on naming/shape if you'd prefer a different convention for the browser endpoints.