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I'm getting a lot of "failed to read config file" errors with the ableton beta. I've reinstalled soundflow twice now, and ableton still won't show soundflow as a midi surface, however the in and out w

By Joshua Matotek @Joshua_Matotek5
    2025-05-17 02:25:39.764Z

    I'm getting a lot of "failed to read config file" errors with the ableton beta. I've reinstalled soundflow twice now, and ableton still won't show soundflow as a midi surface, however the in and out were able to be set

    System Information

    SoundFlow 5.10.5

    OS: darwin 24.3.0

    ProductName: macOS
    ProductVersion: 15.3.1
    BuildVersion: 24D70

    Steps to Reproduce

    1. Press any button related to color/duplicate track/or adding any device or instrument

    Expected Result

    To function as designed

    Actual Result

    Error reading "failed to read config file"

    Workaround

    Unfortunately not

    Other Notes

    Links

    User UID: WmqgWxqRYLZj2mRvPW3oQGFfY3F2

    Feedback Key: sffeedback:WmqgWxqRYLZj2mRvPW3oQGFfY3F2:-OQR2vS1b7_IhYvfJINH

    Feedback ZIP: p5Oj5YeSmFzPdP45T1TLyOAZeB022LDFuWC/KJtnrbicVM9o845E4uzqZziq4ZhqyUM9l92RRYTHpR8eEan7VRDdE/ioaPobsgiuhvGkOLsdkNwcuCqJ4SwWGqo06uuxRXI1WqcLoJOT3G9boTZPIBEAwIyyPJriEa08CvVlQXzmhGLmpFSvBboYH97Vw+bPXbLNmixAhyp2TJM3FiI1vSd3tcnJNOnWn+9bb7ogcvec3x8iE5ID+8pMuYwXarMDTPsci+wa83R6b7LHUvih2r8mpHurpoRbmVKDOnzOuVI3IYHsCpKqPaC4c/WMaKHx8tjtyZxUpQJvCqxfblJed1YTxalzQNp4e0bnIp+uvMg=

    Solved in post #6, click to view
    Reply
    • 7 replies
    1. Chad Wahlbrink @Chad2025-05-17 18:22:30.966Z2025-05-17 18:31:13.629Z

      Hi, @Joshua_Matotek5,

      Thanks for the question! This is an issue of the MIDI Control Surface not being recognized.

      If the SoundFlow device does not appear in the MIDI Control Surfaces list, we'll first need to ensure that it has been installed correctly.

      The MIDI Control Surface should be installed here (Note you'll need to change to "Ableton Live 12 Standard" if that is your version):
      /Applications/Ableton Live 12 Suite.app/Contents/App-Resources/MIDI Remote Scripts

      This SHOULD happen upon installation, but it requires a complete restart of Ableton or possibly a restart of your computer to ensure it's recognized.

      If that still does not fix it, can you please open Finder and use the menu item "Go" > "Go to Folder..." or ⇧⌘G, and then copy and paste this path in (Note you'll need to change to "Ableton Live 12 Standard" if that is your version):
      /Applications/Ableton Live 12 Suite.app/Contents/App-Resources/MIDI Remote Scripts

      This folder should have a folder named "Soundflow" like this:

      If that folder exists, you should be able to see the SoundFlow control surface in the Control Surface list, like the image below

      The complete guide for setting up the control surface is here:
      https://soundflow.org/docs/getting-started/ableton-live#installing-the-ableton-live-integration

      Best,
      Chad

      Reply
      1. Christian Scheuer @chrscheuer2025-05-19 12:33:52.477Z

        Hi Joshua and Chad,

        It appears SoundFlow doesn't have access to write to this path:

        16.05.2025 21:08:34.29 <info> [Backend]: [AbletonLiveController] Error installing Ableton Live plugin for /Applications/Ableton Live 12 Suite.app: System.UnauthorizedAccessException: Access to the path '/Applications/Ableton Live 12 Suite.app/Contents/App-Resources/MIDI Remote Scripts/SoundFlow' is denied.

        Fixing this should be the first step. I'm not sure why this would happen as normally I think that directory should be writable.

        Copy/pasting this into Terminal should do the trick:

        APP_PATH="/Applications/Ableton Live 12 Suite.app/Contents/App-Resources/MIDI Remote Scripts/SoundFlow"
USER_NAME=$(whoami)

# Create directory if it doesn't exist
sudo mkdir -p "$APP_PATH"

# Change ownership so current user can write without sudo
sudo chown -R "$USER_NAME" "$APP_PATH"

echo "Directory is now writable by $USER_NAME: $APP_PATH"
        Reply
        1. JJoshua Matotek @Joshua_Matotek5
            2025-05-21 02:12:12.505Z

            Hi Christian! Thanks so much for getting back to me about this. I followed your message and the path is now writable, after reinstalling SoundFlow and a few starts, the folder still won't show up. Any way I can just place it there manually? This is a brand new Mac mini, so I think my permissions sabotaged me upon install

            Reply
            1. Chad Wahlbrink @Chad2025-05-21 19:48:16.956Z

              Hi, @Joshua_Matotek5,

              Thanks for the update! Can you try one more approach for us? We can happily send you a manual download link if the following doesn't work.

              I have had another user on Sequoia have an issue where SoundFlow needed permission to "app management" permission to update Ableton with the MIDI Control Surface installation properly.

              Could you try navigating to System Settings > Privacy & Security > App Management and manually adding SoundFlow to this list?

              After this, quit Ableton Live, and do a clean install of SoundFlow from here: https://soundflow.org/account/install

              If this doesn't fix it, let me know, and I'll send over the MIDI Control Surface for download. Of course, I'd also happily hop on a call with you to work on this together at any point. Feel free to write to us at support@soundflow.org, and we can set that up.

              ReplySolution
              1. JJoshua Matotek @Joshua_Matotek5
                  2025-05-22 01:40:21.870Z

                  Chad, that was it! Thank you so much.

                  Reply1 Like
                  1. Chad Wahlbrink @Chad2025-05-22 02:47:02.823Z

                    Hi, @Joshua_Matotek5,

                    Incredible!! Thanks for letting us know.

                    If you ever want a guided demo of the Ableton Integration, feel free to email support@soundflow.org, and I'd be happy to hop on a call with you.

                    Cheers

                    Reply
          • S
            In reply toJoshua_Matotek5⬆:
            SoundFlow Bot @soundflowbot
              2025-05-21 19:35:39.096Z

              This issue is now tracked internally by SoundFlow as SF-1837

              Reply
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