Step-by-step operational walkthroughs for every part of the Auto-KJ ecosystem. For quick troubleshooting, see Help & Troubleshooting; for high-level concepts, consult the User Guide and FAQ. Singers have the Singer App FAQ, venue tablets the Kiosk Guide, and the website's operator console the Host Dashboard Guide. The same text appears in-app: each tab shows a short tour the first time it opens. Settings → 📖 Guides & Help → 🔁 Replay walkthroughs shows them all again.
For the complete current desktop guides and untimed narration, see All eight v1.30 tab guides. Earlier sections below retain their historical coverage except the explicit Gigs/venue update.
1. First-Time Setup & Onboarding Wizard
The wizard runs once per rig on first launch. Every step can be skipped, and Skip setup — I know my way around on the welcome card bows out entirely.
Welcome → Set up my show.
Step 1 — Your plan: choose Free version (run a complete show, every request entered at the desk) or Full version or free 60-day trial (singer phones, the venue kiosk, singer pausing, automation, the full Break-Wave toolkit).
Step 2 — Your license (paid path only): Do you already have a license key?
Yes — I have my key: enter the registered email and License Key from your auto-kj.com dashboard → Activate License.
Start my free 60-day trial: sign in with your auto-kj.com account (or an existing key), Send verification code, paste the code from the email, Verify email, tick the consent box, Start my 60-day trial. No card, nothing billed; Full version unlocks on this computer for 60 days. One trial per account and per rig, and the deadline never restarts.
Not yet: Open auto-kj.com to create a free account, then come back and pick the trial or enter a key. Continue in Free version for now is always available.
Your songs: Choose Library Folder — zipped MP3+G (.zip), loose .mp3+.cdg pairs, and .mp4/.mkv/.avi video all import. Scanning shows live progress, and files added to the folder later are picked up automatically.
Your sound: pick the karaoke output device (Break-Wave and the headphone cue get their own devices later, in Settings).
Your screen: Launch Lyrics Screen, drag it to the TV or projector, press F11 for fullscreen. On the Full version the join QR lives on this screen.
🎉 You're show-ready → Start the show: the wizard lands on the Rotation tab and starts that tab's tour. Every other tab tours itself the first time you open it.
Missed the trial or a key in the wizard? Both live in Settings → 🔑 License Activation.
2. Rotation Tab — Running the Live Show
The main control room: rotation queue on the left, transport up top, song search and singer inspector on the right.
Add a Singer: Type a name into "Add singer to the back of the line..." and press Enter. The singer is automatically selected.
Search & Queue a Song: Search at the bottom right. Click Add on a result.
Headphone Preview: Right-click any search result to preview it on your headphone cue device (a compact CDG preview window pops up, immediately paints the initial lyrics frame on mount, and auto-closes when finished). If no headphone cue device is configured, a silent visual preview window renders the graphics so you can inspect lyrics alignment safely without routing audio to the crowd.
Version Selection: If a song shows an ×N versions badge, right-click to pick a specific manufacturer version.
Start Playback (▶): Click ▶ Play. The 11-band spectrum VU meter and mini lyrics monitor activate.
Live Controls:
Adjust Key (pitch) and Tempo (speed) — saved automatically for that singer and song.
If playing a Ghost-Trax track, raise the GHOST-TRAX slider to mix in the original artist guide vocal stem to rescue a struggling singer.
Reorder & Seat Management: Drag seats up and down to adjust order manually. Right-click any singer to Rename, Merge with…, Change key…, Add to group song…, Pause, Play now, Quarantine file, or 🔓 Free the name… (disconnects another phone that took this singer's stage name; the seat stays).
Numbers move / Names move: the toggle above the grid decides how the board behaves. Numbers move — every name holds a fixed rotation spot all night, and a new singer lands after the people singing this turn. Names move — the numbers stay fixed top-down and names climb, so a new singer always enters last. Singer-facing screens always keep numbers fixed.
Group & Duet Songs: Click 👥+, select 2–4 singers, enter an optional band name, choose a song, and add. The group fuses at the back-most member's seat.
Pausing: Paused singers wait in the Paused tab. Unpausing returns the singer fairly to slot #3 (right behind On Deck).
Auto-Advance: Toggle the Auto-advance checkbox next to transport controls to let the line run automatically between songs.
3. Inbox Tab — Phone Requests, DMs & Tipping
Where incoming singer interactions arrive.
Enable Online Requests: Toggle Accept Requests Online ON (Full version).
Review Request Cards: Incoming cards show singer name, solo/group designation, song title, and version picker. Click Approve or Reject (or use "Assign to" to redirect).
Auto-Approve Mode: Enable Auto-Approve for hands-off operation. Duplicate requests, account claims, and reserved DJ name submissions will still pause for manual confirmation.
Account Claims ("🪪 X wants to claim…"): When a walk-up singer creates an account and requests their desk seat, click Approve to transfer their songs and position.
DJ Direct Messaging & Tips: Click the header inbox icon to view singer inquiries, tip notifications, and "Ask DJ to Buy Song" requests with custom messages and inline replies.
GPS Departure Alerts: If a checked-in singer leaves the venue (>200m for 45+ minutes), an alert card lets you remove them or dismiss the alert.
The host now has eight tabs: Rotation · Inbox · Break-Wave · Library · Ghost-Trax · Analytics · Settings · Gigs. The controls below were checked against v1.30.0 source; new screenshots and video are still pending.
Quick start: optionally enter a name and address under ⚡ Instant gig, then press Start instant gig. A blank name becomes Instant Gig. A matching saved venue is reused; otherwise the app tries the address or this computer's location, then falls back to an unmapped venue if needed. It creates a one-night gig for today, from the current quarter hour to six hours later, selects it, and requests a cloud connection. Check the online state before inviting singers; unmapped venues use the show code.
Add a venue:+ New gig → + New venue, or Venues → + New venue. Enter the venue name and street address, then Add venue. Standard venue creation requires both fields and uses server geocoding.
Schedule: choose the venue and One night, Weekly, or Monthly. Pick the date, weekdays, or monthly rules, then set Starts and Ends. Monthly supports the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and Last weekday of the month (5th only falls in months that have one). Press Add for each monthly rule.
Save and choose: review Switch this show to the new gig (checked by default), then Create gig. For an existing gig, press Use for this show. The app applies its blocked-song list and reconnects in cloud mode; this does not clear the rotation or start a fresh session.
Read the list: tonight's gigs appear first. This show marks the selected gig; Tonight and Live are separate badges. Refresh reloads gigs and venues.
Remove a gig: press Delete, read the inline warning, then Delete again or Keep. Switch away from the selected gig before deleting it. Deleting a live gig ends that show and its requests.
Remove a venue: its Delete also removes its gigs, including old gigs hidden from the list. You cannot delete the venue currently used by this show. Deletion is consequential: a re-added venue gets a new show code.
Edit instead of deleting: a gig's Edit reopens the form with its schedule and times; press Save changes. A gig's venue cannot be changed. A venue's Edit renames it or changes its address (Save venue); the venue keeps its show code.
Cloud and local hosting: the lists are account-backed, and changes need internet and an entered key; the server checks plan access. Settings → Show night → Shows still selects LAN only — this network, default cloud hosting, or a saved gig. Its LAN network card remains separate.
The app no longer recreates deleted gigs during refresh. Old one-night gigs are hidden after a one-day date margin, rather than automatically purged; gigs with active shows remain visible.
4. Break-Wave Tab & Break-Wave Pro Suite — DJ Performance
Between-singer music: dual DJ decks, mixer, automix, soundboard, drums, and FX.
Set Break Music Directory: The Path / Browse… / Identify row sits at the bottom of the BREAK-WAVE PLAYLIST under Deck A. Click Browse… and select your break-music folder (.mp3, .wav, .m4a, .flac, .ogg). It must be separate from your karaoke library.
Browse the folder: The Search / Explorer tabs at the bottom of the mixer strip choose how the library dock below works. Search filters the whole folder by artist or title (the first 25 matches show; search to narrow). Explorer walks the folder one level at a time with breadcrumbs and ↑ Up. Both panes have ⚡ Analyze All for BPM and Camelot key.
Load Decks & Playlists: Click →A / →B to load a track immediately, ⤒ Next to put it at the front of the Break-Wave playlist, or + End to append it — one shared playlist, not one per deck. Rows are selectable (click, Ctrl-click, Shift-click) and right-click acts on the whole selection: Load in Deck A, Load in Deck B, Analyze song, Add as next, Add at end, Remove from playlist. Playlist rows have A / B load buttons, ▲▼ ordering, and ✕; 🔀 shuffles, 💾 saves the playlist by name, 📂 loads a saved one. Tracks still analyzing show ⏳ and fill in live. Every deck load is auto-leveled by RMS to a −14 dBFS target (true peak capped at 98%), so tracks crossfade at equal loudness. The playlist shows 25 rows and scrolls the rest.
Mix Tracks: Per deck: CUE, ▶/⏸, ◀ ▶ nudge, TAP (tap 4+ beats while playing to fix a beatgrid; TAPPED ✕ reverts), BG (re-analyze the beatgrid), SYNC (paid), a pitch fader with ±8 / ±16 / ±50 range, KEY keylock, 4 cue pads (click to set or jump, right-click or hold to clear), and LOOP 4 / 8 / 16 beat loops snapped to the beatgrid (press again or EXIT to leave). The mixer has HI / MID / LOW knobs with 0 reset chips and KILL buttons, channel faders with VU meters, a Master gain fader with a LIMIT LED, the A ⟷ B crossfader with AF auto-fade and a Curve picker (Constant power, Sharp cut, Linear), and a CUE ⟷ MASTER headphone blend when a cue device is set.
Karaoke Priority: Starting a karaoke song automatically fades down and pauses the DJ decks. Set Settings → Rotation & playback → 🤖 Automation & Playback → End of Song Action → Play Break Track Playlist to resume automatically.
Automix: Click AUTOMIX to plan a set (free) — the preview lists each track's BPM, key, energy bar, and whether the transition will be ⚡ beat-locked, a ◎ echo-out (used when only the outgoing track has a usable beatgrid) or a ∿ timed fade. Click ▶ Start (paid) for continuous beatmatched transitions. While running: SKIP (transition now), STOP (music keeps playing, set ends), PANIC (instant clean cut to the current track), and ▶ next on any upcoming row. After a STOP or PANIC, ▶ RESUME picks the set back up from whatever is on the mic — the tracks still to come are remembered, so the night continues instead of re-planning the playlist from the top.
Pro Control Hub (under Deck B):
Master Resets: Click RESET DECK A or RESET DECK B to instantly snap rate to 1.00× and EQs to flat 0.0 dB.
🎛️ SOUNDBOARD: 12 pads (Air Horn, Applause, Scratch, Rimshot, Siren, Sub Drop, Rec Brake, Crickets, Cash, Laser, Mic Drop, Riser) on keys 1–0 - =. ✎ EDIT PADS loads your own WAV/MP3/OGG/FLAC onto any pad; 🔊 is the pad master with a built-in limiter.
🥁 DRUM SEQUENCER: ▶ START, BPM (50–220) or SYNC A / SYNC B to a deck, SWING, four presets, 16 steps × 6 tracks (Kick, Snare, Clap, closed/open hats, Tom) with S/M solo and mute, plus 8 LIVE PADS on Q–I (cowbell and shaker are pad-only). Arm ● REC and pad hits are quantized into the running pattern. PATTERN A–H holds eight patterns; build a chain with + [letter] (1–16 bars per step) and turn CHAIN ON for song mode. The LOOPER records the mic for 1/2/4/8 bars starting on the next bar, or loads audio files, as stackable layers that start on the bar and follow tempo changes.
✨ PRO FX RACK: per deck, HPF / LPF, ECHO / DELAY (beat-synced 1/8 to 1/1), REVERB / SPACE, FLANGER / JET, each with ON/OFF and MIX / INTENSITY knobs. The FX sit after the EQ so the headphone cue hears them too.
The soundboard, drums and looper play through the Break-Wave (Deck) output and its limiter. If the Break-Wave engine is not running they fall back to the computer's default output.
Identify Tracks: Click Identify (beside Browse…, paid) to tag untagged files via AcoustID fingerprinting. Needs a free AcoustID key in Settings → 🎵 Track Identification.
5. Library Tab — Catalog Curation & Audio Health
Keep your song collection clean, standardized, and healthy.
Review Stats & Export: Check total songs, duplicate groups, and unparsed files. Click Export Songbook CSV for printable catalogs.
Brand Priority Order: Drag your preferred manufacturer brands (e.g., Sound Choice, Karaoke Version) to the top and click Save Order to set automatic defaults.
Fix Unparsed Songs: Review unparsed filenames, input correct Artist/Title metadata, and leave "Rename file to match" checked so corrections update on-disk files.
Health Maintenance Cards:
Possible Duplicate Spellings: Merge variant spellings (e.g., "The Beatles" vs. "Beatles, The").
Corrupt File Audit: Scan archives and move damaged files to the Quarantine/ folder.
Loose File Cleanup: Zip loose .mp3+.cdg pairs into standard .zip archives.
Missing Files: Prune missing file records from the database.
Clear & Rebuild Song Library: If you need to reorganize your files or start a clean re-scan, open Settings → Session & Data, click 🗑️ Clear Song Library, then click again (Click again to confirm — empties the song catalog). This surgically purges the songs, song_versions, and songs_fts tables while preserving all singers, rotation state, history, settings, and license. Then return to the Library tab to rescan. (Headless maintenance can run python scripts/clear-song-library.py).
6. Ghost-Trax Tab — In-App Karaoke Track Creation
Convert standard commercial songs into complete karaoke tracks with stem separation.
Connect Account: Sign in with your ghost-trax.com account (or create one) in the Ghost-Trax tab. Pasting a gtk_… API key is an alternative.
Stage Audio: Click Choose songs… and upload files (.mp3, .wav, .m4a, .flac, .ogg, .aac up to 60 MB). Confirm Artist and Title.
Open Title Screen to verify song titles and credits.
Open Lyrics to correct misheard transcriptions while preserving timing.
Generate & Add to Library: Click Generate, then click Add to library. The finished track (instrumental, synced CDG, and guide vocal stem) is saved to Ghost-Trax/ and indexed.
Live Rescue: During the show, use the player's GHOST-TRAX slider to bring the guide vocal in whenever a singer needs support.
7. Analytics Tab — Show Intelligence & Reporting
Live proof sheets and historical venue reports.
Live Proof Sheet: Monitor real-time metrics: Completed songs, Unique singers, Queued requests, Average wait time, Peak hour, and Applause total.
Leaderboards: Review Top Singers, Top Songs, and Top Artists.
Performance log: each song with time, singers, type, Key (such as +2), Tempo (such as 1.10x) and applause. If history fails to load, the error shows with Retry.
Most sung & Saved favorites: 🎤 Most sung (what singers actually performed, from the performance log) and ⭐ Saved favorites (songs singers saved in the singer app; needs internet). (Select a singer in Rotation to see their History and Favorites; double-click a row to queue it.)
Export Reports: Use Copy CSV, Copy JSON, or Print Report (includes executive summary and staffing notes for venue owners).
8. Multi-Screen Venue Displays
Crowd Lyrics Screen (Screen 2):
In Settings → Show night → 🖥️ Show Screens, click Launch Lyrics Screen.
Drag to the crowd TV and press F11 for fullscreen. Displays CDG lyrics, Now Singing / On Deck banners, upcoming singers, and the live Join QR Code.
Rotation Display Board (Screen 3):
In Settings → Show night → 🖥️ Show Screens (both screens share one card now), click Launch Rotation Screen.
Drag to a dedicated bar TV and press F11. Displays the full rotation matrix, singer avatars, achievement badges, rolling announcements ticker, and dynamic Waiting on Partners queue under the regular line with truthful blockers.
Window positions are remembered across restarts.
9. DJ Phone Control (Booth Remote)
Control the show from anywhere in the venue.
Connect to Wi-Fi: Ensure laptop and phone are on the same local Wi-Fi.
Pair Device: In Settings → Remote Control, scan the private pairing QR code with your phone (or navigate to http://<lan-ip>:8080/remote#token=...).
Control Show:
Tap ▶ Play, ❚❚ Pause / ▶ Resume, ■ Stop, or ▶▶ Next.
Run break music from the Break music card (▶ Play break, ▶▶ Skip, ■ Stop break) and fire effects from the Soundboard grid.
View the live rotation grid and reorder singers with up/down arrows.
Remove singers using the armed 2-tap safety button.
Revoke Access: If needed, click Revoke & Re-pair in Settings to invalidate all mobile tokens.
10. Singer Mobile Web App (PWA)
The experience for singers on their smartphones. The full singer-facing reference is the Singer App FAQ; the printable one-pager is the Singer Sheet.
Join Show: Scan the crowd TV QR code, enter the Show Code at singer.auto-kj.com, or tap a LIVE NOW gig under Nearby Gigs (GPS). If the venue's internet is down the QR points at the host laptop and the app switches to Local Server mode on its own.
Guest or account: Continue as guest to sing tonight, or Sign in / Create account for favorites, history, badges, friends, bands, and background alerts. Forgot password? emails a one-hour reset link that opens the app on Set New Password.
🏠 Home: the singer's place in line as a giant number, lifetime applause, the 👏 Applause button, 📍 Check in when GPS says they're at the venue, 💸 Tip the Host, 💬 Message the Karaoke Host / DJ, and the 🔔 Notify me when I'm on deck switch.
🔍 Browse & Request: Search the host's catalog (★ favorite, 🎤 request, Taken when already used tonight, 🚫 Not in venue catalog on saved lists). Pick 1–4 People, type the other names, or ask a friend who then gets a yes/no. Ask the DJ to buy the song sends a title, artist, and optional tip to the host's inbox.
🎤 Queue: Your spot, Your Queue (reorder with ▲▼, Change to swap a solo song for another, ⚙ Manage singers on group songs), ⏸ Pause Me / ▶ Unpause Me, ✕ Cancel my request, and The Line with Singing Now / On Deck badges and the ⏸ Taking a break section.
👏 Live Applause: 10 taps per song; floating emoji on the crowd TV; feeds lifetime stats and the 29-badge catalog.
🎵 Setlist, ⭐ Faves, 📋 History, 🎭 Social: build setlists (also while requests are closed), star songs, see every song sung with applause per song, and in the Backstage Lounge edit the profile and photo, wear a badge, add friends via QR and answer friend Requests (Accept / Ignore), open a friend's History and Favorites, Find Duets, Suggest songs, and form Bands with friends (2–4 members; each bandmate must Accept the band invite).
Offline and chat: a request tapped while the connection is down shows as "waiting to send" and goes out on reconnect; DJ messages show Sent, then Delivered ✓. Each tab offers a short guide on first visit (Replay this tab's guide on Home).
Leaving: Leave show disconnects; Log out (header, connect screen, or Profile) signs the account out of this phone. Delete Profile in Social → Profile removes the account for good.
11. Kiosk Mode (Venue Tablets)
Setup and troubleshooting for staff live in the Kiosk Guide.
Launch Kiosk: Open singer.auto-kj.com/?kiosk=1 (or kiosk.auto-kj.com; on a LAN-only show http://<laptop-ip>:8080/?kiosk=1), enter the venue show code once, tap Initialize Kiosk. Install it to the home screen so it opens fullscreen and landscape; lock the tablet with Guided Access or Screen pinning.
Attract Screen: "🎤 WANNA SING?" with a 📱 SCAN card (phone QR plus the show code) and a 👆 TAP HERE → START card, over a NOW SINGING / UP NEXT strip. When the host closes requests it shows 🚫 NOT TAKING REQUESTS AT THIS TIME instead.
Guided Request Wizard: 🎵 Song (search, + Request / Taken) → 🎙 Mics (1 Person to 4 People) → ✍ Names (Singer #1…#N) → 🎉 You're #N in line! (or Request not taken with the host's reason).
Help & Reset: the ? button on every screen explains the steps and fair-play rules. No login, no data kept: the kiosk returns to the attract screen 6 seconds after a confirmation and after 60 seconds without a touch.
Create an account: Sign In / Sign Up on auto-kj.com. The welcome email carries your License Key.
TELEMETRY: your plan, billing state, the LICENSE KEY (COPY it into the desktop app's Settings → License Activation or the setup wizard), the active show code while a show runs, and CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION / the upgrade pointer.
Venues and gigs: manage them in the desktop app's Gigs tab (section 3A). The website dashboard no longer has a VENUES & GIGS tab. Its Help tab points to the desktop workflow; the join code is shown on the app's lyrics and rotation screens. Website source.
OpenKJ request hosting: the request-server URL and API key for OpenKJ hosts, NEW KEY, and the auto-kj.com/your-venue slug per venue.
SECURITY: change password, delete the account.
Trial: the 60-day trial is started inside the desktop app (Settings → License Activation), not from the dashboard.
13. Customizing the Host UI (Skin Creator & Community Market)
Fine-tune the host application's appearance to suit dimly lit bars, high-glare daytime outdoor patios, or private party themes.
Launch Studio: Open Settings → Appearance and click the ✨ Skin Creator & Market button.
Browse Community & Skin Market:
Filter presets by tag (SIGNATURE ($5), FREE, NEON, CYBERPUNK, RETRO, WARM, COOL, GOTHIC, MINIMAL, or POPULAR).
Free presets can be applied or forked immediately.
For official $5.00 Signature skins (Velvet VIP Lounge, Cyber-Grid Tron Edition, Tokyo Midnight Club, Cosmic Laser Bowling, Obsidian Glass Studio):
Click 🧪 Test Drive to simulate the Signature skin in the sandbox for free.
Click 💳 Unlock $5.00 to permanently unlock the skin (included automatically on eligible Full version licenses (Auto-KJ Lifetime and some grandfathered licenses)). All purchases and unlocks are tied directly to your Auto-KJ dashboard account (host_id), allowing you to unlock once and use across all your venue rigs.
Click 🔄 Sync Account Rigs in the header at any time to instantly pull and synchronize entitlements across all machines tied to your account.
Click 🚀 Apply to test any unlocked skin live on your system immediately, or 🛠️ Fork & Edit to load its tokens into the visual editor.
Fine-Tune in Skin Studio:
Give your skin a custom name, author credit, version, and emoji icon.
Click the color swatches or type hex values to adjust base fills (bgBase, bgSurface), brand highlights (accent), and singer status indicators (active now singing, playing on deck, warn waiting blocker).
Toggle 👁️ Live Preview on App to see adjustments applied in real time across the live host window.
Inspect WCAG Contrast:
Look at the WCAG Contrast Health inspector on the right. Ensure primary singer text and button fills achieve AA (>= 4.5:1) or AAA (>= 7.0:1) so names remain crisp and legible in dark booth environments.
Simulate in the Component Sandbox:
Switch to the 🧪 Component Sandbox Preview tab to test how your custom palette renders the player transport bar, VU meters, active singer cards, and waiting queue blockers.
Save, Apply, and Share:
Click 💾 Save & Apply to store the skin in your local library and activate it.
Click 📤 Export .json to download a portable skin definition file to share with fellow KJs or distribute in the community marketplace.
Click 📥 Import Skin JSON anytime to load community skins created by other hosts.
Gigs/venue instructions source-reviewed 2026-10-09 at v1.30.0 (4171265227d8ea584bca359ba40b09d3ac0c8c6a). Unrelated sections retain their prior revision; new captures are pending.