Acestep

# ACE-Step Music Generation Skill

Use ACE-Step V1.5 API for music generation. Always use scripts/acestep.sh script — do NOT call API endpoints directly.

## Quick Start

# 1. cd to this skill's directory
cd {project_root}/{.claude or .codex}/skills/acestep/

# 2. Check API service health
./scripts/acestep.sh health

# 3. Generate with lyrics (recommended)
./scripts/acestep.sh generate -c "pop, female vocal, piano" -l "[Verse] Your lyrics here..." --duration 120 --language zh

# 4. Output saved to: {project_root}/acestep_output/

## Workflow

For user requests requiring vocals:

1. Use the acestep-songwriting skill for lyrics writing, caption creation, duration/BPM/key selection

2. Write complete, well-structured lyrics yourself based on the songwriting guide

3. Generate using Caption mode with -c and -l parameters

Only use Simple/Random mode (-d or random) for quick inspiration or instrumental exploration.

If the user needs a simple music video, use the acestep-simplemv skill to render one with waveform visualization and synced lyrics.

MV Production Requirements: Making a simple MV requires three additional skills to be installed:

• acestep-songwriting — for writing lyrics and planning song structure
• acestep-lyrics-transcription — for transcribing audio to timestamped lyrics (LRC)
• acestep-simplemv — for rendering the final music video

## Script Commands

CRITICAL - Complete Lyrics Input: When providing lyrics via the -l parameter, you MUST pass ALL lyrics content WITHOUT any omission:

• If user provides lyrics, pass the ENTIRE text they give you
• If you generate lyrics yourself, pass the COMPLETE lyrics you created
• NEVER truncate, shorten, or pass only partial lyrics
• Missing lyrics will result in incomplete or incoherent songs

Music Parameters: Use the acestep-songwriting skill for guidance on duration, BPM, key scale, and time signature.

# need to cd to this skill's directory first
cd {project_root}/{.claude or .codex}/skills/acestep/

# Caption mode - RECOMMENDED: Write lyrics first, then generate
./scripts/acestep.sh generate -c "Electronic pop, energetic synths" -l "[Verse] Your complete lyrics
[Chorus] Full chorus here..." --duration 120 --bpm 128

# Instrumental only
./scripts/acestep.sh generate "Jazz with saxophone"

# Quick exploration (Simple/Random mode)
./scripts/acestep.sh generate -d "A cheerful song about spring"
./scripts/acestep.sh random

# Options
./scripts/acestep.sh generate "Rock" --duration 60 --batch 2
./scripts/acestep.sh generate "EDM" --no-thinking    # Faster

# Other commands
./scripts/acestep.sh status <job_id>
./scripts/acestep.sh health
./scripts/acestep.sh models

## Output Files

After generation, the script automatically saves results to the acestep_output folder in the project root (same level as .claude):

project_root/
├── .claude/
│   └── skills/acestep/...
├── acestep_output/          # Output directory
│   ├── <job_id>.json         # Complete task result (JSON)
│   ├── <job_id>_1.mp3        # First audio file
│   ├── <job_id>_2.mp3        # Second audio file (if batch_size > 1)
│   └── ...
└── ...

### JSON Result Structure

Important: When LM enhancement is enabled (use_format=true), the final synthesized content may differ from your input. Check the JSON file for actual values:

| Field | Description |

|-------|-------------|

| prompt | Actual caption used for synthesis (may be LM-enhanced) |

| lyrics | Actual lyrics used for synthesis (may be LM-enhanced) |

| metas.prompt | Original input caption |

| metas.lyrics | Original input lyrics |

| metas.bpm | BPM used |

| metas.keyscale | Key scale used |

| metas.duration | Duration in seconds |

| generation_info | Detailed timing and model info |

| seed_value | Seeds used (for reproducibility) |

| lm_model | LM model name |

| dit_model | DiT model name |

To get the actual synthesized lyrics, parse the JSON and read the top-level lyrics field, not metas.lyrics.

## Configuration

Important: Configuration follows this priority (high to low):

1. Command line arguments > config.json defaults

2. User-specified parameters temporarily override defaults but do not modify config.json

3. Only config --set command permanently modifies config.json

### Default Config File (scripts/config.json)

{
  "api_url": "http://127.0.0.1:8001",
  "api_key": "",
  "api_mode": "completion",
  "generation": {
    "thinking": true,
    "use_format": false,
    "use_cot_caption": true,
    "use_cot_language": false,
    "batch_size": 1,
    "audio_format": "mp3",
    "vocal_language": "en"
  }
}

| Option | Default | Description |

|--------|---------|-------------|

| api_url | http://127.0.0.1:8001 | API server address |

| api_key | "" | API authentication key (optional) |

| api_mode | completion | API mode: completion (OpenRouter, default) or native (polling) |

| generation.thinking | true | Enable 5Hz LM (higher quality, slower) |

| generation.audio_format | mp3 | Output format (mp3/wav/flac) |

| generation.vocal_language | en | Vocal language |

## Prerequisites - ACE-Step API Service

IMPORTANT: This skill requires the ACE-Step API server to be running.

### Required Dependencies

The scripts/acestep.sh script requires: curl and jq.

# Check dependencies
curl --version
jq --version

If jq is not installed, the script will attempt to install it automatically. If automatic installation fails:

• Windows: choco install jq or download from https://jqlang.github.io/jq/download/
• macOS: brew install jq
• Linux: sudo apt-get install jq (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo dnf install jq (Fedora)

### Before First Use

You MUST check the API key and URL status before proceeding. Run:

cd "{project_root}/{.claude or .codex}/skills/acestep/" && bash ./scripts/acestep.sh config --check-key
cd "{project_root}/{.claude or .codex}/skills/acestep/" && bash ./scripts/acestep.sh config --get api_url

#### Case 1: Using Official Cloud API (https://api.acemusic.ai) without API key

If api_url is https://api.acemusic.ai and api_key is empty, you MUST stop and guide the user to configure their key:

1. Tell the user: "You're using the ACE-Step official cloud API, but no API key is configured. An API key is required to use this service."

2. Explain how to get a key: API keys are currently available through acemusic.ai for free.

3. Use AskUserQuestion to ask the user to provide their API key.

4. Once provided, configure it:

```bash

cd "{project_root}/{.claude or .codex}/skills/acestep/" && bash ./scripts/acestep.sh config --set api_key <KEY>

```

5. Additionally, inform the user: "If you also want to render music videos (MV), it's recommended to configure a lyrics transcription API key as well (OpenAI Whisper or ElevenLabs Scribe), so that lyrics can be automatically transcribed with accurate timestamps. You can configure it later via the acestep-lyrics-transcription skill."

#### Case 2: API key is configured

Verify the API endpoint: ./scripts/acestep.sh health and proceed with music generation.

#### Case 3: Using local/custom API without key

Local services (http://127.0.0.1:*) typically don't require a key. Verify with ./scripts/acestep.sh health and proceed.

If health check fails:

• Ask: "Do you have ACE-Step installed?"
• If installed but not running: Use the acestep-docs skill to help them start the service
• If not installed: Use acestep-docs skill to guide through installation

### Service Configuration

Official Cloud API: ACE-Step provides an official API endpoint at https://api.acemusic.ai. To use it:

./scripts/acestep.sh config --set api_url "https://api.acemusic.ai"
./scripts/acestep.sh config --set api_key "your-key"
./scripts/acestep.sh config --set api_mode completion

API keys are currently available through acemusic.ai for free.

Local Service (Default): No configuration needed — connects to http://127.0.0.1:8001.

Custom Remote Service: Update scripts/config.json or use:

./scripts/acestep.sh config --set api_url "http://remote-server:8001"
./scripts/acestep.sh config --set api_key "your-key"

API Key Handling: When checking whether an API key is configured, use config --check-key which only reports configured or empty without printing the actual key. NEVER use config --get api_key or read config.json directly — these would expose the user's API key. The config --list command is safe — it automatically masks API keys as *** in output.

### API Mode

The skill supports two API modes. Switch via api_mode in scripts/config.json:

| Mode | Endpoint | Description |

|------|----------|-------------|

| completion (default) | /v1/chat/completions | OpenRouter-compatible, sync request, audio returned as base64 |

| native | /release_task + /query_result | Async polling mode, supports all parameters |

Switch mode:

./scripts/acestep.sh config --set api_mode completion
./scripts/acestep.sh config --set api_mode native

Completion mode notes:

• No polling needed — single request returns result directly
• Audio is base64-encoded inline in the response (auto-decoded and saved)
• inference_steps, infer_method, shift are not configurable (server defaults)
• --no-wait and status commands are not applicable in completion mode
• Requires model field — auto-detected from /v1/models if not specified

### Using acestep-docs Skill for Setup Help

IMPORTANT: For installation and startup, always use the acestep-docs skill to get complete and accurate guidance.

DO NOT provide simplified startup commands - each user's environment may be different. Always guide them to use acestep-docs for proper setup.

For API debugging, see API Reference.