Getting started
Four questions, then you are building sets.
The first time you open ZOOT it asks you a few things. Each answer changes what the app hands back to you, so it is worth two minutes to get them right.
The wizard opens by itself on first launch. To run it again later, go to Settings › Wizard. Nothing you choose is permanent.
The four that matter
After these, a Finish button appears. You can stop there and come back to the rest another day.
Your DJ name
What should we call you?
This goes on the playlist cards you share, so a set you post has your name on it. Leave it blank if you would rather not.
Your sound
What do you play?
Pick up to three genres, with your main sound first. The set builders start from these, so the first set ZOOT hands you already sounds like you.
Play a bit of everything? Skip it, and ZOOT stays open to your whole library.
Theme
How should ZOOT look?
Choose a colour theme. If you prep in a dark room or a bright one, pick for that. You can change it any time in Settings › Style.
Music folder
Where is your music?
Point ZOOT at the folder your tracks live in. Everything inside it, including the folders beneath, is included. Nothing is copied or moved.
If your DJ tracks sit in their own folder inside Music, choose that folder, not the whole of Music. It keeps ringtones, voice notes and podcasts out of your sets.
The six that make the sets yours
All optional. Each one has a sensible default, so skip any you are unsure of.
Library view
How do you like your track list?
Rows fit more tracks on screen at once. Cards are larger, with artwork and key on show. Rows suit a big library; cards suit browsing by eye.
DJ software
Which DJ software do you use?
This is the one that saves you an evening later. Tell ZOOT where your music library lives on your computer, and every set you export points at those copies, so your DJ software can open the playlist and find every track.
Only planning to play sets from the phone? Leave it.
Default Mixkey
Which way do you like to move through keys?
Standard follows the classic wheel order and is the one to start with. Rising steps upward for sets that keep lifting, Falling steps down, and Flat stays in the same key zone. See the moves on the Mixkey wheel.
BPM range
How fast is your music?
A track at 174 can be heard as 87, and the other way round. Telling ZOOT roughly where your music sits stops it reading a fast track at half speed. It applies to tracks analysed from then on.
Playlist compensation
How long does a track really play?
A six-minute track rarely gets six minutes, because you mix in and out of it. Set how long each one actually plays in your sets, and how many spares you like, and a "90 minute" set comes out at 90 minutes. Twenty per cent spare is a good place to start.
Not sure of your number? Try the set length calculator.
AI playlist builder
Want AI to help build sets?
With this on, you can describe a set in a sentence and ZOOT works out what you mean. It runs on the phone itself, so nothing you type leaves it. It needs a phone that supports on-device AI; on others, ZOOT matches your words without it. This one is part of the full version.
Confirm and apply
Ready to go?
The last page lists everything you chose. Tap Apply and ZOOT reloads your tracks from the folder you picked.
Then what?
- Let it listen. Go to Settings › Add Music › Local. ZOOT works out the key, tempo and energy of every track. Put the phone on charge and leave it; you only do the whole library once.
- Build your first set. Tap Create, pick a vibe and a length, and tap Build.
- Make it yours. Open the Editor, drag tracks into the order you want, and watch the energy line across the top.
- Play it through. On headphones or in the car. Fix what jars while you still remember it.
Stuck on anything? In the app, Settings › Help lets you type what you are looking for in your own words.