How to · Engine DJ

Create Smartlists in Engine DJ.

Smartlists fill themselves from rules, so a list stays current as your library grows. Here is how to build them in Engine DJ, and how to give them better data to work with.

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A rule-based playlist organizing a library

Lists that maintain themselves from your own rules.

Building a Smartlist in Engine DJ.

Smartlists arrived in Engine DJ 3.1. They are rule-based lists that Engine keeps populated automatically as your collection changes.

Create the Smartlist

Right-click your collection or a playlist and choose Create Smartlist to open the rule builder. You can also click the Create Smartlist button directly on the Collection folder.

Add rules

Set conditions on native fields like BPM, key, genre, comment, label, album, artist, or title. Use the Match All Rules checkbox to control whether tracks must satisfy every rule (AND logic) or just one of them (OR logic).

Combine for precision

Stack rules to express a real idea, for example BPM 120 to 126 and genre House, so the list is exactly what you intend.

Let it update

As you add matching tracks, the Smartlist updates itself, so the list is always current without manual upkeep.

The catch

Smartlist rules are confined to Engine's native text and numeric fields: BPM, key, genre, comment, label, album, artist, and title. There is no color rule, no energy field, and no custom vibe or mood tags, so the rules cannot filter by track color or reason about how a track feels.

Mood

Euphoric

Melancholic

Mysterious

Energy

Aggressive

Peaceful

Rave

Function

Afterhours

Club

Home

The faster way

What Smartlists cannot tag, Vibes can.

Vibes auto-tags energy, mood, and role, attributes Engine DJ has no field for, then exports them back so your Smartlist rules can finally filter on how tracks actually feel.

See how it works

Auto-Tag adds energy, mood, and role that Engine has no field for

Combinations surface useful tag overlaps as ready lists

Build your taxonomy once and reuse it across the library

Export tags back into Engine DJ for richer Smartlists

Organize in Vibes, export to Engine DJ.

Your playlists, tags, ratings, and cue points travel back to the gear you play on, so nothing you do in Vibes is locked away.

Track 001

Artist A

128

Afterhours

Mysterious

Introspective

Track 002

Artist B

124

Cozy Floor

Peaceful

Home

Track 003

Artist C

132

Rave

Aggressive

Festival

Build & Release

Playlists

Vibes

Mood

Aggressive

Euphoric

Melancholic

Mysterious

Peaceful

Playful

Tense

Function

Arrangement

Sets

Club Night 12/28

NYE Closing Set

Rooftop 01/04

Frequently asked questions

The honest answers, including the trade-offs.

A Smartlist, added in Engine DJ 3.1, is a rule-based list. You set conditions like BPM range, key, or genre, and Engine keeps it populated with matching tracks automatically.

Not natively. Smartlist rules only see Engine's existing fields, and there is no energy or custom-tag field. Vibes can auto-tag those attributes and export them into Engine so the rules can use them.

Yes. Vibes auto-tags energy, mood, and role from the audio and exports them back into Engine DJ, giving your Smartlist rules far richer data to filter on.

Methodology