Serato to rekordbox: Move Your Library Without Losing Cues

By NaJade · DJ in Bangkok · Published November 13, 2026

This guide is part of DJ software: the complete guide.

Switching software shouldn’t mean starting your library from zero.

A lot of DJs I meet in Bangkok learned on a Serato controller, then landed their first club booking and found a booth full of CDJs that only read rekordbox USBs. Moving the music is easy — it’s just files. The hard part is the years of work sitting on top of it: crates, hot cues, loops and beat grids. rekordbox has no button that reads a Serato library, so the job is done with a converter. Done carefully, it takes an evening, not a month of re-cueing.

rekordbox can’t read a Serato library directly, so use a converter. Back up your _Serato_ folder, close both apps, then let a tool such as Lexicon, MIXO or DJCU2 translate crates, hot cues, loops and beat grids into rekordbox. Spot-check grids and cues on a handful of tracks before you export anything for a gig.

Can rekordbox Import a Serato Library?

Not directly. The rekordbox 7 manual documents three ways to bring a library in: music files and folders, your iTunes/Apple Music library, and a rekordbox XML file. Serato isn’t one of them. A converter fills the gap — it reads Serato’s crates and track data, then either writes straight into rekordbox or produces an XML file that rekordbox loads under Preferences > Advanced > Database > rekordbox xml.

What you should not do is simply drag your music folder into rekordbox. That brings the audio across and nothing else — no crates, no hot cues, no loops, and fresh beat grids that may not match the ones you spent hours fixing. If you’re still deciding whether to switch at all, read rekordbox vs Serato first.

Step 1: Back Up Everything First

Find your _Serato_ folder. On both Mac and Windows it lives in your Music folder (Users/[name]/Music/_Serato_ or C:\Users\[name]\Music\_Serato_). Every external drive with music on it also has its own _Serato_ folder at the root — Serato’s support page explains the layout.
Copy every one of them to a separate drive or cloud folder. A converter should only read Serato’s data, but a backup costs you two minutes.
Back up rekordbox too if you already have a library there — see how to back up your rekordbox library.
Connect every drive your Serato library uses, so the converter can find each file path.
Close both apps completely and pause rekordbox Cloud Library Sync while you convert. Two programs writing to the same library at once is how things break.
Update first. Serato DJ Pro rebuilt its library in version 4.0 and is now on 5.x, so an old converter may not read a current Serato library at all.

Step 2: Choose a Converter

AlphaTheta, the company behind rekordbox, says it doesn’t support third-party library tools it hasn’t authorised — another reason the backup matters. These are the tools most DJs use:

Tool	Price	Runs on	What to know
Lexicon DJ	Library conversion free; paid plans from $10.49/month	Mac, Windows	Direct sync keeps hot cues, colours, BPM and grids; crates become playlists
MIXO	Free desktop tier; Gold rises to $15/month from 1 Dec 2026	Mac, Windows	Switch on BeatGrid Lock so rekordbox analysis doesn’t reset grids
DJCU2	From €44.50	macOS only	Long-running utility; confirm your Serato version is supported
Rekord Buddy	Free	Mac	Legacy and no longer actively maintained — not for a current library

For most people, Lexicon’s free Serato-to-rekordbox conversion is the sensible place to start. Prices change, so check the current plan before paying for anything.

Step 3: Run the Conversion

Import from Serato into the converter. It reads crates, subcrates, smart crates and per-track data such as cues, loops and grids.
Check the preview. Crates become playlists, subcrates become folders, and smart crates become intelligent playlists, sometimes with simplified rules.
Send it to rekordbox. A direct sync writes straight into the rekordbox library. The XML route creates a file you point rekordbox at.
If you used XML, show the rekordbox xml tree under Preferences > View > Layout, then drag its playlists into Playlists.
Don’t re-analyse the converted tracks with grid analysis switched on, or rekordbox may overwrite the grids you just brought across. Lock the grids first.

What Transfers — and What Doesn’t

Data	Usually transfers?	Watch out for
Crates and subcrates	Yes, as playlists and folders	Order and naming after import
Hot cues and colours	Yes	The XML route keeps only 8 hot cues
BPM and beat grids	Yes	Re-analysis resets them; the MP3 offset issue
Saved loops	Mostly	Check loop lengths on a few tracks
Smart crates	Partly	Rules can be simplified; XML has no smart playlists
Serato Flip	No	Rebuild by hand if you used it

The one that catches people is the 26 ms MP3 offset. Different apps read the encoder header in some MP3 files differently, so a small share of tracks end up with every cue and grid shifted by about 26 milliseconds. Good converters correct this automatically, but listen to a few MP3s anyway — if a hot cue lands just before the kick, that’s what you’re hearing. The fix is in how to fix beat grids in rekordbox.

Check It Before It Matters

Pick ten tracks you know by heart: a mix of MP3, WAV and AIFF, from different drives. Load each one and check that the first downbeat sits on the grid, the hot cues land on the transient, and loops are the right length. Then build a test playlist, export it to USB, and play it on CDJs if you can get near a pair.

Once it’s right, pick one app as your master library. Running both side by side works — they share the same audio files — but cues edited in one won’t appear in the other until you convert again. For a tidy-up while you’re at it, see how to organise your DJ music library.

A Note From NaJade

Most of the students I teach in Bangkok arrive with a library built in whatever software came with their first controller. The moment they get a club gig, the question is always the same: do I have to start again? You don’t. What I tell them is to treat the move like packing for a gig — back up, convert, then check everything with your own ears before trusting it. The converter does ninety percent of the work; the last ten percent is you listening. I’d rather someone spend one quiet evening checking twenty tracks at home than discover a shifted cue point at 1am in front of a full room. The library is your instrument. Move it carefully and it will play the same in any booth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can rekordbox import Serato crates directly?

No. The rekordbox 7 manual lists music files and folders, your iTunes or Apple Music library, and rekordbox XML as import sources — not Serato. To bring crates across you need a converter such as Lexicon, MIXO or DJCU2, which either writes straight into rekordbox or creates an XML file that rekordbox can load.

Will my hot cues transfer from Serato to rekordbox?

Yes, with a converter. Hot cues, their colours, BPM and beat grids usually transfer accurately using a direct sync. If you go through rekordbox XML instead, only eight hot cues per track come across. Always check a handful of tracks afterwards, especially MP3s, before playing a gig from the converted library.

Is there a free way to convert Serato to rekordbox?

Yes. Lexicon DJ offers free library conversion between Serato and rekordbox, and MIXO has a free desktop tier. Paid plans add library management features rather than being required for a basic move. Prices and plans change, so check the current offer on each tool’s website before you start.

Why are my beat grids off after converting from Serato?

Two common reasons. rekordbox may have re-analysed the tracks and replaced the converted grids, so lock grids before analysis. Or some MP3s are affected by a roughly 26 ms offset caused by apps reading encoder headers differently. Most converters correct this automatically, but check a few tracks by ear.

Will converting delete my Serato library?

A converter reads your Serato data and writes a copy into rekordbox, so Serato should keep working as before. Some tools also back up your Serato data automatically. Still, make your own copy of every _Serato_ folder first, including the ones at the root of external drives, before running any conversion.

Can I use Serato and rekordbox at the same time?

Yes. Both apps can point at the same audio files, so you don’t need two copies of your music. The catch is that cues, grids and crates edited in one app won’t appear in the other until you convert again. Pick one app as your master library and treat the other as a copy.

About the Author

NaJade is a Bangkok-based DJ playing progressive house, melodic EDM, pop, and Thai music across clubs, rooftops, and weddings in Thailand. He teaches beatmatching and mixing to beginners both in person in Bangkok and online over Zoom. When he’s not behind the decks, he’s documenting the journey on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

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