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    Make free music for your videos on your laptop

    ACE-Step 1.5 is an open-source music model (MIT licence) that runs on your own computer. Describe the mood, tempo and length, and get a track with no subscription.

    Skip the reading: hand it to Claude

    Copy the whole guide and paste it into Claude, or install it as a Claude Code skill so it’s always there.

    Download as a Claude skill

    Save it as ~/.claude/skills/free-music-on-your-laptop/SKILL.md, then ask Claude Code to “make free music for your videos on your laptop”.

    The prompts

    Mood prompts I use

    Use as the caption, instrumental, 60 seconds.

    Upbeat news / launches (118 BPM): upbeat electronic pop, punchy drums, bright synth plucks, energetic but not busy, leaves room for a voice, no vocals.

Tech and tools (112 BPM): dark minimal electronic, deep soft bass, crisp hi-hats, glassy pads, focused and modern, no vocals.

Tips and explainers (92 BPM): lo-fi hip hop, warm dusty drums, mellow electric piano, relaxed and friendly, no vocals.

    Let Claude Code make them

    Paste into Claude Code once ACE-Step is installed.

    ACE-Step 1.5 is installed at [FOLDER]. Write a small script that takes a name, a caption, a BPM and a length in seconds, and generates [3] instrumental takes as MP3s into music/candidates/. Then run it for these moods: [PASTE THE MOOD PROMPTS]. Tell me where the files are and how long each one took.

    Setup

    1. Follow the install section of the ACE-Step 1.5 README on GitHub. On a Mac with an Apple chip, it has its own start script.

    2. Start the app. The first run downloads the model files, which takes a while.

    3. Paste one of the mood prompts below as the caption, set it to instrumental, and pick the length.

    4. Make three takes and keep the one that sits best under your voice.

    5. Under a voiceover, keep the music quiet: around 15-20% volume.

    What I use

    • ACE-Step 1.5MIT licence. Runs with under 4GB of graphics memory; tracks from 10 seconds to 10 minutes. Install only from this GitHub page: the project warns about fake sites.
    • uvFree installer the project uses to set itself up.
    • Claude CodeOptional: can install it and batch-make tracks for you.

    Worth knowing

    • The project asks you to check that tracks are original and to say when AI was involved. Don't prompt it to copy a named artist's style.
    • Speed depends on your machine. On my Mac a 60-second track takes about a minute.