Serato reads and writes cue points inside each audio file's tags — not in a central database. When you set a hot cue, Serato writes it into the file itself. That design has two consequences:
1. Any tool that writes cues in Serato's format makes them appear in Serato with no import step.
2. There is no "select library → auto cue" button in Serato itself, and there never has been. Setting four cues per track by hand takes about a minute per song once you're fast. On a 2,000-track working library, that's over 30 hours of clicking.
For a 30-track gig crate, hand-cueing is fine. The fastest manual routine:
| Cue slot | Point | Color habit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro start (first beat) | Green |
| 2 | Build-up / pre-drop | Yellow |
| 3 | First drop | Red |
| 4 | Verse or vocal entry | Blue |
The rule that matters: same slots, same colors, every track. Muscle memory only works if cue 3 is always the drop. Keep a fifth slot free for song-specific moments (a capella outs, horn stabs, wheel-up points).
Automatic cueing tools analyze each track's structure — energy changes, drum entries, section boundaries — and write the cues into the file the same way Serato would. A good one handles a full crate in one pass and lets you spot-check the results on a waveform before anything is saved.
RiddimDJ Pro's Cue Scanner was built for exactly this: select a crate (or your whole library), and it places intro, build-up, drop-in and verse cues on every track, in one pass, written in Serato's native format. Every write is backed up first and verified after, so a bad file never costs you your cues — and it merges with cues you've already set by hand instead of overwriting them.
Back up your files first. Cues live inside the audio files, so a batch writer touches every file it cues. Any tool worth using does its own backups; do yours anyway.
Quit Serato while writing. Serato holds crate and tag state in memory and writes it back on exit — running both at once is how libraries get corrupted, whatever tool you use.
Verify the beat grid on your headliners. Auto-cues land where the grid says the beat is. On your 20 must-play tracks, confirm the grid is locked before trusting any automated cue.
Can Serato set cue points automatically?
Only the temporary cue (first beat). Hot cues require either manual placement or a third-party tool that writes Serato-format cues.
Where does Serato store cue points?
Inside each file's tags (GEOB frames in MP3, equivalent atoms in M4A). Nothing lives in a central database, which is why file backups matter.
Will automatic cues overwrite the ones I set by hand?
Depends on the tool. RiddimDJ Pro merges — existing cues stay, empty slots get filled.
Want the full pre-gig prep flow — tagging, scoring, key order, cues — as a one-page checklist? Grab the free Dancehall Set-Prep Checklist. · RiddimDJ Pro — the Serato prep suite for dancehall, reggae & soca DJs. · Next guide: How to organize Serato crates