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: ``bash command -v mmx && mmx --version || echo "mmx not found" ``

Install (requires Node.js): ``bash npm install -g mmx-cli ``

Authenticate (first time only): ``bash 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: ``bash 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]. ``

1. 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) ```

1. Call mmx: Generate the music directly.

Step 2: Advanced Control Mode

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

1. Lyrics phase:
2. 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.

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

1. Advanced planning (optional, offer but don't force):
2. Song structure: verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus or custom
3. BPM suggestion (encode in prompt as tempo descriptor)
4. Reference style: "something like X style" -> map to prompt tags
5. Vocal character description

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

Step 3: Call mmx

Generate music using the mmx CLI:

Vocal with auto-generated lyrics:

mmx music generate \
  --prompt "<prompt>" \
  --lyrics-optimizer \
  --genre "<genre>" --mood "<mood>" --vocals "<vocal style>" \
  --instruments "<instruments>" --bpm <bpm> \
  --out ~/Music/minimax-gen/<filename>.mp3 \
  --quiet --non-interactive

Vocal with user-provided lyrics:

mmx music generate \
  --prompt "<prompt>" \
  --lyrics "<lyrics with section markers>" \
  --genre "<genre>" --mood "<mood>" --vocals "<vocal style>" \
  --out ~/Music/minimax-gen/<filename>.mp3 \
  --quiet --non-interactive

Instrumental (no vocal):

mmx music generate \
  --prompt "<prompt>" \
  --instrumental \
  --genre "<genre>" --mood "<mood>" --instruments "<instruments>" \
  --out ~/Music/minimax-gen/<filename>.mp3 \
  --quiet --non-interactive

Use structured flags (--genre, --mood, --vocals, --instruments, --bpm, --key, --tempo, --structure, --references, --avoid, --use-case) to give the API fine-grained control instead of cramming everything into --prompt.

Display a progress indicator while wa