How do you export and find your history in Serato?
Every set you play in Serato DJ Pro is logged as a session in the History panel. To export one, open History, select the session, choose a format (a text file, a CSV for spreadsheets, an M3U playlist, or Serato Playlists) and click Export. The file lands in the History Export folder inside your _Serato_ folder. To turn a set into a crate instead, drag the session onto the + crate button. When a set is missing from history, the cause is usually one of four things: the tracks never counted as played, the library had failed to open, a Serato 4 history import failed, or a move to a new Mac left the history behind.
Export a Serato history session
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Open the History panelClick the History button above the library. Every session is listed by date and time.
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Open the session you wantClick the arrow next to a session to see its tracks, with start time, end time, playtime and deck. Right-click a column header to add or remove columns, such as Notes.
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Check for tracks you loaded but did not playOpen Manage History and turn on Show Unplayed to see tracks that were loaded but never counted as played. Use Mark as Played if one should be in the set.
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Add anything you played from outside SeratoSelect the track before it, then use Manage History > Insert Track for a record or CD you played, and double-click the new row to fill it in. Inserted tracks are left out of M3U exports.
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Choose a format and exportSelect the session, pick txt, csv, m3u or Serato Playlists, and click Export. Serato Playlists needs turning on in Setup first.
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Find the exported fileOpen ~/Music/_Serato_/History Export. Each export is named after the session date.
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Or turn the set into a crateDrag the session onto the + crate button. Serato makes a crate named with the session date, holding the tracks you played.
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Back up your historyOn Serato DJ Pro 4, history lives in Serato’s Library folder, not in _Serato_. Copy both folders when you back up or move to a new Mac.
Where Serato keeps your history
- Serato DJ Pro 4 keeps history in its library database,
master.sqlite, inside~/Library/Application Support/Serato/Library. Serato describes that folder as holding your history sessions, preferences and crate order. - Serato DJ Pro 3.x and earlier keep it in the
Historyfolder inside~/Music/_Serato_, one.sessionfile per session. - Exports, on every version, go to
~/Music/_Serato_/History Export.
The full map of both folders is in what is in the _Serato_ folder.
Which export format to use
- txt: a plain text list of the set, with times. Good for sending a tracklist or keeping a record.
- csv: the same data for Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets. Use it to count plays across gigs or share a tracklist with a venue.
- m3u: a playlist other software can open. It points at your audio files rather than containing them, and it leaves out any tracks you inserted by hand.
- Serato Playlists: uploads the session to your playlist page on serato.com, if you have turned the feature on in Setup.
If you want the set back inside Serato, skip the export and drag the session onto the + crate button.
What counts as played
Serato only marks a track as played when you crossfade to it and bring its channel fader up. Load a track and eject it without doing both, and it stays unplayed (white) and is left out of the session unless Show Unplayed is on. Once a track has been played and ejected it turns grey or blue, depending on your played-track colour setting. To clear those colours before a new gig, use Reset Played Tracks in Setup > Library + Display. The running Plays count per track is a separate thing, covered in how to see your most played tracks.
History missing or not saving
- The tracks never counted as played. Turn on Show Unplayed. If they are there, the faders were not both open, as above.
- The library had failed to open. Serato DJ Pro 4 cannot create a history session while its library is closed, so a gig played after a “library failed to open” message may not be logged. Fix the cause with Serato library failed to open.
- Old history is gone after upgrading to Serato 4. Serato has a known issue where the history import fails, either because the drive has less than about 5 GB free or because the history database is corrupt. Free up space, quit Serato, move the com.serato files out of
~/Library/Preferencesto your desktop and relaunch to run the import again. More in crates missing after a Serato 4 or 5 update. - History disappeared on a new Mac. On Serato 4 it lives in the Library folder, which a copy of
_Serato_alone misses. Copy that folder over too: see how to move your Serato library to a new Mac. - A session was deleted. Ctrl+Delete removes a session and there is no undo. On Serato 4, restoring an older
master.sqlitefrom Serato’s backups brings it back, but also rolls back everything else changed since, as explained in how to fix a corrupt Serato database. On 3.x, copy the.sessionfile back from your own backup. - Sessions are split or merged oddly. Use Manage History > Start Session and End Session to control where a set begins and ends.
Read years of history at once
The History panel shows one set at a time. Crate Cleaner’s Analytics reads your exported sessions and adds them up: your most played tracks by date range, the transitions you keep repeating, and the BPM arc of each set. It reads the files in History Export, and the History folder that Serato 3 and earlier write. On Serato 4, export the sessions you want from the History panel first, since reading Serato 4’s history database directly is on the roadmap. The free plan covers your three most recent sessions, and it never changes your Serato files.
FAQ
Where does Serato save history exports? In the History Export folder inside _Serato_, which is in your Music folder on a Mac: ~/Music/_Serato_/History Export.
Where is Serato 4 history stored? In Serato’s library database, master.sqlite, inside ~/Library/Application Support/Serato/Library. Serato 3 and earlier kept it in the History folder inside _Serato_.
Why is a track I played missing from my history? Serato only counts a track as played when you crossfade to it and bring its channel fader up. Turn on Show Unplayed in Manage History to see tracks that were loaded but not counted, and mark them as played if needed.
Can I turn a history session into a crate? Yes. Drag the session onto the + crate button and Serato creates a crate named with the session date.
Can I get a deleted history session back? Only from a backup. On Serato 4, restore an older master.sqlite from Serato’s Backups folder, which also rolls back other changes. On Serato 3, copy the .session file back into the History folder.
Add up every set you have played
Crate Cleaner's Analytics reads your exported Serato sessions and shows your top tracks by date, repeated transitions and the BPM arc of each set. Free plan on your real history.