How to · Engine DJ

Relocate missing files in Engine DJ.

Moving or renaming audio files breaks the links Engine DJ holds to your tracks. This guide walks through relinking them so your cues, loops, and grid data stay attached.

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Vibes DJ library app showing an organized track collection

Keep your prep intact when files move.

Relocate missing files in Engine DJ, step by step.

Engine DJ marks tracks with a missing-file indicator when it cannot find the audio at the stored path. You need to relink each file manually using the right-click context menu, or let Engine DJ attempt an automatic search for all missing files at once.

Identify missing tracks

Open Engine DJ and look for tracks highlighted in red in your collection. These tracks cannot be played until they are relinked to their new location on disk. Engine DJ has no native filter or sort to isolate missing tracks, so you will need to scroll through your collection visually to spot the red-highlighted entries.

Locate the files on your drive

Before relinking, confirm where the files actually live now using Finder (macOS) or File Explorer (Windows). If you moved an entire folder, note the new parent folder path. Having this ready speeds up the relinking step considerably.

Relink via the track context menu

Right-click a missing track in Engine DJ and select 'Relocate Missing File'. Navigate to the file's new location in the dialog that opens and confirm. Engine DJ will update its internal path and restore your cue points, loops, and beatgrid for that track. To attempt relinking all missing files at once, right-click any missing track and select 'Auto Relocate All'. Note that Auto Relocate All only scans a limited set of default folders (Music, Desktop, and Documents) plus connected drives - it does not scan the full filesystem. It will also skip files with ambiguous matches (for example, duplicate filenames found in multiple folders), so you may still need to relink some tracks manually afterward.

Verify analysis data is intact

After relinking, play the track or open its detail view to confirm that your cue points, beatgrid, and loops are still present. Because Engine DJ stores all analysis data in its database rather than in the audio file itself, the database record is preserved throughout the relink process - your cue points and grid are not lost and do not need to be re-created.

The catch

Engine DJ's 'Auto Relocate All' feature attempts to relink all missing files at once, but it only scans a fixed set of default locations (Music, Desktop, and Documents folders, plus connected drives). Files stored in custom or non-standard folders will not be found by the automatic search regardless of filename uniqueness. Additionally, any track where multiple candidate files match will be skipped and must be relinked manually. If you have a large library with files spread across custom folder structures, manual relinking one track at a time may be unavoidable.

Mood

Euphoric

Melancholic

Mysterious

Energy

Aggressive

Peaceful

Rave

Function

Afterhours

Club

Home

Where Vibes fits

Protect your prep before and after a file move.

Vibes does not relink missing files inside Engine DJ, but it can import your Engine DJ library before you reorganize your drive, preserving all your vibe tags and prep. After the move and relink in Engine DJ, you can re-export from Vibes to restore your organized playlists and crates without starting over.

See how it works

Import your Engine DJ library (m.db) into Vibes before restructuring your drive to lock in all your current organization

Vibe tags, categories, and Set Designer data live in Vibes independently of file paths, so a folder move does not erase your prep

After relinking in Engine DJ, export from Vibes straight back into Engine DJ's database to restore playlists and crates

Watched Folders auto-import newly added or moved files into Vibes so fresh tracks enter your workflow without manual steps

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.

No. Relinking is an internal Engine DJ operation that requires pointing the app at the correct file path on disk. Vibes is a library prep and export tool, not a database repair utility. You need to perform the relink inside Engine DJ itself.

Yes, in most cases. Engine DJ stores cue points, loops, and beatgrid data in its database against the track record, not solely against the file path. Relinking reconnects the existing record to the new path, so that analysis data is typically restored automatically.

Keep your audio files in a stable folder structure and avoid renaming or moving them once they are imported into Engine DJ. If you need to reorganize, do it before importing, or use a consistent top-level music folder so that only a single relink point changes if you ever move everything.

Methodology