Best OneLibrary workflow - macOS & iOS

Questions
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1

Hi,

I recently got into DJ-ing and I am trying to determine the best setup for using DJay Pro on iPad for live performances, particularly regarding library and playlist management.

Here is my current understanding and setup:

  1. Playlist and metadata editing can only be done on macOS, so I am using DJay Pro on Mac to manage my library.

  2. To sync playlists between macOS and iPad, OneLibrary requires using an external USB/SSD drive.

    • When I previously used iCloud on both devices, cue points, loops, and beatgrids synced correctly, but playlists did not.

  3. I therefore bought an external SSD to store my music and playlists and to use it with my iPad for live performances.

  4. However, when using the SSD, I can add tracks to playlists, but I cannot edit metadata for those tracks—metadata editing seems to be possible only in “My Collection.”

My main question is:

What is the recommended setup for having playlists and music files ready on an iPad for live performances using DJay Pro?

What I want to avoid:

  • Duplicate music files (e.g., one copy in “My Collection” on the Mac and another on the SSD).

  • Split or fragmented library management, as this would be inefficient and error-prone for live use.

What I want:

  • A single, centralized library stored on my SSD (with backups).

  • All playlists, metadata, and edits managed in one place and usable directly on the iPad for performances.

Do people successfully perform live with DJay Pro using this kind of setup, or is this approach fundamentally misaligned with how DJay Pro is designed to work?

Thank you in advance!

  • Device model iPad A16
  • Version 5.6.1
4

Best Practice is to use My Collection (in macOS or Windows) as the master library and treat OneLibrary SSDs as a working copy.

Notes:

  • OneLibrary in iOS is read-only.
  • Technically, you can edit OneLibrary SSDs on CDJs and other major DJ software, but compatibility between vendors has not yet been proven to be solidly reliable. So even in Rekordbox it is recommended to use the internal database as the master and the USB as a working copy.
5

Hi Michael,

Thanks for your reply!

So just to check if i understand the workflow:

  1. I maintain my library in My Collection (and back it up for safety)
  2. When i want to perform LIVE i transfer the Playlist to the OneLibrary SSD
  3. If i want to edit/change the current Playlist, i first delete the playlist completely from the Onelibrary SSD and then make the edits in My Collection and transfer it back to the SSD

Is this correct?

6

Yes, exactly that workflow.

1 Like
7

Thanks for sharing @Michael_Wisniewski! Always appreciated.

@rhodoisland, I spoke with our internal team and this is what they recommend for you.

With their tracks on their SSD:

  1. Link Folders in the Finder Library Source on Mac
  2. Add Playlists to their My Collection
  3. From My Collection add their new playlists to USB (their SSD)

Then when accessing their USB on their iOS device:

  1. Connect their USB
  2. Open OneLibrary and select their USB
  3. Load playlists as expected within the OneLibrary Source

This flow allows for them to keep all track management on their Mac without needing to duplicate their tracks over to their iOS device; since through the method above, OneLibrary should also keep the source path (the track location on the SSD), and then finding that again when accessed on the iOS device.

If they don’t want to have the copies within their My Collection, they can delete them after making their changes and exporting them to their SSD, and these playlists will live on the SSD where they can be re-imported if they need to make any new adjustments and then exported back to the drive to be deleted from My Collection again.

We hope that helps!

1 Like
9

Hello! It’s been a week since my last reply. I’m going to consider this topic completed for now so I can focus on others. However, please feel free to respond and we can definitely revisit this. Thanks!