Import MIDI files

Use import-midi-file through get_producer_workflow to import a chosen local file or native browser item and inspect the resulting parts. An explicit local path can use import_midi_file without browser indexing on macOS English Live. Browser items use load_browser_item with an exact observed root/path. Filesystem and browser paths are different.

Live can import several standard MIDI formats, including multitrack files; see Ableton’s MIDI file guidance. Native browser loading can create separate tracks rather than put a clip on the selected track. Resolve whether new imported parts or replacement is intended before loading. Preserve populated tracks and use an authorized empty compatible MIDI track as an anchor. Creating the anchor is a separate change.

Import a local file

Create an authorized empty staging track at the end of the Set with create_track. It must be an ungrouped ordinary MIDI track with no devices, Session clips or Arrangement clips, muted, unarmed, unsoloed, unfrozen, monitoring off and No Output. These separate preparation changes remain after failure. Choose an existing Session slot; the tool selects it after confirmation. It never replaces populated material. For Arrangement reuse, import into Session first, then use guarded place_session_clip_in_arrangement within the intended timing and scope.

Plan import_midi_file with sourcePath, staging trackId/clipId, fresh expectedStateVersion and expectedSetFingerprint. Require stopped playback/recording and no pending launches. Sources must be regular .mid/.smf files up to 8 MiB with at most 256 declared tracks. Symlinks are refused. Plans include file identity, full SHA-256 and an SMF header check; Live validates the events. Existing device structure is bounded to 4096 devices per track and 16 nested racks.

Confirmation shows the Session destination, opens native Create > Import MIDI File, selects the exact source URL and rechecks the file and native target before Open. It changes selection/focus and does not save the Set. Multitrack import can fill the staging slot and create additional tracks/scenes with Live defaults. Inspect their arms, monitoring, devices and routing before playback. The source checks do not establish an atomic read of file bytes by Live.

importVerified:true requires a known Open request, closed owned picker, an observed MIDI clip in the chosen slot, unchanged source-file checks, preserved existing track/device/clip object structure, unchanged tempo/meter and stopped recording/playback. Inspect observed.targetClips and trackEffect for actual current IDs. Object preservation does not compare existing note, parameter or envelope contents. Full file-event, controller, tempo-map, MPE and audible equivalence remain separate checks; completePerformanceEquivalenceVerified and audibleEquivalenceVerified remain false.

Unknown Open outcomes are never replayed, undone or deleted. Before Open, cleanup can cancel only the unchanged owned file picker. Changed user input, unexpected dialogs and partial imports require inspection before more input.

Load a browser item

Pass the exact anchor trackId, browser root and path, and fresh expectedStateVersion. Planning is read-only. Review the existing device chain, Session occupancy and beforeLoadContext, which binds native objects, browser metadata, Set track/scene topology and view. It does not bind external file bytes or hidden state. The load may change devices, clips, tracks, scenes and the displayed view.

After confirmation inspect these fields:

• nativeLoadReturned and loadError: whether the native call returned successfully, including an error after partial changes. Neither proves content equivalence or eventual completion.
• requestedTrackId and trackId: the original anchor ID and its current ID after insertions. A removed target has no current ID; target inspection is unavailable.
• deviceChainEffect, clipEffect and targetInspectionError: immediate changes on the surviving anchor.
• trackEffect: actual added tracks, removed track IDs, old-to-current survivingTracks, order preservation and scene changes. Added tracks include occupied sessionClips and arrangementClips with their actual current IDs.
• addedTracksInspected, per-track clipsInspected and inspection errors: inventories over 256 added tracks or 2048 clip entries per added track are incomplete.
• selectedTrackRestored: selected-track restoration only. It does not restore the scene, displayed clip, view or keyboard focus.

Track effects compare native object identities, so identical names do not collapse separate parts. They are immediate observations, not attribution of concurrent user changes. Re-read current tracks, scenes and clip lists before subsequent edits; indices can change again. A browser URI or filename does not establish source-file identity or byte equivalence.

Read the actual imported MIDI notes and clip timing. Compare to an authoritative source only when available. Controller, channel, tempo-map, MPE and audible equivalence require separate checks. MIDI does not include its intended instruments.

After an error or lost reply, inspect the Set and native dialogs before further input. Preserve partial imports and manual edits. Never replay an uncertain load, delete unidentified tracks or use global undo automatically. Adding instruments, moving parts, auditioning, routing and saving the Set require their own scope.