How to Back Up Your DJ Library in Rekordbox, Serato and More

Last updated: October 2026

What this guide adds: each DJ platform documents its backup tool in a different place, and most only cover their own software. Here the four built-in backup tools sit in one table (what they save, when, where, and whether music is included), with a pre-gig routine built around the 3-2-1 rule and three real setups: a club DJ on USBs, a mobile DJ with two laptops, and a DJ moving to a new computer.

What goes wrong when a DJ library isn’t backed up?

A DJ library without a backup can lose years of cue points, loops, playlists and crates in one crash, even when every music file survives. A DJ library database is the file your DJ software keeps alongside your music: it records where each track lives, its beatgrid, cues, play history and which playlists it belongs to.

The usual symptoms after a failure:

• Playlists or crates are empty or gone after an update, crash or forced shutdown.
• Tracks show but cue points, loops and beatgrids have reset.
• A new laptop opens the DJ software with a blank collection.
• The external drive holding your music won’t mount, and nothing else has a copy.

Why do DJ libraries get lost?

DJ libraries get lost because the database and the music usually live in different places, and most DJs only protect one of them. The database sits in a system or Documents folder on the laptop, while music often sits on an external drive that travels to every gig.

That split matters more on some platforms than others. Serato’s _Serato_ folder guide says it creates a _Serato_ folder in your Music folder and another on the root of any external drive you’ve added music from, so a full Serato backup means copying both. Serato’s backing up guide also notes that tag data such as cue points, loops and overviews is written to the music files, so the files themselves carry part of your prep.

Built-in backup tools compared

From the rekordbox ver. 7 instruction manual, Serato, Native Instruments and VirtualDJ official support pages, checked October 2026.

Chart: The DJ Mixtape, from rekordbox, Serato, Native Instruments and VirtualDJ documentation, October 2026.

How do you back up rekordbox?

rekordbox backs up from File > Library > Backup Library, and it’s the only one of the four that can bundle your music files into the backup. According to the rekordbox ver. 7 instruction manual, the backup covers your Collection, playlists, analysis data and, if you choose, music files.

1. Open File > Library > Backup Library.
2. When asked whether to back up music files as well, choose Yes if you’re moving to a new computer. The manual recommends it for migrations. Music goes into a rekordbox_bak folder.
3. Save the backup to an external drive, not the laptop’s own drive.
4. To restore, use File > Library > Restore Library and select the .zip. Restoring replaces your current library with the backup.

Two details from the manual are worth knowing. To restore with music files, the rekordbox_bak folder must sit at the same path as the backup file. Collaborative Playlists become regular playlists once backed up. Choosing a plan? Our DJ software comparison sets rekordbox against the other three.

How do you back up Serato DJ Pro?

Serato DJ Pro backs up its library database automatically, but you still need to copy the _Serato_ folders and your music yourself. Serato’s Library Auto-Backup article says versions after 3.3.5 back up 15 minutes after the library opens, every 24 hours and whenever the database structure changes, keeping only the most recent backups. Music files and recordings are excluded.

1. Quit Serato DJ Pro.
2. Copy the _Serato_ folder from your Music folder to a backup drive.
3. Copy the _Serato_ folder from the root of each external music drive.
4. Copy your music folder. Serato suggests keeping music in one tidy folder so Relocate Lost Files can find it after a restore.

Restoring is manual. Serato’s article describes closing the software, copying the backup file back to its original location and renaming it to replace the current database. A restore overwrites any changes made since that backup.

How do you back up Traktor Pro?

Traktor Pro saves a copy of your Track Collection each time you close the program, so the backup you need is usually already on your drive. Native Instruments’ restore guide puts these in Documents > Native Instruments > Traktor (version number) > Backup > Collection, each file named with its date and time.

1. Copy the whole Native Instruments > Traktor folder from Documents to a backup drive, plus your music folder.
2. To restore, right-click Track Collection in the Browser tree and choose Import another Collection.
3. Pick a dated .nml file from Backup > Collection.
4. Choose Collection to restore the tags in the backup, or File to keep tags currently in your music files.
5. Right-click Track Collection and run Check Consistency.

Each Traktor update creates a new folder named after its version number, so older backups stay in the folder for the version that made them.

How do you back up VirtualDJ?

VirtualDJ backs up from Browser Options > Database > Create Database Backup, which saves a zip file of your database, history, playlists, filters, mappers, events, pads and virtual folders. That’s according to the VirtualDJ user manual, which also documents two useful settings: automaticDatabaseBackupPeriod for scheduled backups every set number of days, and databaseBackupLocation to choose where they go.

The default backup folder is Documents/VirtualDJ/Backup, or the VirtualDJ folder under AppData (Windows) or Application Support (Mac) on newer installations. To restore, choose Restore Database Backup, select the file, tick the items you want and click Restore Backup. Our VirtualDJ 2026 guide covers what else changed in the current version.

The 3-2-1 rule as described by CISA, applied to a DJ library. Three copies, two kinds of storage, one kept off-site.

How do you stop it happening again?

The way to stop losing a DJ library is a fixed routine: back up the database after every prep session and copy the music folder whenever you add tracks. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s 3-2-1 backup rule is a good fit: three copies of important files, on two different types of storage, with one copy kept off-site.

Three real setups

When is a paid tool worth it?

A paid tool is worth it when you work across several machines or want your exported USBs protected too. rekordbox’s Professional plan includes Device Library Backup, which saves each USB or SD card’s device library to the cloud so you can rebuild it if the stick is lost. It needs Cloud Library Sync switched on and doesn’t back up music files.

If your problem is moving a library between platforms rather than protecting it, a library converter is the better tool. Our Mixo vs Lexicon comparison covers the two main options. And if your music lives in a store account rather than on your own drives, our piece on whether DJs still own their music explains why a local copy of every file you’ve bought matters.

DJ library backup FAQ

How we research: backup and restore steps were checked against the rekordbox ver. 7 manual and FAQ, and Serato, Native Instruments, VirtualDJ and CISA official pages in October 2026. Menus can change between versions, so check your software’s own help pages. Charts and diagrams are our own, built from each maker’s documentation. By Dan, DJing since 1994.