Live Hello World

A minimal Ableton Live extension, adapted from the official SDK 1.0.0-beta.1 starter template. Adds a Show Set Info context-menu action that displays a greeting and current Live Set tempo without changing the Set.

Requirements

• Node.js >=24.16.0 and npm (this machine has Node 25.9.0).
• Live Suite Beta with Extensions support, from the SDK release page on Centercode.
• SDK 1.0.0-beta.1 extracted at ../../SDKs/Ableton/extensions-sdk-1.0.0-beta.1 relative to this project.

The SDK stays in the shared SDK directory. package.json references its versioned SDK and CLI tarballs, and package-lock.json locks the installed dependencies. On another machine, reproduce that directory layout or update the two file: dependencies and run npm install.

Build

npm ci
npm run build

Run in Live

1. Open Live Suite Beta.
2. Enable Settings → Extensions → Developer Mode.
3. Copy .env.example to .env. Set EXTENSION_HOST_PATH to the actual beta app's Contents/Helpers/ExtensionHost/ExtensionHostNodeModule.node file. The app name in the example is only a placeholder.
4. Run:

npm start

When the terminal confirms the connection, right-click an audio or MIDI track, clip, or clip slot and select Show Set Info. The dialog displays the tempo at the moment it opens. Close it, change Live's tempo, and open it again to verify the new value.

Press Ctrl+C to stop the host. After changing code, stop and rerun npm start to rebuild and reload. Keep only one development host running for this workflow; a host left running in another terminal or Codex session can prevent a new connection. If connection times out, stop the other host and confirm Live Beta is open with Developer Mode enabled.

src/extension.ts registers the command; src/interface.html is the dialog, bundled into the extension. npm run build:dev includes source maps; npm run package creates an .ablx archive.

SDK documentation

Open ../../SDKs/Ableton/extensions-sdk-1.0.0-beta.1/docs/getting-started/2-quick-start.html for the bundled setup guide, or api/index.html in the SDK directory for API reference.

Repository and CI

This repository contains extension source and the dependency lockfile. SDK tarballs, .env, node_modules, generated bundles, and .ablx archives are excluded. Download the matching SDK separately through your own Centercode access.

Build and package locally with:

npm ci
npm run package

Install the resulting live-hello-world-1.0.0.ablx through Live's Extensions settings for use without a development terminal. Stop the development host before testing the installed extension.

GitHub Actions is not configured yet. A hosted runner needs access to the exact SDK and CLI tarballs before npm ci can work; the local relative paths alone are insufficient. Keep those SDK files out of the public repository. A future workflow can type-check, build, and upload the packaged extension once SDK provisioning is arranged. Test Live connectivity and the context-menu dialog locally; a successful CI build does not verify Live integration.