Ables Plan
Planning Center plans in. Rehearsal-ready Ableton sessions out.
A macOS command-line tool that turns a Planning Center Services plan into a rehearsal-ready Ableton Live session. It injects songs, tempos, keys, and section locators into your church’s existing Ableton template, matches your local stems, and adds a MIDI track that drives ProPresenter from the arrangement.
Three steps. No drama.
It pulls the plan
Sunday’s songs, order, keys, and tempos come from Planning Center Services. Nobody retypes a setlist.
It fills your template
Your existing Ableton template is the starting point, not ours. Locators land at every song and section, named the way AbleSet expects, and your local stems are matched to the plan.
It validates before it writes
Preflight runs first: missing stems, unmatched songs, and broken assumptions surface before a file is touched.
What it does.
- 01Injects this Sunday’s plan into your existing Ableton template
- 02Song order, keys, tempos, and section locators set automatically
- 03Matches local stems to the plan’s song list
- 04Preflight validation before anything is written
- 05AbleSet-compatible locator naming
- 06A ProPresenter cue track that advances slides as the arrangement plays
The full kit.
- 01The plan reader — Planning Center Services in, structured show model out
- 02The Ableton writer — songs, tempos, keys, and section locators into your own template
- 03Local stem matching against the plan’s song list
- 04A ProPresenter cue track: MIDI notes over the IAC bus, one to select a song, one to advance a section
- 05Preflight validation, so a bad plan fails on your laptop instead of on stage
The parts that decide whether a Sunday works — locator naming, cue mapping, arrangement layout, and validation — each have their own test suite. The ProPresenter wiring is documented down to the MIDI note numbers, because that is the step that bites people.
The honest answers.
What does it need to run? +
A Mac, Ableton Live, Planning Center Services, and Python 3.12 or newer. It runs from the command line, not a window with buttons. If that is a dealbreaker, say so in an email and it will count toward building one.
Does it replace our Ableton template? +
No. Your template is the input. Ables Plan fills it in — that is the whole point. The band keeps the routing, the sends, and the sound they already rehearse against.
How does ProPresenter get involved? +
It adds a MIDI track that fires notes at each song and section locator, sent over the macOS IAC bus. ProPresenter listens on the same bus and advances slides or selects playlist items. Both note numbers are configurable, and there is a one-time wiring test you run before you trust it on a weekend.
What happens if a song has no stems? +
Preflight catches it and tells you before anything is written. Finding a missing stem on Thursday is the feature.
Can I buy it today? +
No. Nothing on this page takes your money yet. If you run Ableton on a weekend and want a say in how this lands, email hello@boringlabs.online — early users shape it more than we do.
Ables Plan.
In the final stretch of the build. Pre-order locks your copy for release day.