Auto-KJ — Help & Troubleshooting

Comprehensive operational reference and diagnostic guide for Auto-KJ hosts. For conceptual guides and tutorials, see the User Guide and Guided Walkthroughs. Singer-side problems: Singer App FAQ. Tablet problems: Kiosk Guide. Account, key, venue, and billing problems: Host Dashboard Guide.


Quick Reference

Goal Action / Location
Start a show Rotation tab → Add singer → Add song from search → Press ▶ Play
Start the 60-day trial Settings → 🔑 License Activation → Try Full version for 60 days → sign in with your auto-kj.com account → Send verification code → Verify email → Start my 60-day trial. No card
Enter a license key Settings → 🔑 License Activation → account email + License Key from the auto-kj.com dashboard → Activate License
Enable phone requests Inbox tab → Toggle Accept Requests Online ON. Show the Lounge screen QR on your crowd TV (paid plans or trial)
Read singer messages / tips 💬 in the header → DJ Inbox → ↩ Reply
Point Break-Wave at music Break-Wave tab → Path / Browse… under the Deck A playlist; Search / Explorer tabs in the mixer strip
Display lyrics on TV Settings → Show night → 🖥️ Show Screens → Launch Lyrics Screen → Drag to TV (press F11 for fullscreen)
Dedicated Rotation TV Settings → Show night → 🖥️ Show Screens → Launch Rotation Screen → Drag to 3rd monitor/bar TV
Change singer key Right-click singer in Rotation → Change key… (remembered permanently per singer per song)
Rescue a struggling singer Fade up the GHOST-TRAX slider on the player to bring in the original vocal guide stem
Reorder / skip singers Drag-and-drop seats directly in the rotation grid — your manual order is obeyed literally
Pause a singer Right-click singer → Pause (or singer pauses via PWA). Unpausing returns them fairly to slot #3
Switch DJ profiles Click 🎧 DJ profile dropdown in header → Switch profile → Optionally confirm night reset
Pair DJ phone remote Settings → Remote Control → Scan private QR on your phone (http://<lan-ip>:8080/remote)
Start break music Switch to Break-Wave tab → Load track to Deck A/B or start AUTOMIX
Clear show for new night Settings → Session & Data → Start Fresh Session (click twice to confirm)
Clear song library Settings → Session & Data → Clear Song Library (wipes catalog with 2-step confirm; preserves singers, rotation, history, settings, license)
Emergency data backup Settings → Session & Data → Back Up My Data… (creates timestamped snapshot)

1. Rotation Tab — Live Show Floor

The central workspace containing the Transport Player (top), Fair Slot Rotation Grid (left), and Song Search & Singer Details (right).

Player Controls & Real-Time Transport

Fair Slot Rotation Rules & Seat Management

Rotation Troubleshooting


2. Inbox Tab — Request Management & DJ Communication

The gatekeeper for all incoming phone submissions, identity claims, singer inquiries, and tip alerts.

Request Ingestion & Approval Workflow

Identity Claims, Departure Alerts & Messaging

Inbox Troubleshooting


3. Break-Wave Tab & Pro Control Hub — DJ Engine

A dual-deck pro DJ system engineered specifically for karaoke breaks.

Dual Decks & Real-Time Mixer

Automix Engine

Break Music Library (Path, Search, Explorer)

Pro Control Hub

Located under Deck B in the Break-Wave tab:

  1. Master Deck Reset Bar: One-click RESET DECK A / RESET DECK B buttons instantly restore playback rate to 1.00× and flatten 3-band EQs to 0.0 dB.
  2. 🎛️ Soundboard: 12 pads (Air Horn, Applause, Scratch, Rimshot, Siren, Sub Drop, Rec Brake, Crickets, Cash, Laser, Mic Drop, Riser) on keys 1–0 - = while the pane is visible. ✎ EDIT PADS loads your own WAV/MP3/OGG/FLAC/M4A onto any pad (persists across restarts; ✕ reverts to the built-in). 🔊 master with a built-in limiter.
  3. 🥁 Drum Sequencer: 16 steps × 6 tracks (Kick 808, Snare, Clap, CH Hat, OP Hat, Lo Tom) with S/M per track, BPM 50–220, SWING, SYNC A / SYNC B (one-shot match to a deck's BPM), presets (House 4/4, 90s Hip Hop, Trap Bounce, Disco Beat), CLR. LIVE PADS on Q–I add Cowbell and Shaker; ● REC ARMED quantizes pad hits into the running pattern. One pattern at a time (no chaining or song mode).
  4. Looper (inside the drum pane): ● REC MIC for 1/2/4/8 bars starting on the next bar, or 📂 LOAD FILE; layers loop from the bar boundary with their own gain and ✕. Layers are not time-stretched to the tempo.
  5. ✨ Pro FX Rack: per deck HPF / LPF, ECHO / DELAY (1/8–1/1 beat), REVERB / SPACE, FLANGER / JET, each with ON/OFF, MIX, and INTENSITY, plus RESET. Effects sit after the EQ and before the fader, so the headphone cue hears them.

Break-Wave Troubleshooting


4. Library Tab — Catalog Curation & Audio Health

Maintains and audits the local karaoke and break-music collections.

Catalog Curation Tools

Library Troubleshooting


5. Ghost-Trax Tab — AI Karaoke Track Creation

Cloud-powered stem separation and CDG synchronization tool that converts commercial audio into karaoke tracks.

Track Creation Pipeline

  1. API Authentication: Enter your personal API key (gtk_...) from ghost-trax.com.
  2. Audio Staging: Upload audio files (.mp3, .wav, .m4a, .flac, .ogg, .aac up to 60 MB). Set Artist and Title.
  3. Automated Pipeline: Track progresses through 4 stages:
  4. Review & Editing:
  5. Library Ingestion: Click Add to library — the completed track (instrumental, synced CDG, and guide vocal stem) is automatically saved into the library's Ghost-Trax/ directory and indexed.

Live Guide Vocal Usage

During live shows, any Ghost-Trax track loaded in the player activates the GHOST-TRAX slider. If a singer struggles with timing or pitch, smoothly raise the slider to mix the original guide vocal stem into the front-of-house mix.

Ghost-Trax Troubleshooting


6. Analytics Tab — Business Intelligence & Reporting

Real-time show telemetry and historical performance logs.

Analytics Metrics & Leaderboards


7. Settings Tab — System Configuration & Rig Preferences

Configuration hub for hardware, network, rules, and profiles.

Settings is grouped into sections ordered by how often you touch them on a show night: Show night (Show Screens, Pre-show Check, Active Venue / Gig, Remote Control) → Rotation & playback → Singers → DJ / host → Audio & hardware → Appearance → Library, data & help. License Activation leads the page until a key is entered, then drops to the bottom.

Settings Reference


8. Singer Mobile Web App (PWA)

Web application accessed by singers at singer.auto-kj.com or via local LAN.

Singer Capabilities

Singer-side troubleshooting (what to tell a singer)

They say Answer
"It says my name is taken" Another phone claimed it first tonight; pick another name. Reserved DJ names get digits added automatically.
"It won't let me favorite anything" Favorites need an account and a cloud show. On LAN fallback favorites are unavailable.
"I'm not getting notified when I'm up" Turn on 🔔 Notify me when I'm on deck on Home; sign in for background alerts; iPhone needs the app on the Home Screen. LAN shows alert only while the app is open.
"My applause button is grey" 10 taps per song; it re-arms on the next song.
"The app says the show ended / connection rejected" You ended the show, or banned them (Settings → Banned Singers to reverse).
"Where did my song go?" Check the Inbox (manual approval), the duplicate/blocked-song refusal toast, or their pocket in Selected Singer Details.

Full list: Singer App FAQ.


9. DJ Phone Control (Booth Remote)

A dedicated mobile control console for the host, accessible over local Wi-Fi.

Setup & Security

  1. Connect host laptop and phone to the same local Wi-Fi network.
  2. In the host app, open Settings → Remote Control.
  3. Scan the private pairing QR code with your phone (or navigate to http://<lan-ip>:8080/remote#token=<secret>).
  4. The token authenticates your mobile browser session automatically.

Mobile Remote Operations


10. Server Ecosystem (Cloud & Local LAN)

Auto-KJ employs a hybrid dual-engine architecture to guarantee 100% show uptime.

Cloud Server (cloud-server)

Local LAN Fallback Server (local-server)

What works offline (LAN fallback) and what needs the cloud

Works on LAN Needs the cloud
Search, request, cancel, reorder own queue, live line, pause/unpause, applause (10-tap budget), group consent invites, bans, blocked songs, name claims, rename, tips, host ↔ singer messages, the phone remote, requests on/off, show ended Sign-in verification, favorites, history, stats, badges, friends, bands, duet finder, Web Push, GPS discovery and check-in, venue show codes, Browse Before You Go, library cloud sync

Singers on LAN keep in-app on-deck alerts (chime, vibration, banner) while the app is open. Songs completed on LAN are logged in the rig's local history only; they do not reach singer accounts.


11. auto-kj.com Dashboard & Account Problems

Symptom Fix
Verification failed on Activate License Email must match the dashboard EMAIL exactly; copy the key from TELEMETRY → LICENSE KEY; the plan must not be FREE PLAY; be online for the first activation.
Gig picker empty / "Cloud shows require a cloud plan (Full version: 1 live show at a time, or higher)" Add the venue on auto-kj.com → VENUES & GIGS on a cloud plan or an active trial. LAN Cabinet and Free version cannot save venues.
Trial button says "The server has not supplied its retention policy" The cloud trial service is not enabled on the server; contact support.
Trial refused: already used One trial per account and per computer. Reinstalls, OS reinstalls, and extra accounts on the same machine don't qualify.
● OFFLINE with a paid plan The cloud relay refused the connection: sign out and back in (Cloud sign-in rejected), check the gig selection, or wait for the 5-second reconnect. The LAN server keeps phones on venue Wi-Fi working.
"This show was taken over" Another rig on your license claimed the simultaneous-show seat. Extra Instance (+$5/mo) adds each additional simultaneous show from the dashboard, or Exit on the other rig.

Full reference: Host Dashboard Guide.


Auto-KJ Help & Troubleshooting • Documentation Revision 2026-09-10 (v1.22) • auto-kj.com