What is in the _Serato_ folder, and which files matter?

The two Serato folders

Serato’s own support team says a backup or move needs three things: the _Serato_ folder, Serato’s Library folder, and your music files. The two folders do different jobs, and which one holds your library depends on your version.

• ~/Music/_Serato_ holds crates, smart crates, logs and other library files. On Serato 3.x it also holds the library itself, in database V2.
• ~/Library/Application Support/Serato/Library holds, in Serato’s words, history sessions, preferences and crate order. On Serato DJ Pro 4 it also holds the main library database.

What is inside _Serato_

Serato marks several of these as legacy, meaning versions before 4.0 created them. Not every item appears in every folder.

• Subcrates: one .crate file per crate. Serato calls this the primary storage for crates. Never delete it.
• SmartCrates: your smart crate rules.
• database V2: the library file on Serato 3.x: every track’s path, BPM and other details. Serato 4 still writes one here when it quits, as a copy of its new database.
• neworder.pref: the order of your crates. If crate order will not save, Serato says to delete it while Serato is closed; it is rebuilt on the next launch.
• collapsed.pref: which crates are expanded or collapsed. Safe to delete for the same reason.
• History: session history on Serato 3.x and earlier.
• History Export: where session exports from the History panel are saved.
• Export Backups: dated zips of your crates and database V2, written when Serato 4 backs up on exit. The quickest way to recover a deleted crate.
• Metadata: details for files that cannot store tags themselves, such as video.
• Logs, Reports, DropoutCount.log, OverviewBuilder.log: diagnostics and crash reports. Useful to Serato’s support team, safe to ignore.
• Auto Import and Imported: an older drop folder for adding music on the next launch, and where those tracks were moved to.
• Recording and Recording temp: recordings made in Serato, finished and unsaved.
• MIDI: saved MIDI presets.
• window.pref: window size and column layout.

On 3.3.5 and below you may also see a _Serato_Backup folder next to it: a single full copy made when you accepted the backup prompt on exit, overwritten each time.

What is inside Serato's Library folder

On Serato DJ Pro 4 you will find:

• master.sqlite: the main library database Serato 4 runs from, including crates, track details and history.
• root.sqlite: a companion database for the library.
• audiounits.sqlite and effects.sqlite: plug-in and effects data.
• Backups: dated zips of those databases. Serato makes them 15 minutes after you open the library, every 24 hours, and whenever the database structure changes, keeping only the most recent. Restoring one is covered in how to fix a corrupt Serato database.

What you can safely delete, and what you cannot

Safe, with Serato closed: neworder.pref and collapsed.pref (Serato rebuilds them), old logs and crash reports, and old Export Backups once you have your own backups.

Never delete: Subcrates, SmartCrates, database V2 on Serato 3.x, or anything in Serato’s Library folder on Serato 4. And never delete a whole _Serato_ folder to “start fresh”: rename it instead, so you can put it back.

Why there is a _Serato_ folder on your external drive

Serato stores the crates for tracks on an external drive in that drive’s own _Serato_ folder, with paths relative to the drive. That is what lets you plug the drive into another Serato computer and see its crates. It also means backing up only your Mac’s _Serato_ folder misses them. More in how to run a Serato library from an external drive.

Keep what is inside it healthy

The folders are only as good as the library they describe. Crate Cleaner scans your Serato library for missing files, corrupt files, duplicates and tracks in no crate, and it backs up every crate file before it changes one. The scan is free on your real library, with no card required.

Try Crate Cleaner free →

FAQ

Can I delete the _Serato_ folder? Not if you want to keep your crates. It holds them in the Subcrates folder, and on Serato 3.x it holds the whole library. Rename it rather than deleting it if you need Serato to start fresh.

Where is the _Serato_ folder on Windows? At C:\Users\[your username]\Music\_Serato_. Serato's Library folder is under AppData > Local > Serato.

Is database V2 still used in Serato 4? Serato 4 runs from master.sqlite in its Library folder. It still writes a database V2 file into _Serato_ when it quits, and reads changes from it at launch, but it is no longer the main library.

Why do I have more than one _Serato_ folder? Serato creates one at the root of every drive you add music from. Each holds the crates for the tracks on that drive.

Which Serato files should I back up? Every _Serato_ folder, Serato's Library folder in Application Support, and your music files. See how to back up your Serato library.