User guide

TaxonomyDJ analyzes your music (BPM, key, Camelot, loudness, file quality) and labels it with a label set you define yourself. You review the results, fix labels when needed, then sort the files into folders by label. Your music is analyzed right on your computer, and the app never touches a file until you ask it to.

Shortcuts are shown for macOS. On Windows, use Ctrl for ⌘, Alt for ⌥, and File Explorer for Finder.

Getting started

1. Install: on macOS, open the .dmg and drag TaxonomyDJ into Applications. On Windows, run the .exe you downloaded.
2. First launch: if macOS blocks it, go to System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway. If Windows SmartScreen shows a warning, click More info ▸ Run anyway.
3. Choose a plan: click Start for free and enter your email; you need an internet connection the first time, and after that it works offline for up to 14 days. Have a key? Click Enter license key.
4. Teach your labels: in the Training tab, click Add label and choose folders you've already sorted, one folder per label. You need at least 2 labels with at least 2 tracks each; about 100 tracks per label gives accurate suggestions.
5. Classify: in the Music Library tab, click Add music folder, choose Run full analysis, then click Scan. Every track gets a label.
6. Review and sort: click Quick filter ▸ Needs review to fix the tracks the app is unsure about, then choose File ▸ Copy to folder.

Steps 4 and 6, and Run full analysis in step 5, need Premium. Only need BPM, key, and Camelot for mixing? Skip step 4, and in step 5 choose Analyze waveforms — the Free plan does this with no limits.

Two levels of analysis

Both levels keep your labels as they are. Click the Analyze button (⇧⌘A) on the toolbar to see how many tracks are done, what's missing, and run whatever is left.

Player bar and EQ

Listen to tracks and shape the sound. The player bar sits at the top and is shared by every tab; switching tabs doesn't stop the music.

• Listen: select a track in any table and press Space to play or pause. Click the waveform to jump.
• Read the waveform: it's colored by lows, mids, and highs. A stretch without the low color is usually a breakdown.
• EQ: click EQ, then drag the dots on the spectrum to boost or cut, or pick a preset. Uncheck Apply to hear the original. Space sets stereo width and bass mono.
• Speed: click Speed to play faster or slower while keeping the pitch, like Master Tempo.
• Output: choose speakers, headphones, or an audio interface under Audio output.
• Full screen: press F for a visual that moves with the music; press Esc to leave.
• Mini player: click the TaxonomyDJ icon in the menu bar (Windows: the system tray) to play, pause, or skip while the window is minimized.

Playlists

Build playlists for listening and performing.

• Create: click New playlist, then right-click tracks in the Music Library or Training tab ▸ Add to playlist. Drop a folder onto the tab and the app scans it and creates a playlist named after it.
• Arrange: drag rows to set the play order; double-click to play. Press Delete to remove a track from the playlist; the file stays.
• Three views: List; Image — one image fills the tab, great for filming clips; Visual — a visual that moves with the music, with an optional background video.
• Perform: click the eye button at the end of the toolbar to hide every button, leaving the waveform, spectrum, and visual.

Music Library

Bring in the music you want to sort, review the predicted labels, then sort the files into folders by label.

1. Click Add music folder (⌘O) or drag a folder onto the tab, choose how much to analyze, then click Scan.
2. Select a folder on the left to see its tracks. The Label column shows the predicted label; Confidence shows how sure it is.
3. Click Quick filter ▸ Needs review, listen to each track, and fix wrong labels: click the Label cell or press 1–9.
4. Select tracks, then choose File ▸ Copy to folder or Move to folder. Files are sorted into subfolders by label. Files already in the destination are never overwritten.

• New files in a folder you already scanned: choose Analyze ▸ Scan for new files (⇧⌘S). Analyzed tracks keep their results.
• Find tracks to mix: right-click a track ▸ Filter harmonic matches or Filter BPM ±3.
• Moving files can't be undone.

Training

Teach the app your own labels, using folders of music you've already sorted — one folder per label. This tab needs Premium; on the Free plan it shows the Premium feature screen, and you can still label tracks by hand in the Music Library tab.

1. Click Add label (⌘L) and choose a folder of example tracks. Already have one folder that holds all your sorted folders? Click From parent folder to turn each subfolder into a label. You can also drag folders onto the tab.
2. The app scans, analyzes, and trains on its own, then opens the Model report. The more example tracks per label, the better the predictions.
3. Click Quick filter ▸ Prediction differs to find tracks in the wrong folder. Changing a label in this tab moves the file to the new label's folder.
4. When you add music to a label folder, choose Analyze ▸ Scan for new files (⇧⌘S); the app retrains by itself.

Share a label: right-click it ▸ Export label pack (a .tdnhan file with the label name, filenames, and analysis data, but no audio). The recipient chooses Labels ▸ Import label pack.

Tags

Edit tags and cover art, and rename files in bulk inside one folder — even a folder you've never added to the app. This tab needs Premium.

• Open a folder: click Choose from library or Browse folders, or drag a folder onto the tab.
• Edit tags: select one or more tracks, edit in the left panel (Title, Artist, Key, BPM…), then click Save (⌘S). Right-click the cover box to set cover art.
• Create an action group: click Action groups ▸ New group, then add steps under Add action, such as Set tag, Clean up, Round BPM, or Number tracks (1, 2, 3… in table order). You pick and drag a track's info (tags, filename, Camelot, BPM) — no syntax to type. Each step shows its result on a real track right away, for example 8A - 128 - Track name.mp3.
• Run a group: select tracks, click Apply group ▾ and pick the group. The preview shows every value before and after; nothing changes until you confirm.

Duplicates

Find and clean up duplicate files when your music comes from several sources. Available on the Free plan too.

1. Add the folders to compare: click Choose from library or Browse folders, or drag them onto the tab. With two or more folders, the number box on each folder is its deletion priority — lower numbers are deleted first. Select Keep all to make sure a folder loses no files.
2. Under MATCH BY, check Audio content, Filename, or Title, then click Scan for duplicates. The Suggested column shows in advance which copy is kept and which is deleted.
3. Click Delete duplicates, choose which copy to keep (for example Highest quality), review the list, choose Move to Trash so you can recover files, then click Delete.

Inspector

Check a file's quality quickly without adding it to the app. The Free plan shows the waveform, spectrogram, and quality findings; predicted labels need Premium.

• Drag files onto the tab or click Choose files, then select a file to see its results. Double-click a row to listen.
• Upscaled — the file claims high quality but was converted from a low-quality source.
• Clipping — the file will distort at its loudest moments.
• The spectrum shows the frequency cutoff: lossy files are cut off flat at the top.

To save the results in the app, right-click the file ▸ File details.

Database

See every track the app manages, remove what you don't need, and back up.

• Right-click tracks or a folder ▸ Remove data: the tracks leave the app, the music files on disk stay.
• A Remove N tracks with missing files button appears when files were deleted or renamed outside the app.
• Click Back up data to save all tracks, labels, and analysis results into one file. Restore data brings them back from that file.

Settings

Adjust how the app works (⌘, on macOS, or ⌘8). Choose a section on the left:

• Appearance — language, color scheme, motion effects, menu bar icon.
• Analysis — how many tracks to analyze at once, BPM range (a drum & bass library, for example, suits 88–175).
• Labels — whether changing a label in the Training tab moves the file (on by default), and the Needs review threshold.
• Playback — volume, where tracks start (0:26 by default, to skip the intro), and when to move to the next track.
• Shortcuts — see and change keyboard shortcuts.
• License — your plan, entering a license key, getting Premium, the computers using your key.
• App — your Device ID, error reports and usage data on or off, version number.
• Feedback — send a suggestion or report a bug.

After changing the language, click Restart to apply it.

Shortcuts

See and change every shortcut in Settings ▸ Shortcuts.

Free and Premium

• Premium features on the Free plan: the Training and Tags tabs show the Premium feature screen. Premium menu items carry a lock icon; click one to see how to upgrade: Get Premium or Enter license key.
• Buy: click Get Premium in Settings ▸ License, then choose a plan and a payment method: international card, PayPal, or Vietnamese bank transfer. Once you've paid, this computer is activated and your key appears. Save the key.
• Second computer: click Enter license key, enter the email you bought with and the key, then click Activate.
• Switch computers: click Remove next to the old computer in Settings ▸ License. Removing the computer you're using returns it to the Free plan.
• Premium expired: the app goes back to the Free plan. Your music, labels, analysis results, and models stay, and you can still use every Free feature. Click Renew or enter your key again to get Premium features back.

Updates

The app checks for a new version every day. To check now, choose Help ▸ Check for updates. When a new version is available, click Download and install, then Restart. Your labels, data, and license stay as they are.

Troubleshooting

• “A task is in progress”: only one task runs at a time. Wait for it to finish, or click Stop in the status bar.
• A track shows an error: hover over its Status cell to see why. The app reads MP3, WAV, FLAC, and AIFF.
• The Label column in Music Library is empty: add labels in the Training tab first, then choose Analyze ▸ Run full analysis in Music Library.
• Training doesn't start: you need at least 2 labels with at least 2 fully analyzed tracks each.
• No sound, or a preset sounds the same: check the Apply box in the EQ row, the device under Audio output, and the volume.
• Copy or move skipped some tracks: the destination folder already has a file with the same name.
• Can't start the Free plan: the first start needs an internet connection to confirm your email. Check your connection and try again.
• “Internet connection needed” screen: the app hasn't been able to verify this computer for too long. Connect to the internet, then click Retry; your data is kept.
• “Check your computer's clock” screen: your computer's date and time are ahead of the real time. Correct them (turning on automatic date and time is best), then click Retry.
• “TaxonomyDJ needs an update” screen: this version is no longer supported. Click Update to download and install the latest version.
• “This computer is blocked” screen: email us with the license device code shown on that screen. Click Check again once support has replied.
• “Premium feature” or “This feature is locked”: the feature needs Premium, or your Premium plan has expired. See Free and Premium.

Still need help? Send a message from Settings ▸ Feedback, or email [email protected] with your Device ID (in Settings ▸ App).