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Install Your first set DJ-ready vs. stems Links and download tools Mixxx, rekordbox, Serato Beat check Tools License & free tracks FAQ
Getting started

From zero to a DJ-ready set.

Install

Download the zip, unzip, drag TrackStar DJ to Applications and open it. Requirements: macOS 13 or newer on an Apple-silicon Mac (M1 or later). Engines are fetched on first use.

Your first set

  1. Add music. Click "Your library…" and pick a folder with tracks, or paste links.
  2. Save to. Every set becomes a folder inside this location. Default: Music/TrackStar DJ.
  3. Choose DJ-ready and press the big button. The activity log shows what happens; the first run downloads the beatgrid engine.
  4. When it says Done, open the folder — or open Mixxx, where the set is a playlist with grid, cues and loops.

DJ-ready vs. DJ-ready + stems

DJ-ready: BPM and key in the tags and file name, DJ order by tempo and energy, mastering (smile EQ, dynamics kept), tempo-lock where needed, beatgrid on the downbeat, hotcues and loops, export to rekordbox / Traktor / Serato. Minutes per set.

DJ-ready + stems adds four stems per track (.stem.mp4 for Mixxx) and a club edit. Count on about 10 minutes per track on an M1; the stem splitter runs on the GPU.

Custom… opens Settings › Steps where every step is a switch.

Links and download tools

TrackStar DJ processes music; it does not ship a downloader. When you paste links the first time, it offers to install two open-source tools from their own project pages: yt-dlp (YouTube, SoundCloud) and deemix (Deezer, with your own Deezer token). You confirm you only process music you have the rights to use. Spotify links are resolved to track names and fetched through those tools.

Mixxx, rekordbox, Serato, Traktor, Pioneer

Mixxx is the home base: sets land there as playlists with beatgrid, hotcues, loops and stems. Export makes rekordbox.xml and traktor.nml in the set folder and writes Serato tags into the files. "Playlists → Pioneer USB" puts mp3s in set order plus rekordbox.xml on a stick for CDJ / XDJ. Mixxx must be closed while grids and cues are written; the app waits for you.

Beat check — hear the "1"

Tools › Beat check plays 12 seconds of every uncertain track with clicks: a high tick on the "1". Off? Shift the "1" by a quarter, half or whole beat, halve or double the tempo, listen again, then ✓ OK locks it in Mixxx. The drift scan marks tracks that can be tempo-locked.

Tools

  • Make stems… for an existing playlist or folder.
  • Beatgrid + cues… re-analyze a set (Mixxx closed).
  • Master… re-master a folder in place.
  • Find samples & originals… what your tracks sample, and add the originals as a set.
  • Cut samples from stems… riffs, vocal phrases and shouts as loose files.
  • Folder → rekordbox for people without Mixxx.

License & free tracks

The free version processes 10 tracks. The pill at the top right shows how many are left. After a purchase you get a key by mail: click the pill, paste, done. Keys work offline.

FAQ

Does it run on Intel Macs? Not yet. Apple silicon only.

Windows? No plans for now.

Where are my files? In the folder under "Save to", one folder per set. Originals from your library are copied, never changed.

How big are the engines? Python runtime 30 MB, beatgrid 175 MB, stems 380 MB, models 750 MB. Downloaded once, kept in Application Support/TrackStar DJ.

Can I delete everything? Yes: trash the app and the folder Library/Application Support/TrackStar DJ.