Help & how it works

👋New here? Start with this

Don't have Cratefox yet? It's invite-only. Ask the DJ who shared it for an access code, or request one at cratefox.app. A real person sends your code, usually within a day.

Each code locks to the first computer that installs it, so it can't be shared or reused on another machine. Got a new computer? Just ask for a fresh code.

Already installed it? To reopen Cratefox any time, visit the address shown on the green line when it finished installing, usually localhost:5055 (occasionally a higher number like localhost:5056 if that port was busy). It's always running quietly in the background. Bookmark that page once and you're set.

🔄How Soulseek works (and what you share)

On Soulseek, downloading and sharing go together, it's how the free network stays fast for everyone. Cratefox only ever shares two folders you control, never your whole Music library:

The more you put in the shared folder, the faster downloads get; share nothing and the first ones are slow.

🎹Key, BPM & energy: what to expect

Cratefox reads every track on your own computer (offline, nothing leaves your machine) and tags its BPM, musical key, and an energy level, then sorts the crate so it mixes in key.

BPM is reliable (right to within 1 BPM on house/techno). Key is a strong estimate, not perfect: blind key detection tops out near 70% even in pro tools. So Cratefox does the honest thing and flags the uncertain keys with a "check this" mark plus a second possible key, so you pre-listen just those few instead of trusting every tag. Roughly 1 in 8 keys is a real clash risk, and the flag catches most of them.

Energy (1-10) is a relative guide for shaping your set's arc, not an absolute score. Under each energy number you'll see four little bars: drive (punch), bass (low-end weight), groove (how locked the beat is), and vocal, a rough hint from the mid-range, not real vocal detection, so a mid-heavy instrumental can still read high. Cratefox is tuned for house/techno; other genres are rougher guesses. Online key lookup stays off by default and rarely helps on underground tracks, so the value is all in the local analysis.

A small E or C sits next to each key: E means the full key engine read it (with a second method cross-checking), C means a lighter fallback engine that flags more keys on purpose. Either way, if you know a key or energy is wrong, hit fix on that row and set it yourself. Cratefox then trusts your value everywhere and writes it into the file, so Rekordbox and Serato see it too.

Build a set lays your whole crate out sorted by key and tempo so neighbouring tracks mix, then you fine-tune by hand: drag any track to reorder, or hit ✕ to drop one. Each row shows its mix key, BPM and energy. The where-to-mix view (the small ⌁ button on a track) gives a rough read of the track's shape, where the intro ends, where the breakdown is, where to mix out. It's a guide from the track's energy, not a beat grid, so always trust your ears.

⏳If something looks stuck or blocked

The first install downloads a lot (Python, the Soulseek engine, and a few standard free tools). As long as the window keeps showing activity, Terminal on a Mac or PowerShell on Windows, leave it, up to ~15 min is normal.

On a Mac you might see a popup that says it cannot verify the developer of Cratefox's Soulseek engine. This is normal: Apple shows it for any app it didn't sell in its own store, and the Soulseek engine is free, open software trusted by DJs for years. Open System Settings, click Privacy & Security, scroll to the blocked item, and click Open Anyway. You only do this once.

On Windows you might see a blue "Windows protected your PC" box, or an antivirus warning, because Cratefox is a small indie tool that isn't signed yet. That's expected, nothing is wrong. Click More info then Run anyway; if your antivirus asks, choose Allow or Keep; and if Windows asks to make changes, click Yes. You only do this once.

If the app page doesn't open by itself, open the address from that same green line yourself, usually http://localhost:5055.

⏻How to stop or remove it

Cratefox runs quietly in the background and starts again when you log in. Stop it, or remove it completely, any time by pasting one line, into Terminal on a Mac or PowerShell on Windows. Your downloaded music is never touched.