Looking at Lightkey? Here is what CueSync does on a Mac
CueSync is show-control software for Apple Silicon Macs. It reads the beat and structure of the music, or a show's timecode, and fires cues on the console, media server and show-control software that own the rig. This page is about CueSync only.
What CueSync does
For the job: show control that follows the music, on a Mac.
Your own files, analysed on your Mac
Local Audio plays your audio files, and CueSync works out the beat grid, phrases, energy, key and loudness on your own machine, with nothing uploaded. Track Prep analyses a whole library in one run and can turn the analysis into suggested cues for you to review.
Editions: DJ · Production
The beat from the decks
CueSync joins your PRO DJ LINK network as another player and reads the position, BPM, phase and tempo master your CDJs already share, so the tempo comes from the decks, with no DJ software in the chain. If the beats go quiet while a deck is playing, it says so instead of firing nothing. Of the Pioneer units, only the CDJ-3000 has been through a hardware session.
Editions: DJ · Production
Cues that wait for the music
A cue can wait for a phrase change, an energy band, a fill or the DJ's hot cue press, and fire when the track gets there. Cues are checked in order, so the cue you expect next goes at the top of the stack. On your own files these cues use CueSync's analysis; on a Pioneer deck, phrase cues read the phrase map rekordbox wrote to the stick, which has not yet been checked on a CDJ-3000.
Editions: DJ · Production
Moments under your hand
Cue Pads give the moments that are not on a timeline a name and a place under your hand: one action or a sequence per pad, fired from the screen, the keyboard or a MIDI controller.
Editions: Every edition
One cue, the whole rig
One cue can hold a console command, a media-server command, a MIDI message and an audio clip, so a single press fires the whole moment. CueSync ships 15 output protocols — grandMA2 (Telnet), grandMA3 (TCP and UDP OSC), Avolites Titan, ETC Eos, ChamSys MagicQ, Resolume, disguise, VIOSO, Pixera, TouchDesigner, Unreal Engine 5, QLab (TCP and UDP), MIDI Show Control, Pangolin Beyond and Custom OSC — of which grandMA3, QLab, Resolume and Unreal Engine 5 (in-engine, on our own project) have been run against the real program or console, and the rest are built to each maker's published interface and have not yet been run against that equipment, so fire your cues on your own rig before a show.
Editions: Every edition
Timecode out
CueSync sends timecode as LTC, MTC, Art-Net Timecode and TCNet, at ten frame rates from 23.976 to 60, and each destination is addressed on its own. A DJ install sends the CDJ clock out as timecode.
Editions: Every edition
DMX over the network, in beta
Art-Net and sACN output sends DMX to a network node when a cue fires. The route CueSync is built for is a console it drives in the console's own protocol.
Editions: Every edition
Before you decide
What you need
- A Mac with Apple Silicon and macOS 12 or later. CueSync does not run on an Intel Mac, and there is no Windows build.
- DJ or Production for the decks, Local Audio and music-driven cues. Every edition connects to every output and generates timecode.
- Something programmed for CueSync to trigger: a console, a media server or show-control software. CueSync drives the desk, and the desk owns the rig.
- An account. Without a subscription you can run the demo show and tour the app in read-only mode. Building and saving your own shows, and connecting real outputs, need a subscription.
When CueSync is not the right fit
- Your Mac has an Intel processor. CueSync needs Apple Silicon and macOS 12 or later, and it does not run on an Intel Mac.
- You want software to light fixtures directly, with no console in the rig. CueSync is built first to trigger a programmed console; its own DMX output is Art-Net and sACN, so fixtures connect through a network node.
- Your fixtures hang off a USB DMX interface. CueSync has no USB DMX output; its own DMX output is Art-Net and sACN.
Common Questions
Have more questions? Contact us
Last reviewed . This page describes CueSync only and makes no claim about any other product. If anything here about CueSync is out of date, tell us at contact@cuesync.live and we will correct it.
Competitor product names and marks on this page are the property of their respective owners and are used only to identify their products. CueSync is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. This page is the opinion of its author as of October 2026, based on CueSync's own documentation.
Ready to Automate Your Stage?
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