How do you edit a beatgrid in Serato DJ Pro?

Which tool fixes which problem

• The grid starts in the wrong place, often because the track opens with a sweep, a snare or a spoken intro: clear it and Set a new downbeat.
• The grid starts right but drifts further into the track: Adjust. The BPM is slightly off, and stretching the grid corrects it.
• Every marker is off by the same amount, so the BPM is right but the groove feels early or late: Slip.
• The track changes tempo: add a Beat Warp Marker at each change. Serato notes this is common with live recordings (rock, funk, reggae) and rare in electronic music.
• The BPM is half or double the real tempo: that is a different fix, covered in Serato BPM halved or doubled.

Serato’s own tip for checking a grid is to skip past a breakdown and into the outro. A grid that looks right in the first bar can still be a fraction off, and the error only shows 64 bars later.

Grid editor shortcuts

These come from Serato’s shortcut list for the grid editor:

• Alt+Space: open the grid editor. Esc: close it without saving. Enter: save.
• X: set a marker (the downbeat, or a Beat Warp Marker).
• Delete: clear the nearest marker. Shift+Delete: clear the whole grid.
• Arrow keys: adjust (stretch or squeeze). Shift+arrow: large adjust.
• Ctrl+arrow: slip. Shift+Ctrl+arrow: large slip.

Use the left and right arrows when the decks are horizontal, and up and down when they are vertical. After clearing a grid, you can also drag the track onto Analyze Files to let Serato build a fresh one, then fine-tune it.

Don’t wipe your edits by re-analyzing

Normal Analyze Files only processes tracks that have not been analyzed yet, so it leaves your grids alone. Two things do not. Analyze Entire Library in Analysis Settings, and Ctrl+clicking the Analyze Files button, both force Serato to re-analyze everything, and Serato warns that with Set Beat Grid/BPM ticked you lose any grids you have edited. Lock the tracks you have fixed, and back up before any full re-analysis. Serato also skips auto BPM on tracks that already have a BPM value, so if a value is wrong, delete it before re-analyzing that track.

When grid edits will not stick

Serato saves beatgrids into the audio file’s own tags. If the file cannot be written to, your edit lasts only until you quit. A gold lock in the Status column means exactly that: the file or its drive is read-only, often because the drive is formatted NTFS. Serato suggests revealing the file in Finder and checking Get Info to see if you have permission to write to it. The same cause stops cue points saving, covered in Serato cue points not saving, and if Serato re-reads your files every launch, see why Serato reads tags every time it opens.

Serato 5: Lucid beatgrids

Serato DJ 5, in public beta since 10 September 2026, adds Flexible Beatgrid Analysis, which maps tempo changes for you, plus two new editing tools: Set Grid Start and Set Beat. The manual method above still applies to fixed grids. What changes, and whether to re-analyze, is in Serato 5 Lucid beatgrids explained.

Keep the copies you have already gridded

Hand-fixed grids are easy to lose when you clean up duplicates: delete the wrong copy and the work goes with it. Crate Cleaner reads which tracks carry a Serato beatgrid and cue points, and when it groups duplicates it favours the copy that has them, after audio quality. Archiving a duplicate is reversible, and crate memberships move to the copy you keep. The duplicate scan is free on your real library.

Try Crate Cleaner free →

FAQ

Why can't I see the Edit Grid button in Serato? It only appears when Sync Mode is set to Smart Sync, or to Simple Sync with Snap to Beatgrid ticked, under Setup > DJ Preferences. The track also needs a grid, so analyze it first.

What is the difference between adjust and slip? Adjust stretches or squeezes the grid, which changes the BPM, for a grid that drifts. Slip moves the whole grid without changing the BPM, for a grid that is evenly early or late.

How do I stop Serato changing my beatgrid? Lock it: hold Ctrl and click the empty Status column next to the track. A blue lock appears. Ctrl+click again to unlock it.

Will re-analyzing overwrite my edited beatgrids? Normal Analyze Files skips tracks that are already analyzed. Analyze Entire Library, or Ctrl+clicking Analyze Files, re-analyzes everything, and with Set Beat Grid/BPM ticked it replaces grids you have edited.

Why does my beatgrid reset after I restart Serato? The file or drive is read-only, shown by a gold lock, so Serato cannot save the grid into the file. Make the file writable, or move it off an NTFS drive, and edit it again.