Minimax Music Gen

MiniMax Music Generation Skill

Generate songs (vocal or instrumental) using the MiniMax Music API. Supports two creation modes: Basic (one-sentence-in, song-out) and Advanced Control (edit lyrics, refine prompt, plan before generating).

Prerequisites

• mmx CLI (required): Music generation uses the mmx command-line tool.

  Check if installed:

  command -v mmx && mmx --version || echo "mmx not found"

  Install (requires Node.js):

  npm install -g mmx-cli

  Authenticate (first time only):

  mmx auth login --api-key <your-minimax-api-key>

  The API key can be obtained from MiniMax Platform. Credentials are saved to ~/.mmx/credentials.json and persist across sessions.

  Verify:

  mmx quota show

• Audio player (recommended): mpv, ffplay, or afplay (macOS built-in) for local playback. mpv is preferred for its interactive controls.

CLI Tool

This skill uses the mmx CLI for all music generation:

• Music Generation: mmx music generate — model: music-2.6-free

  • Supports --lyrics-optimizer to auto-generate lyrics from prompt
  • Supports --instrumental for instrumental tracks
  • Supports --lyrics for user-provided lyrics
  • Structured params: --genre, --mood, --vocals, --instruments, --bpm, --key, --tempo, --structure, --references

• Cover: mmx music cover — model: music-cover-free

  • Takes reference audio via --audio-file <path> or --audio <url>
  • --prompt describes the target cover style

Agent flags: Always add --quiet --non-interactive when calling mmx from agents.

Pipeline:

• Vocal: User description -> mmx music generate --lyrics-optimizer -> MP3
• Instrumental: User description -> mmx music generate --instrumental -> MP3
• Cover: Source audio + style -> mmx music cover -> MP3

Storage

All generated music is saved to ~/Music/minimax-gen/. Create the directory if it doesn't exist. Files are named with a timestamp and a short slug derived from the prompt: YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_<slug>.mp3

Language & Interaction

Detect the user's language from their first message and respond in that language for the entire session. This applies to all interaction text, questions, confirmations, and feedback prompts.

User-facing text localization rule:

• ALL text shown to the user — including preview labels, field names, confirmations, status messages, playback info, feedback prompts, and the prompt/description preview — MUST be fully translated into the user's language.
• The API prompt sent to the model should always be written in English for best generation quality. However, when previewing the prompt to the user, show a localized description in the user's language instead of the raw English prompt. The English prompt is an internal implementation detail — the user does not need to see it.
• The templates below are written in English as reference. At runtime, translate every label and message into the user's detected language.

Lyrics language rule:

• Default lyrics language = the user's language. A Chinese-speaking user gets Chinese lyrics; an English-speaking user gets English lyrics.
• Only generate lyrics in a different language if the user explicitly requests it.
• When a different lyrics language is needed, embed it naturally into the vocal or genre description in the prompt. For example, instead of appending "with Korean lyrics", use "featuring a Korean female vocalist" or specify a genre that implies the language (e.g., "K-pop", "J-rock", "Mandopop", "Latin pop").

Workflow

Step 0: Detect Intent

Parse the user's message to determine:

1. Song category: vocal (with lyrics), instrumental (no vocals), or cover
2. Creation mode preference: did they provide detailed requirements (Advanced) or a casual one-liner (Basic)?

If ambiguous, ask using this decision tree:

Q1: What type of music?
  - Vocal (with lyrics)
  - Instrumental (no vocals)
  - Cover

Q2: Creation mode?
  - Basic — one-line description, auto-generate
  - Advanced — edit lyrics, refine prompt, plan

If the user gives a clear one-liner like "make me a sad piano piece", skip the questions — infer instrumental + basic mode and proceed.

Step 1: Basic Mode

Goal: User provides a short description, the skill auto-generates everything, then calls the API.

1. Expand the description into a prompt: Take the user's one-liner and expand it into a rich music prompt. Refer to the Prompt Writing Guide appendix at the end of this document for style vocabulary, genre/instrument references, and prompt structure. The API prompt should always be written in English for best generation quality, regardless of the user's language.

   Follow this pattern:

   A [mood] [BPM optional] [genre] song, featuring [vocal description],
   about [narrative/theme], [atmosphere], [key instruments and production].

2. Show the user a preview before generating. Translate all labels AND the prompt description into the user's language. The English prompt is only used internally when calling the API — the user should never see it. Example template (English reference — localize everything at runtime):

   About to generate:
   Type: Vocal / Instrumental
   Description: indie folk, melancholy, acoustic guitar, gentle female voice
   Lyrics: Auto-generated (--lyrics-optimizer)
   
   Confirm? (press enter to confirm, or tell me what to change)

3. Call mmx: Generate the music directly.

Step 2: Advanced Control Mode

Goal: User has full control over every parameter before generation.

1. Lyrics phase:

   • If user provided lyrics: display them formatted with section markers, ask for edits. The final lyrics will be passed via --lyrics to mmx.
   • If user has a theme but no lyrics: will use --lyrics-optimizer to auto-generate.
   • Support iterative editing: "change the second chorus" -> only rewrite that section.
   • User can also write lyrics themselves and pass via --lyrics.

2. Prompt phase:

   • Generate a recommended prompt based on the lyrics' mood and content.
   • Present it as editable tags the user can add/remove/modify.
   • Refer to the Prompt Writing Guide appendix for the full vocabulary.

3. Advanced planning (optional, offer but don't force):

   • Song structure: verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus or custom
   • BPM suggestion (encode in prompt as tempo descriptor)
   • Reference style: "something like X style" -> map to prompt tags
   • Vocal character description

4. Final confirmation: Show complete parameter summary, then generate.