Two different things share the word “folder.” The songbook is a cloud list of titles so singers can search from their phones. Playback uses the actual MP3+CDG / ZIP files on the computer running the player. Uploading a catalogue does not copy the audio into the cloud. A second host screen with no karaoke folder on it can still Play Track — that click runs on the machine that has the folder mounted.
Upload a songbook
On the Host Dashboard, open Digital Catalogues. The uploader is Karaoke Catalogues.
- Type a Catalogue Name (required for a new book — e.g. Main Catalogue).
- Click Scan Folder. Chrome or Edge will ask you to pick the folder that holds your karaoke files. Other browsers show Folder picker not supported… Please use a modern browser like Chrome or Edge.
- Confirm Naming Convention — Karaoke Name reads artist and title from filenames. Pick the pattern that matches your files (Artist - Title, Title - Artist, Code - Artist - Title, and so on), or Do Your Best if folders mix patterns. Check the preview, then Confirm & Proceed (or Proceed with Best Effort). Advanced is there if you need a custom split.
- Click Upload N Tracks. Tracks can be ZIP files or CDG+MP3 pairs. Duplicates are dropped. You get Catalogue uploaded successfully! It's now available for all your gigs.
That upload is metadata (artist, title, optional code, relative file paths). The audio stays on disk.
You can keep up to 6 karaoke catalogues. Add Songs on an existing book scans another folder and merges. The X control deletes a catalogue (confirm first) — that does not delete files on your computer.
Background music is not a catalogue. Between-song BGM is a local folder on the player (see below).
Which books this gig uses
Open Gig Settings (gear on the gig toolbar).
- Karaoke Catalogues — tick which books singers search tonight. If none are ticked, they can still type a request by hand; autocomplete stays empty.
- Require Catalogue Selection — off by default (free-text is allowed). Turn it on so they must pick from search or Browse for this gig’s catalogues.
Singers see those titles on /singers/gigs/…. They are not downloading your tracks.
Mount the karaoke folder (playback machine)
Play Track and Enqueue Track on the Active Queue need The Rig and a karaoke folder on the playback machine. During Rig beta, an active Controller subscription includes Rig. Plans: The Controller and The Rig.
On the laptop that will play into the house system:
- Click Play Track (or Enqueue Track) on a catalogue song. If nothing is mounted yet, Load Karaoke Folder opens.
- Click Select Karaoke Folder, pick the same library you scanned for the songbook (or a parent folder that contains those files), and allow access.
- The track starts. The browser remembers that folder on this machine.
You can also open the Karaoke Player (Toggle Player), then Load → Load Folder.
If permission is lost (folder moved, renamed, or the browser forgot access), you get Re-select Karaoke Folder. Pick the same folder again.
Mounts are per browser, not synced to the cloud. A second booth laptop needs its own Select Karaoke Folder. Chrome or Edge is the reliable path — same folder picker as the dashboard scan.
You can still run Request Pool and Active Queue with no folder mounted. Playback is the extra step. How those lists work: Running the queue. Auto Host opens the player, checks karaoke (and BGM if enabled) on the playback computer, and starts the night: Auto Host.
Other host screens (phone, tablet, second laptop)
Keep the gig page open on the computer with the karaoke folder so it can actually play. Opening that gig page records a mount attestation in the cloud (refreshed on each load, good for 12 hours). A later computer that mounts takes over. Open the same gig on your phone (same host login) to steward the night.
When a playback machine has a fresh attestation you will see:
Play and Enqueue from this screen run on the computer with your karaoke folder mounted.
Play Track and Enqueue Track stay on the Active Queue. They do not ask this screen to mount a library. Peel, reorder, Add, and Mark as Played still work here.
Auto Host from this screen opens the player so you can see now-playing and time, then starts playback on the computer with the folder. That computer shows Remote control requested — click OK there (not on the phone) so the browser can allow audio and folder access. Opening that remote player — or seeing the track play on the booth computer — does not make this screen the playback machine. If that computer’s folders are missing or unreadable, it shows Load Karaoke Folder — a screen that cannot play locally does not, while that attestation is fresh (turning Auto Host off does not ask this screen to mount either). The player’s play/pause, stop, seek, skip, BGM shuttle, and house settings (key, DSP, visuals, screen, overlays, BGM volume) run on that computer. Lyrics, waveform picture, and visuals stay there — they are not sent to the phone. Mount the karaoke (and BGM) folder on the playback computer, not on the phone.
If no machine has a fresh mount attestation, this gig page is a standalone player: Play and Auto Host work as they do on a single computer, including Load Karaoke Folder if you need to mount.
If a device shows an amber remote-play connection warning on the gig page, that device can't reach the coordination channel — remote Play and Auto Host between devices won't work from it until it reconnects. It retries automatically; if the warning stays, sign out and back in on that device, and check that an ad blocker isn't blocking Firestore.
Which screen plays
If another session already holds a fresh attestation, this gig page asks Which screen plays the music? It also says whether that session looks like another tab in this browser, a tab in a different browser, or a different device (for example Chrome on an Android mobile device). That guess uses the browser name and device type — the same kind of signal analytics uses — not a unique PC id. Two computers both running Chrome can look like another Chrome session. If it looks like a different device (or another session), it may also say whether that device appears local to you or not, with a city (for example Lancing, England, UK). That city comes from the network, not from GPS — a phone on mobile data can look like a nearby city. If it cannot tell the browser, device type, iOS vs Android, or place, it says so in plain language rather than guessing or leaving a gap. A playback claim is not the same as being signed in. To see where you're signed in, use Sign-in & security in the account menu (/profile/security). The dialog also links there.
- Play music on this device — only if this device has a karaoke folder mounted. Take over as the playback device. The browser may ask you to re-allow access to your karaoke folder; if the folder has moved, you re-select it and the takeover completes.
- Control the other device from here — this screen becomes a remote for the device that is already set up. That computer is asked Remote control requested first; then you see Confirm on the other computer: confirm the dialog on that machine before proceeding.
- Run standalone — this screen ignores the other device; playback here stays here.
A phone without a karaoke folder mounted is asked the last two only (no take over). Your answer sticks for this tab (per gig). If you mount a karaoke folder later while another machine still holds the claim, you are asked again — now including Play music on this device.
Background music folder
Between singers, BGM is also local files only. On the player, the BGM shuttle (next to Play / skip) shows Mount folder in place of track titles until a folder is mounted — or Re-authorise / Re-mount if the browser dropped access. You can also open the Background Music tab: Source Folder starts as Mount Root Folder. After you pick an MP3 folder it shows Mounted: plus the folder name. The prompt Load Background Music / Select Music Folder is the same idea when access needs a fresh pick.
There is no BGM catalogue upload. Remount on each booth machine, same as karaoke.
Venue TV and HDMI: Connecting your laptop to venue audio and visuals. Visuals: Understanding Beat Detection and visualizations.
If you are evaluating Karaoke Name, see what we have available for hosts.