Version: Auto-KJ 1.30.0. Source review: 2026-10-09, commit 4171265227d8ea584bca359ba40b09d3ac0c8c6a.
Evidence status: source-reviewed written guide. No new screenshots or native verification of devices, screens, networking, backups, updates, account linking, or purchases was performed. Existing seven-tab captures retain their historical v1.29.0 provenance. The companion narration is an untimed draft awaiting recapture and timing.
Open Settings, the last of the eight host tabs. Its original default shortcut remains Alt+7. ← Back returns to Rotation. The page is organized into seven groups:
The separate License Activation card appears at the top while unlicensed and at the bottom once licensed. Most controls apply immediately or when the field changes; there is no single Save All button. Read each card's status and confirmation before moving on. If you use multiple DJ profiles, select the intended profile before tuning that DJ's preferences.
For a first setup, activate the required license, choose the DJ profile, configure audio and displays, select a show connection, review singer rules, then run the Pre-show Check. Save a backup before imports, resets, or restoration work. Make disruptive device/network changes before the audience joins.
Enter Registered Email and License Key, then Activate License. Check the verification status and active plan; typing a key does not itself prove activation. Full version features remain gated by the current entitlement. Deactivate License removes the local activated state; a trial offers Use Free version. Do not interpret these controls as canceling an external billing subscription.
The trial panel offers a 60-day Full-version trial flow. Sign in with the offered account credentials or existing license key, check any existing trial, complete the email verification steps, and read the disclosure and consent before Start my 60-day trial. Availability and eligibility depend on the service response. Refresh trial status checks an existing trial. The website link here is for account creation; it is not a venue-management workflow.
In v1.30, create, select, and delete venues/gigs in the desktop Gigs tab. Settings uses existing show choices. See the Gigs guide before creating a new event.
Check the actual external screens from the audience's position. “Showing” means the window is open, not that it is on the correct monitor, readable, or visible over another window. Keep private controls and pairing codes off public displays.
Choose Run Pre-show Check. Read the blocking and warning counts, each row's detail, and any error. The check considers library availability, audio devices, singer connectivity, gig/DJ configuration, requests, tips, fairness, screens, and update information.
Use the offered fix buttons, such as Pick audio output, Pick Break-Wave output, Network settings, Choose gig, or Screen settings, then choose Run Again. A green report is a readiness snapshot, not an end-to-end test of the mixer, phone, projector, or venue network. Finish with a real sound and singer-join check.
Show connection offers:
Select the intended choice and verify the connection state. A cloud disconnection message says local requests remain available on the network; test local joining before relying on it. To create, select, or delete a gig or venue, use the separate desktop Gigs tab between Inbox and Break-Wave. Settings does not contain the venue-creation form. Selecting a different gig is not a Start Fresh Session operation and does not itself clear the rotation.
This is a separate card from Shows. Singer network chooses the local address advertised to singer devices. Use Auto-detect, or select the specific Wi-Fi/Ethernet interface used by the audience. A VPN or second connection can make auto-detection choose an unsuitable address. Refresh networks reloads available interfaces. An unavailable saved address needs a new selection.
Changing the network restarts the local server and briefly disconnects singer devices. After changing it, test the new QR/address from a phone on that network. Free-version local requests use the kiosk page; the full singer app requires the Full version.
Create a Wi-Fi access point reports support for the current platform and hardware. When supported, enter a Wi-Fi name and password and use Start access point; Stop access point and Refresh hotspot status manage it. Do not assume every computer supports hosting a hotspot. This feature changes networking and should be configured before a live show.
The remote-pairing QR lets a phone control the rotation and playback over the same venue network. It is a private host-control credential, different from the public singer-join QR. Scan it only with a trusted host phone.
If pairing information is unavailable, start/check the local server and use Check Again. Revoke & Re-pair requires a second click and disconnects every paired remote while creating a fresh code. Use it when the old QR has been exposed or a controller should lose access. Verify the replacement pairing before depending on the phone at show time.
End of Song Action choices on the Full version are:
Set Auto-Advance Delay from 0–60 seconds and Crossfade Transition from 0–10 seconds as appropriate. The free version locks transition/auto-advance controls and uses manual behavior. The break-track action uses the shared Break-Wave playlist; prepare that playlist and its audio path first.
Keep Warn before interrupting a playing song enabled when you want a confirmation before a direct Play action cuts into another singer. Rehearse a complete song ending with a disposable queue to establish what happens next; a saved selector value alone does not demonstrate the handoff.
Repeat Song Rule applies to songs already performed tonight:
A song already waiting in a queue cannot be requested again regardless of this rule. Turning repeats off is not an override for queued duplicates.
Group Song Guest Rule runs from Open stage toward Strict rotation. At 1, guests keep their spot; at 100, all participants go to the back like the lead. Intermediate values move guests that percentage of the way back. Choose the policy before groups start singing.
On-Deck Unpausing Rule explains the restoration behavior: an unpaused singer returns just behind the on-deck singer, after anyone already restored there, while respecting the active rotation. This is explanatory text, not another selector. Fairness controls are available across license tiers.
Choose Maximum singers per song from 1–4. This changes the microphone choices for new phone and kiosk requests; existing requests stay queued.
Customize On-Deck Message, or leave it blank for the default. Check the saved indicator after a change. A singer reaching the on-deck position receives the message through the phone experience; actual alert behavior still depends on the device.
Enter the desired Venmo username, PayPal.me name, Cash App cashtag, or Custom link and its Custom link label. Filled values appear behind the singer-facing Tip the Host button. Verify the destinations carefully because these values are shared with singers. Configure them under the intended active DJ profile.
Select the intended gig first. Search the library using at least two characters, check artist/title, and press Block. A blocked song is hidden/refused through the request paths; it remains in the song library. There is no per-request override: use Unblock to allow it again. Other gigs keep their own lists.
The account-backed list can be enforced from its last saved offline copy. Offline means reconnect before editing the cloud list. Legacy rows marked this computer only or not in library are local exceptions; read their labels rather than assuming every entry is synced. Without a gig selected, the UI asks you to select one to manage its cloud blocked songs.
Ban a singer from Rotation's right-click menu. This card shows the current show's bans. Choose Unban…, read Let them reconnect?, then Unban or Keep banned. Bans stop reconnection to this show; they do not delete the person's account. A new-night reset clears the show-scoped ban list.
Licensed hosts can choose Let people preview my song list before the show. When enabled, someone with a venue show code can browse the catalog without a login or live show. Review this as a catalog-visibility decision.
The card shows available venue names, codes, and QR codes. If there are no venue codes, create a venue through Gigs → + New venue (or the new-gig form's venue control), then return. This preview card does not create venues. Check a sample preview from the intended singer-facing route before advertising it.
Enter a DJ name, optionally add its PWA account email, and choose Add DJ. Adding a DJ activates that profile and reserves its stage name on this rig. The host is seated at slot 1 when a new night starts. Switch DJs with the header dropdown; confirm the active tag and singer-facing host name.
Profiles preserve the DJ's preferences, including tip links. Link PWA account signs into the DJ's singer-app account so performances can be credited and settings can sync to other linked rigs. The rig needs its Auto-KJ license sign-in first. If cloud settings already exist, read the choice carefully: OK pulls them onto this rig; Cancel keeps this rig's settings and makes them the cloud copy. In that dialog, Cancel is a data-direction choice, not “do nothing.” Pulling an active profile can reload the app, so do this away from a live performance.
Unlink removes the account association. Delete removes the profile and its saved settings and can also unlink its account. Read the confirmation and protect a useful configuration before deleting it.
Choose Configure keyboard shortcuts to open the separate editor. It works on the active DJ profile and groups actions into Live controls, Navigation, and Displays.
Use Record, press the intended key combination, and review any validation/conflict message. Clear removes an assignment. Import shortcuts copies another DJ profile's shortcut setup; Reset defaults restores the defaults. The original tabs retain their Alt+1–Alt+7 defaults even though Gigs is now inserted into the navigation. Gigs has no default tab shortcut. Do not infer shortcuts from the new visual tab positions.
Configure these three paths separately:
After configuring, play a quiet test through each intended path. Listen at the actual mixer/headphones and check the destination, level, stereo channels, and isolation. Do not discover a missing interface during a singer's performance.
Check MIDI Status, the available input names, and MIDI ACTIVITY when moving a control. The source includes presets for listed Pioneer, Numark, Novation, and Akai models; actual platform MIDI support still needs testing.
In the mapping table, choose Learn for the intended action and move the controller input; use Cancel if you chose the wrong action. Clear removes a binding, and Reset to preset removes profile overrides. Bindings are saved per DJ profile and override built-in presets. Actions include deck transport, EQ, faders, crossfader, cue, Automix, soundboard, drums, and karaoke transport.
Test one harmless control first. Device activity proves input arrived, not that the assigned action succeeded. Features that require the Full version still require it when triggered by MIDI. A Web MIDI support warning, missing controller, or inactive engine needs attention before live use.
Choose a Built-in Theme or an installed skin. Changes apply immediately. Host window scale ranges from 50–250 percent; the lyrics screen has its own setting under Show Screens. Keyboard zoom uses Ctrl+Plus/Minus, with Ctrl+0 to reset.
Skin Creator & Market opens four areas:
Import Skin JSON imports a skin file. Exported JSON is for moving a skin, not a full rig backup. Live preview can temporarily change the host appearance; closing the creator ends that preview and restores the prior theme, while saved skins remain available.
Signature skin unlocks can open an external checkout and depend on account entitlements and confirmed payment. Review the displayed offer and actual checkout; do not treat a preview, opened checkout, or a local lock icon as proof of purchase. I've paid — check now checks fulfillment when offered. Verify readability in the real room before adopting a new skin for show night.
Paste your AcoustID API Key and choose Save for Break-Wave identification. The field's saved status is separate from whether an identification request succeeds. Leaving the key empty disables identification. The key comes from the AcoustID application-registration flow; do not expose it in documentation or captures.
The app saves show state continuously. Reopening it can restore the existing rotation and queues; closing the app is not a fresh-night reset.
For Automatic local backups, choose a folder, turn the feature on, select an interval (6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, or 7 days), and set retention from 1–100 backups. The app checks at startup and hourly and creates a package only when due. Check Schedule Now evaluates the schedule; it does not necessarily force a new package. Inspect Folder and Status. Retention only removes older checksum-valid Auto-KJ backup folders, not unrelated or damaged folders.
Restore From Backup… first validates the chosen folder and displays date, app version, song count, session inclusion, and checksums. Review the summary. Yes, Restore and Restart replaces the current catalog and any included live show after making a pre-restore snapshot; the app then restarts. Cancel leaves the pending restore uncommitted. Never restore during a live show. Afterward, verify the catalog, saved session, preferences, and availability of referenced music files.
Check for Updates reports the result and, when available, release notes plus Install & restart. Installation is a separate step and restarts the app. With active karaoke or deck playback, the dialog offers Restart now or Wait until the song ends. Restart now can cut off the current song. Paused karaoke still counts as active playback.
Important source-observed limitation: the wait-for-idle timer belongs to this Settings page and is cleared when the page unmounts. If you choose to wait, remain on Settings until installation begins, or cancel and update after the show. Leaving for Rotation should not be treated as a persistent scheduled update. Confirm the app relaunches on the intended version afterward; this guide did not test the updater.
Open the User Guide, Help & Troubleshooting, FAQ, Walkthroughs, Field Manual, or dashboard guide as needed. The second row links the printable Singer Sheet, Singer App FAQ, and Kiosk Guide. Read each document's version and capture provenance. Older seven-tab screenshots do not make Gigs disappear from the current app.