Why DJ Live Playlist?
Context
I'm a DJ and a senior developer. I stream my sets live on Twitch, mixing vinyl — a format still widely used in my scene. During a live, people in chat invariably ask the same question:
"What's this track?"
For a long time, I handled it manually — a list in a text document, updated between tracks, copy-pasted into chat. Not ideal when you have two hands on the decks and your eyes fixed on the levels.
Why existing solutions don't work
I looked at what was already out there, and nothing fit my needs:
- Vinyl is invisible to software. Most existing apps rely on analysing digital audio files (MP3, FLAC…) to detect which track is playing. When you're spinning vinyl, there's no file to analyse — these tools simply can't help you.
- Multiple tracks playing at once, on multiple decks. In the style I mix, there are often several tracks playing simultaneously. It can be hard — even for the DJ — to tell exactly which ones are playing and especially on which deck. The DLP playlist format answers this question: each track is tied to a specific deck, with its start and end times, making it possible to faithfully reconstruct the flow of the mix.
- No precise timestamping. None of the apps I found let you record the exact start and end times of each track during a set. That means you can't go back afterwards, correct mistakes, or replay the tracklist against the recorded video or audio. With DJ Live Playlist, this is now possible.
- No real control over your data. Existing solutions typically require a cloud account, send your data who-knows-where, and lock you into someone else's platform. I wanted full ownership — no cloud dependency, no account creation, no mystery about what happens with my personal data.
The idea
The idea is simple: an app where I prepare my setlist in advance, and I just press a button when I switch from one track to another. The OBS overlay updates automatically, viewers see the title and artist in real time.
And if it can also be done from the Stream Deck without touching the PC during the mix... perfect.
Why build it myself?
Being both a DJ and a senior developer, I wanted to put my skills to good use — not just for myself, but for the community. Too many talented artists remain unknown because their tracks never get properly credited in live sets. This app is my way of shining a light on lesser-known artists and stimulating a community of DJs who care about giving credit where it's due.
Why Tauri?
I had first thought of Electron, but Tauri imposed itself naturally:
- Much lighter binaries — a few MB vs hundreds for Electron
- Rust for the backend — WebSocket, files, synchronisation: robust, fast, no GC
- Vue.js for the UI — I'm already comfortable with it, the transition is natural
- Native cross-platform build — Tauri's official GitHub Actions handle Windows, Linux and macOS in a single CI
The result
An app that runs in the background and exposes a local WebSocket server. The OBS overlay connects to it like any other server. The Stream Deck plugin too. When a track changes in the app, both update in under a second.
Everything is local, no cloud, no account, no subscription.