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How to · Engine DJ

Use Mixed In Key with Engine DJ.

Mixed In Key has no Engine DJ export: it writes its key and Energy Level results into the file's tags, and Engine DJ reads them from the file. Turn Auto Analysis off in Preferences > Library before you add those tracks, so Engine DJ does not run its own key detection over them. Then set Key Notation to Camelot and the codes match what you saw during analysis.

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The Vibes library table with BPM, Camelot key and energy columns filled in for a folder of tracks

Key, Camelot codes and energy sit on the files you own, before the tracks ever reach a DJ app.

Use Mixed In Key results in Engine DJ, step by step.

The Mixed In Key Engine DJ workflow is a tag handoff, not a plugin: one app writes results into the file, the other reads them on import. The order matters, because Engine DJ's own analysis produces a key of its own.

01

Analyze the tracks and write the results into the files

Mixed In Key reads MP3, WAV, AIFF, Apple Lossless, OGG and FLAC. Drop your folders in, let the analysis finish, then use its tag settings so the results are stored inside the music files and not only in its own window. It can also insert the Key and Energy Level into the comments field of each track, which matters because Engine DJ has no energy column.

02

Turn Auto Analysis off before you add the tracks

Open Engine DJ, click the Preferences icon in the toolbar and pick the Library tab. Under Analysis, set Auto Analysis to Off. With it set to On, Engine DJ automatically analyzes track information when you add files, and that analysis detects the waveform, BPM value, key and beat grid itself. Off means it does not run that detection as the files arrive.

03

Set Key Notation to Camelot

Stay in Preferences > Library, under Analysis. Key Notation offers all Sharps, all Flats, Open Key and Camelot. Pick Camelot and Engine DJ shows keys as 8A or 8B, the same Camelot codes you were reading during analysis, so a track at 8A lines up with 7A, 9A and 8B with nothing to translate in your head mid-set.

04

Add the files and show the Key and Comment columns

Drag your analyzed folders into the Collection. Right-click any column header in the Track List and tick Key and Comment. Engine DJ lets you edit Title, Artist, Album, Key, Comment, Genre, Label, Track #, Year, Composer and Mixartist straight in the list: click a field, type, press Enter. Hold Shift and double-click a field to edit several tracks at once.

05

Re-import track information for tracks you already had

If a track was in Engine DJ before its tags were rewritten, the old metadata is still sitting in the Engine Library. Right-click the track and choose Re-import track information, which is the documented way to update a track whose ID3 tags have been edited outside Engine DJ. It works on a multi-track selection too, so do the whole folder in one pass.

06

Analyze for waveforms and grids, but never re-analyze

Engine DJ still needs waveform and beat grid data. Right-click the tracks and choose Analyze: Get missing analysis data. Stay away from Re-analyze: Overwrite existing track data, because the manual states that re-analyzing always uses the latest Engine DJ BPM and key detection regardless of the ID3 tag set on the file. Analysis also skips any beat grid you have locked.

07

Mix by key with the filter boxes

Click the Filters button in the upper-right corner of the Collection pane. The five filter columns are Genre, Artist, Album, BPM and Key. Set Key Compatibility to Compatible and the Key filter shows harmonically compatible keys instead of exact matches only. BPM Range loosens the tempo tolerance by up to 15. Sort by the Comment column to work through energy levels.

The catch

Cue points are the part that does not travel. Mixed In Key writes up to eight automatic cue points per track for Traktor, Serato and rekordbox, and Engine DJ is not on that list. Engine DJ's own analysis does look for cue points, hot cues and loops created in Engine DJ, Rekordbox or Serato DJ inside a file, so cues saved in one of those formats can be picked up, but key and Energy Level are the parts of this handoff you can count on.

Track 001 by Artist A

Track 001

Artist A

128
3A
Afterhours
Mysterious
Introspective
Track 002 by Artist B

Track 002

Artist B

124
5B
Cozy Floor
Peaceful
Home
Track 003 by Artist C

Track 003

Artist C

132
8A
Rave
Aggressive
Festival
Build & Release

Where Vibes fits

The prep that happens before any of these tags matter.

Vibes is not a replacement for Mixed In Key, and it does not write cue points into Engine DJ. It analyzes the files you own and gives you BPM, key in Camelot, musical or Open Key display, an energy curve and the track sections, then lets you tag and sort on top of that. When the library is ready, it exports playlists and vibes back to Engine DJ as a folder tree, with optional Camelot key or BPM sub-folders.

See how it works
Analysis on the files you own: BPM, key, energy curve and sections such as intro, buildup, drop and outro
Find Compatible surfaces harmonic Camelot neighbours inside a BPM window, half and double time aware
Export playlists and vibes to Engine DJ as a folder tree, with optional Camelot key or BPM sub-folders
No decks, no mixing, no cue point writing: the performance side stays in Engine DJ

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 by Artist A

Track 001

Artist A

128
3A
Track 002 by Artist B

Track 002

Artist B

124
5B
Track 003 by Artist C

Track 003

Artist C

132
8A
Vibes App
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.

The vendor publishes endorsements from David Guetta, Armin van Buuren, Kaskade, Diplo, Zedd, Hardwell, Alesso, Nicole Moudaber, Sofi Tukker, LP Giobbi, KSHMR, Darude, Michael Brun and Axwell of Swedish House Mafia, among others. Guetta's line is that he used to find keys with a keyboard and this is as good in less time. Treat those as testimonials on the maker's own site rather than an independent survey of what working DJs run.
It helps more than it limits. Mixing in key means the next track's key sits next to the current one, so melodies and basslines do not fight each other through the blend. On the Camelot wheel that means holding at 8A, or moving to 7A, 9A or 8B. It is a guide, not a rule: plenty of strong transitions ignore it, especially on drum-led tracks with little melody. Lean on it when the blend is long and melodic.
It sells as a one-time purchase rather than a subscription, in two editions: Mixed In Key 11 Standard and Mixed In Key 11 Pro. Both list key detection, Energy Level analysis, cue point creation and tag editing, and both are sold as downloads for macOS and Windows. The figure moves with promotions and upgrade offers, so check mixedinkey.com for the current price before you buy.
They do different jobs. Rekordbox is a full DJ application with decks, export and hardware support, while Mixed In Key only analyzes files and writes the results into their tags. The comparison people mean is key detection, where the maker claims an accuracy edge over the detection built into DJ apps. That claim is its own, not an independent test. What is certain is that the results travel by tag, so they work in rekordbox or here.
Same answer, different app: Serato DJ Pro plays and mixes, Mixed In Key only analyzes. The practical difference for Serato users is cue points. Mixed In Key writes up to eight automatic cue points per track for Traktor, Serato and rekordbox, so a Serato workflow gets more out of it than Engine DJ does, where the key and the Energy Level are the parts that cross over cleanly.
Two usual causes. Either Engine DJ analyzed the file itself and is showing its own detection, or the notation does not match: Engine DJ can display all Sharps, all Flats, Open Key or Camelot, and Open Key numbers look like Camelot numbers without being the same. Check Preferences > Library, under Analysis, first. Then remember that re-analyzing always uses Engine DJ's own key detection regardless of the tag, so correct the key by hand instead.
Not directly. The automatic cue points are written for Traktor, Serato and rekordbox, and there is no Engine DJ target in that list. Engine DJ's own analysis does look for cue points, hot cues and loops created in Engine DJ, Rekordbox or Serato DJ inside a file, so cues saved in one of those formats can be picked up once the track is added and analyzed. Key and Energy Level stay the reliable part.
In the Comment column. Engine DJ has no Energy Level field, so the number rides along in the comments tag, which Mixed In Key can fill with the Key and Energy Level automatically. Right-click a column header in the Track List to show Comment, then click that column to sort by it. Energy runs 1 to 10, where 5 is roughly where people start dancing. Sorting by key works alongside it.

From a Vibes customer

The import worked perfectly. Have created several sets now and my life is so much easier
Danny

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Methodology

How we keep this honest.

Verified against the app

Every step is checked against the current version of Engine DJ.

We own our bias

We make Vibes. We show the native way first and honestly, then where Vibes genuinely helps, and we say when it does not.

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Kept current

Last reviewed June 2026.

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