How to clean up a DJ library and keep it clean
Back up, fix missing files, merge duplicates and prune what you never play in rekordbox, then stop new junk at the gate by rejecting tracks before you buy.
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To clean up a DJ library, work from safe to drastic. Back up first. Then fix what's broken (missing files), remove what's repeated (duplicates), take out what you never play, and tidy the tags and playlists that remain. rekordbox has a tool for most of these steps. Keeping the library clean afterwards is a different job: it happens before you buy, by rejecting tracks you won't play, so they never become files.
Before you start: back up
Cleaning involves deleting things, so make a copy you can return to. rekordbox's manual describes Backup Library under File › Library. It saves the Collection, playlists and analysis data, and asks whether to include the music files as well. Backups made on a Mac can be restored on Windows and the other way round, according to the manual, which also notes that a large collection can take a long time to back up.
If you skip the music files in this backup, make sure they're copied somewhere else. Store accounts help as a fallback but aren't a backup plan: Beatport allows re-downloads within limits, and Bandcamp keeps purchases in your collection for download, but neither covers files from other sources.
Step 1: fix missing files
When files or folders are renamed, moved or deleted outside rekordbox, the track can no longer play and shows a ! marker. The manual offers two fixes:
- Auto Relocate. In Preferences › Advanced › Database, set the Auto Relocate Search Folders to the folders and drives where your music lives. Then choose File › Display All Missing Files and click Auto Relocate. Tracks rekordbox can't find stay on the list.
- Relocate by hand. Select a missing track, click Relocate and point it at the file.
If a file is gone for good, you can remove the entry from the Collection from the same list. Will Lynch, writing for Pioneer DJ about managing music, explains why one central music folder matters here: files tucked away in one location are less likely to be moved or deleted by accident, and so less likely to come back as "file missing".
Step 2: clear duplicates
From the File menu, Display All Duplicated Files opens the Duplicated File Manager. It lists tracks with the same title and artist. You can delete unwanted copies, or click Merge Duplicate Files and pick a representative file to consolidate them.
Two cautions before you merge:
- Same title isn't always the same track. An extended mix, a dub and a radio edit can share a title and artist. Compare length and the mix name.
- Pick the copy with your work on it. The one with your cues, grid fixes and playlist memberships is usually the one to keep. Check before you delete.
How to avoid buying the same track twice covers the habits that stop new duplicates.
Step 3: take out what you never play
A big library isn't a problem by itself. Tracks you'll never play are, because they add lines to every search. Find them with rekordbox's Histories, which list tracks played for a minute or more in PERFORMANCE mode or via LINK EXPORT. Lynch also suggests showing a play count column to see what you've overplayed or neglected.
When a track has had its chance, remove it from the Collection. The manual is clear that this doesn't delete the file from your computer. Move the file to an archive folder outside your main music folder if you want it out of sight, but don't delete files you might regret.
Not sure what counts as "never"? How to build a DJ library without buying filler suggests a probation period and a simple way to measure how much you actually play.
Step 4: tidy tags and playlists
With the dead weight gone, fix what's left:
- Tags. Make artist names consistent, keep mix names in the title, and use one spelling per genre. Search and Intelligent Playlist rules only work as well as the tags behind them.
- Playlists. Delete playlists you haven't opened in a year, merge near-duplicates, and group the rest into folders. rekordbox playlists vs folders explains how the two differ.
- Review crate. If the library is very large, don't try to finish in one session. The pillar guide's method of freezing old tracks in a "To review" playlist and working through it in small batches still applies.
Let rekordbox find review candidates
rekordbox's manual describes Intelligent Playlists, which collect every track that passes filters you set. Besides matching text and ranges, the conditions include is not in the last, which matches dates outside a number of days or months from today. A list of tracks with a release date more than two years old, for example, gives you a starting set to check against your Histories. It only narrows where you look: plenty of older tracks are classics you still play.
A worked example: one evening's session
As an illustration, here's how a first two-hour session on a large library might run:
- 15 minutes: back up the library, with music files if you have the space.
- 20 minutes: open Display All Missing Files, run Auto Relocate, and remove the entries for files that are gone for good.
- 25 minutes: work through the Duplicated File Manager, checking mix names and keeping the copy with your cues.
- 60 minutes: open your review list and remove 50 to 100 tracks you know you won't play from the Collection.
Tags and playlists can wait for the next session.
Keeping it clean: stop junk at the gate
Every cleanup above deals with files that shouldn't have arrived. The cheaper fix happens earlier. Lynch's description of where new music piles up is pointed: "keepers of 100-track Beatport and BandCamp carts, we're looking at you."
A few rules keep junk out:
- Decide before you buy. Listen to each candidate properly and reject what you won't play. A rejected track costs nothing and takes no disk space.
- Keep rejects on record. If a track you passed on turns up again, you want to see the earlier "no".
- Import from one place. New purchases go to your central music folder, never straight from Downloads.
- Mark purchases as bought. It stops the second purchase that becomes tomorrow's duplicate.
A monthly check (missing files, duplicates from recent imports, a look at what's unplayed) then takes minutes instead of a weekend. The pillar guide on organizing new music before it hits your DJ library sets out the full route from first find to prepared track.
Doing this with CatchIt!
CatchIt! is a Mac app with a free iOS companion, and it works at the gate. It doesn't scan or edit your rekordbox library, and it isn't a plugin.
- Reject before buying. Every captured or imported track gets a decision: Return keeps it (green), Space rejects it (red).
- Rejects stay on record. The same track from several sources merges into one row, with a hint showing how you classified it before.
- A Done flag for purchases. Mark tracks Done in the Wishlist once bought, so the shopping list only shows what's still pending.
See Core concepts.
Frequently asked questions
- Does removing a track from rekordbox delete the file?
- No. rekordbox's manual says that when a track is removed from the Collection, the music file isn't deleted from your computer. That makes removing tracks a safe way to slim down the library you DJ from.
- How do I find missing files in rekordbox?
- Missing tracks show a "!" next to them. From the File menu, choose Display All Missing Files, then use Auto Relocate after telling rekordbox which folders to search, or Relocate to point a track at its file by hand.
- How do I remove duplicate tracks in rekordbox?
- Choose Display All Duplicated Files from the File menu. The Duplicated File Manager lists tracks with the same title and artist, and you can delete unwanted copies or merge them into one representative file. Check mix names first, because two versions of a track can share a title.
- How often should I clean my DJ library?
- A short check once a month keeps it manageable: fix missing files, clear duplicates from recent imports and review tracks you haven't played. A bigger review every few months covers tags and old playlists.