Votes top left please. 
Crate digging - 2026 style… Over the years, we’ve seen lots of requests about library tagging and search improvements. Here are my latest thoughts on this.
One thing that’s missing from the current playlist filter system is not just flexibility, but logical structure. Right now, filters mainly act as hard constraints resulting in having to setup a lot of variations.
This could be solved when you introduce relative / dynamic tags & filters based on the currently active track.
Imagine a rule system that explicitly supports [AND] and [OR] logic, where rules can either filter or annotate.
For example:
Result-defining rules (hard filters):
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[AND] (BPM ±5) -
[AND] (year ±5)
These rules narrow down the list and define what is even worth considering.
Contextual / complementary rules (non-exclusive):
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[OR] (key ±1) → color green + text #safe -
[OR] (key ±2) → color yellow + text #boost -
[OR] (genre [is same]) → text 🟢 (emoji)
In this model:
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[AND]rules restrict the result set -
[OR]rules can coexist and layer meaning onto the same track -
A track can match multiple contextual rules without being excluded
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The first matching color rule determines the row color, while additional matches can add (multiple) tags or emojis
-
Ideally the color could be linked to either a row and / or a column
This allows harmonic compatibility, energy moves, and stylistic similarities to live side by side, instead of being forced into a single “match / no match” decision.
If this were paired with a dedicated column for dynamic / filter defined text (e.g. tags or emojis), you could even use the already existing filter within the results — enabling drill-down workflows like:
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Show safe harmonic matches → filter on #safe
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Show higher-energy options → filter on #boost
-
etc
All changing dynamically depending on the current track. Rather than endlessly expanding the number of filters or “harmonic match” options, this kind of logical, layered filter system would make djay’s playlists both smarter and more close to how DJs actually think and work.
The drill-down would also solve the “sorting issue”. Instead of sorting on only one column (or even multiple) and having to scroll through your list again you could simply narrow the results on the fly.
All this could probably also be implemented as a smart dynamic (playing track aware) playlist.
