1 Introduction

The DJ-Konverter moves your DJ library between DJ applications with minimal loss – hot cues, saved loops, beatgrids, playlists and track metadata. That lets you switch to another program (or use several in parallel) without redoing your preparation.

It is a one-time purchase for macOS (Apple Silicon) and Windows and works entirely locally – no data is uploaded.

1.1 What the DJ-Konverter does

You pick a source program (to export from) and a target program (to import into). The converter reads the source, translates everything into a common format and writes it for the target – along with a transfer report that honestly shows what is carried over 1:1 and what changes or is dropped.

The converter never changes your source library. It only reads it and writes the result for the target program.

1.2 Supported programs

Six ecosystems are supported. You can read from all of them; the converter can also write to five of them:

• rekordbox – read & write (via the official XML library)
• Traktor Pro – read & write (collection.nml)
• Mixxx – read & write (Mixxx database)
• VirtualDJ – read & write (database.xml)
• Serato DJ – read & write (cues live inside the audio files)
• djay Pro – read only (djay's format is especially fragile; writing is intentionally disabled)

2 Installation

2.1 macOS

• Open the DMG and drag DJ-Konverter into your Applications folder.
• On first launch, right-click the app and choose "Open" if a Gatekeeper warning appears.
• Requirements: Apple Silicon (M1 or newer), macOS 12 or newer.

2.2 Windows

• Fully extract the ZIP (keep all files in the same folder) and start DJ-Konverter.exe.
• Requirements: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit).

3 How it works

3.1 Hub and spoke

The converter doesn't translate directly from program to program, but through a shared intermediate format (a canonical model). Each program has its own adapter that reads from and writes to its format. This keeps every conversion consistent – no matter which source/target combination you choose.

3.2 Non-destructive by design

The source is only ever read. When writing, the converter chooses the gentlest path for each target (see chapter 6). Even so:

Back up the target library before your first migration, so you can always roll back.

4 Running a conversion

4.1 Choose the source and analyse

• Under Source, select the program you want to import from.
• Use Browse … to pick the matching file or folder (Serato and djay use a folder, the others a file).
• Click Analyse: the converter shows how many tracks, hot cues, loops and playlists were found – so you can confirm the right source is loaded.

4.2 Choose the target

• Under Target, select the program to import into. djay does not appear here because writing to it is disabled.
• Set the target file or folder.

Close the target program before converting. A running app may lock its database.

4.3 Convert and transfer report

Convert → starts the process. Afterwards the transfer report appears. It lists:

• Info – what was carried over (e.g. number of tracks and playlists).
• Note – small adjustments (e.g. playlist folders are flattened where the target has no folders).
• Loss – what the target format cannot represent (e.g. star ratings in VirtualDJ).

5 What gets transferred?

5.1 Hot cues and loops

Hot cues and saved loops are transferred with position, name and – where possible – colour. Programs that allow only one point per pad (e.g. Traktor) automatically move a colliding loop to a free slot.

5.2 Beatgrids and BPM

BPM values are carried over. The beatgrid anchor is transferred as a starting point; fine grid detail may be recomputed depending on the program.

5.3 Playlists

Playlists including their order are transferred. Folder structures are preserved where the target supports them – otherwise the report notes that playlists are stored flat.

5.4 Ratings and metadata

Title, artist, album, genre, key and star rating are carried over as far as the target program supports them. If a field is missing in the target, the report flags it as a loss.

6 Program-specific notes

So your existing target library is not overwritten, the converter uses each program's native, non-destructive path.

6.1 rekordbox

The converter writes a rekordbox XML. In rekordbox you link this file under Preferences → Advanced → Database → "rekordbox xml"; it then appears as a separate tree in the browser. Your actual collection stays untouched.

The converter only ever uses the official rekordbox XML – never the encrypted internal database. This is intentional, for compatibility and licensing reasons.

6.2 Traktor

Import the generated collection.nml into Traktor via right-click on "Playlists" → Import. The tracks land in your collection together with their cues – you don't need to replace your own collection.nml.

6.3 Mixxx

If you choose your existing mixxxdb.sqlite as the target, the converter appends the new tracks, cues and playlists to the existing database instead of replacing it. Keep Mixxx closed while doing so.

6.4 VirtualDJ

Likewise, VirtualDJ's existing database.xml is appended to, or an already-present track is updated. The rest of your library is preserved.

6.5 Serato

Serato stores cues and loops directly inside the audio files (as "Serato Markers2"). The converter writes these markers into the files; when loaded in Serato, the cues appear automatically. Playlists are added as a crate.

Because this writes into the audio files, back up the affected tracks first. Serato cues are currently written into MP3 files.

6.6 djay Pro

The converter can read from djay (tracks, cues, loops, playlists). Writing to djay is intentionally disabled, because djay's internal format is very fragile and a write error could damage the djay library.

7 Notes and limitations

• Always convert with the target program closed.
• The audio files themselves are not moved or renamed – only the references and DJ data are transferred. If the tracks live in a different location on the target system, re-locate them there if needed.
• Highly program-specific details (proprietary effects, sampler banks, etc.) are not transferred – the report flags losses.

8 Updates and help

Use the "Check for Updates" button (top right of the window) to check at any time whether a newer version is available – the converter does not check anything automatically in the background. Questions and support: djcataclysm.com.

Licences and Third-Party Software

Overview

DJ Cataclysm – DJ-Konverter is proprietary software. It uses only open-source components whose licences are compatible with commercial, proprietary distribution. None of the libraries used require the source code of the DJ-Konverter to be disclosed.

The handling of the Traktor (NML) and Serato (ID3/GEOB) formats is our own implementation – no copyleft libraries are bundled by design.

Open-source software used

• PySide6 / Qt – LGPL-3.0 – graphical user interface
• pyrekordbox – MIT – reading/writing rekordbox XML
• SQLAlchemy, construct, SQLCipher (via pyrekordbox) – MIT / zlib – database and binary-format handling
• NumPy – BSD – numeric helpers
• further permissive libraries (psutil, python-dateutil, packaging, cryptography, charset-normalizer, etc.) – BSD/Apache/MIT
• PyInstaller – bootloader with an explicit exception that permits bundling proprietary programs

Mixxx is accessed via the Python standard library (sqlite3); VirtualDJ via XML.

Qt / PySide6 (LGPL-3.0)

The Qt framework is used through PySide6 under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3. Qt is dynamically linked as a separate library and can be replaced with your own version. The full licence texts (LGPL-3.0 and the referenced GPL-3.0) are included with the application; attribution for all components is listed in the THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES file inside the program package.

Application licence

The DJ-Konverter itself is protected by copyright. © DJ Cataclysm Software. All rights reserved. Your purchase grants a right to use the software under the terms of sale; redistribution of the program is not permitted.