Installation
Protocol 0 ships as a single Windows installer. It bundles everything — you don't need Python, Poetry, or any developer tools to run it.
Requirements
- Ableton Live 11 or 12 (the installer auto-detects your install).
- Windows. macOS support is on the roadmap but not available yet.
- That's it — no Python runtime required on your machine.
Install
- Go to the GitHub releases page and download the latest
Protocol0-Setup-<version>.exe. - Run it. If Ableton is installed in a standard location, the wizard finds your Live install automatically; otherwise it lets you pick the folder.
- Finish the wizard. Protocol 0 starts immediately and from then on launches automatically when you log in.
SmartScreen warning. The installer is not yet code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may flag it on first run. Click More info → Run anyway. Code signing is on the roadmap.
What the installer sets up
The installer does three things:
| Component | Where it goes | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Detector | C:\Program Files\Protocol0\ | The background app that watches your keyboard. |
| Remote script | Your Live MIDI Remote Scripts\Protocol_0 folder | The control surface that runs inside Ableton and executes actions. |
| Autostart task | Windows Task Scheduler (Protocol0) | Launches the detector silently at login, restarting it if it crashes. |
Enable the control surface in Live
The remote script is copied into Ableton's MIDI Remote Scripts folder, but Live needs to load it once:
- Open Ableton Live.
- Go to Preferences → Link / Tempo / MIDI (or MIDI on Live 12).
- Under Control Surface, select Protocol 0 from the dropdown.
Once selected, the in-Ableton HTTP server starts and the web UI becomes reachable.
Confirm it's running
- Detector: the autostart task
Protocol0appears in Task Scheduler. You can also check the log at%APPDATA%\Protocol0\logs\detector.log. - Remote script: with Live open and the control surface enabled, visit
http://127.0.0.1:9000/shortcuts— the configuration UI should load.
Updating
Download a newer Protocol0-Setup-<version>.exe from the releases page and run it over your existing install. Your shortcut bindings live in %APPDATA%\Protocol0\shortcuts.json and are not touched by reinstalls or uninstalls.
Uninstalling
Use Add or Remove Programs in Windows. The uninstaller removes the detector, the autostart task, and the remote script from Live. Your shortcuts.json config is kept, so reinstalling restores your bindings.
Want to run from source instead of the installer? See the README for the developer setup (make bootstrap, make detector, make install).