Documentation
Everything you need to know about using Aether — from first launch to advanced workflows.
Introduction
Overview
Aether is an AI co-producer plugin that generates production-ready MIDI from natural language descriptions. It runs inside your DAW as a VST3 or AU plugin, or as a standalone application. Describe what you want to hear — a chord progression, a melody, a bassline, a full arrangement — and Aether generates it with music theory intelligence.
Under the hood, Aether connects to your choice of 9 AI providers (or a local model running on your machine). Every generation is automatically saved to your MIDI Library, can be previewed with the built-in piano roll, and can be dragged directly into your DAW.
Available Formats
Supported Platforms
Getting Started
Install Aether, load it in your DAW or standalone, connect an AI provider with an API key — or run fully offline with Ollama or LM Studio.
Activation & Licensing
Activate Aether with your license key, manage up to three machines per license, and understand offline behavior and re-validation.
Chat-Based Generation
Generate MIDI from plain-language prompts: multi-turn refinement, A/B MIDI references, creative intent parsing, and provider handoff mid-conversation.
Smart Controls
Guide generation with genre, mood, and texture controls, musical parameters from key to BPM, and explicit song sections for full arrangements.
Multi-Track Generation
Generate separable Bass, Harmony, and Lead parts with per-part solo/mute, per-part MIDI channels, and multi-track .mid export to your DAW.
Pro Mode & Batch
Pro Mode plans your arrangement before generating for tighter structure; batch generation produces 2–5 variations from one prompt.
Piano Roll & Post-Processing
Audition generations in a dual-mode piano roll with chord detection, then polish with the Raw/Clean/Enhance post-processing pipeline.
MIDI Library & Capture
Every generation auto-saves with version history, ratings, tags, and search — and live MIDI capture turns your own playing into AI context.
AI Providers & Prompts
Nine providers — Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, Hugging Face, Ollama, LM Studio — plus custom system prompts and per-provider temperature.
DAW Integration & Workflow
Load Aether in any major DAW, drag MIDI straight to a track, sync tempo with Lock to Host, and work fast with undo history and keyboard shortcuts.
Security & Privacy
Local-first by design: keys in the OS keychain, encrypted helper connection, fully private local generation, and a transparent list of what Aether sends.
Troubleshooting
Fixes for the common issues: no AI response, helper daemon not starting, MIDI that sounds wrong, plugins not appearing, and activation failures.