How to · Serato DJ

Organize by energy in Serato.

Serato has no energy field, so DJs code one into crates, colors, or comments. Here is how to build a workable energy system, and how to get a real energy read on every track.

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A DJ library organized by energy and feel

Pull the right energy for the room, not just the right genre.

Building an energy system in Serato.

With no dedicated energy field, the common approaches are numbered crates, a tag in the comment field that you can smart-crate on, or the star/emoji rating column introduced in Serato DJ Pro 4.0. Track color labels exist but cannot be used as smart crate filter rules or sorted as a column.

Pick an energy scale

Decide on a simple scale, for example 1 to 5 or warm-up to peak, and keep it consistent across the whole library.

Code it into a field

Apply the scale using numbered crates, a tag in the comment field like energy3, or the star/emoji rating column in Serato DJ Pro 4.0. These are the fields you can actually filter or sort by later. Track color labels are visual only and cannot be used as smart crate rules or sorted as a column.

Build smart crates

Create a smart crate with a rule that matches your energy code. For example, set the Comment field to 'contains energy3' so a crate like Peak Energy maintains itself automatically.

Sort within energy

Inside an energy band, sort by BPM or key so the order is already mix-friendly when you open the crate. Hold Cmd (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) and click a second column header to add a secondary sort.

The catch

Energy here is a code you assign by ear and have to keep consistent yourself. Serato never measures the actual energy of a track automatically, so a big library drifts out of sync with your scale over time. The rating column in Serato DJ Pro 4.0 gives you a cleaner dedicated field for this, but it still requires manual assignment for every track.

bass

mids

highs

lead

intro

verse

buildup

drop

breakdown

outro

The faster way

An energy read on every track.

Vibes analyzes each track's energy curve and lets you tag energy as a first-class vibe, so you are not babysitting a comment-field code. It all exports back into Serato.

See how it works

An energy curve for every track from the audio analysis

Tag warm-up, build, and peak as real vibes you can filter

Auto-Tag proposes energy and mood so a big library sorts fast

Export the result back to Serato as crates and colors

Organize in Vibes, export to Serato 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.

No dedicated one. DJs build their own with numbered crates, color codes, or characters in the comment field, then sort or smart-crate on it. It works but is fully manual and easy to apply inconsistently.

Vibes analyzes each track locally and produces an energy curve from the audio, plus auto-tag suggestions for energy and mood that you can accept or adjust, so the system is grounded in the real sound.

Yes. Your vibe organization exports back into Serato as crates and colors, so the energy system you build in Vibes is usable in the booth.

Methodology