Guide & help
for Juqed (Mac).

How do I pick a folder or drive and start the server?

On first launch, Juqed shows the start screen with the app icon and the prompt "Select music folder or external drive". Click the button or drag a folder directly into the marked area. In the Finder dialog, navigate to your music folder or external drive and confirm with "Select". Then click "Start server". Juqed immediately starts scanning and indexing every audio file in the folder. On the next launch, a single click on "Start server" is enough — the folder doesn't have to be picked again, as long as the drive is connected.

Which audio formats does Juqed support?

Juqed supports every format macOS can natively handle through AVFoundation: MP3, M4A (AAC / Apple Lossless), AAC, M4P, AIFF / AIF, WAV, FLAC, WMA and CAF. If you add new files to your music folder, restarting the server is enough — Juqed only scans new files and skips ones it already knows.

What does the sidebar show?

The sidebar gives you the current state at a glance, all the time: Status (green = running, gray = stopped), Source (the connected music folder), Number of indexed songs, QR code with the local URL, Host status, plus shortcuts to help and server controls.

What do the colored dots in the server log mean?

The Log tab shows a chronological record of every server activity. Green means success (e.g. "Server ready on port 8765"), gray is a normal info message, orange is a notice without an error, red is an error that needs attention.

How do I sign in and out as host?

The app starts directly in host mode. From the sidebar you can sign out — that releases the controls but keeps the server running. To sign back in, you authenticate via Touch ID or your system password. The access code can be reset if needed — also secured by Touch ID.

What can I do from the native player?

At the bottom there's a persistent player bar with cover artwork, title, artist, progress indicator and every control: play/pause, next/previous, volume. A click on the cover opens the detail view. Before interrupting a playing song, a short confirmation dialog appears — so an accidental tap doesn't cut the track off.

How do I connect Apple Music?

In the settings you enable Apple Music integration once. After that, guests automatically search both your local library and the entire Apple Music catalog in parallel. Playback runs through macOS's native ApplicationMusicPlayer. Crossfade is not available for streaming tracks by design. Auto-DJ can use Apple Music as an additional source too. You can revoke the connection at any time in the settings or via macOS system settings.

How does the blacklist work?

In the settings you can permanently block terms — artist names, genres, keywords. Blocked songs don't appear in search or in Auto-DJ suggestions. The list survives changes to the music library.

How do I change the fair-use mode?

Three independent limits protect the queue: cooldown between two submissions, max songs per guest in the queue, hourly vote limit. Each value is configured separately; 0 means no limit. Host and Auto-DJ are always exempt. The settings survive a library switch.

How do I use the history?

The History tab shows every play with a timestamp and a marker for whether the song came from a guest or from Auto-DJ. Host-only — perfect for "What was that great song around half past eleven?".

How do I join as a guest?

Hold your phone's camera at the QR code the host is showing. Tap the link that appears — the Juqed guest interface opens directly in your browser. No download, no app, no account. The first time, you'll be asked for a name that's shown next to the songs you add.

How do I search for a song?

Type a title, artist or album into the search — Juqed searches the whole library (and, with Apple Music integration enabled, the entire catalog) in real time. Tapping a song adds it to the queue with your name next to it.

How do votes work?

Every guest can vote up other people's songs. What most people want plays next. The queue reorders itself automatically — no single person dominates, no one needs to argue. Important: you can't vote for your own song. That keeps the system fair.

What's playing now and what's next?

At the top you see the current song, below it the upcoming tracks in order of their vote count. All devices see the same thing in real time — no refresh needed.

How do I switch between dark and light mode?

In the top bar there's the moon/sun icon. A tap toggles between light and dark mode. The setting is saved in your browser.

What data does Juqed process — and where does it stay?

Juqed runs entirely on your Mac, everything stays on your local Wi-Fi. Your music never leaves your device, no data goes to third-party servers. Guests don't need an account; no names, email addresses or phone numbers are stored. The only identifier is an anonymous token in the guest's browser — used only for fair-use logic.

Does Juqed send data to Apple or other third parties?

No. Juqed itself sends no data to third parties. The optional Apple Music integration uses Apple's official MusicKit framework exclusively — search queries go directly between your Mac and Apple, and Juqed itself does not store or transmit any Apple Music data.

Does Juqed use cookies or tracking?

The app uses neither cookies nor tracking. The website (juqed.com) offers an optional, anonymous usage statistics tool (Matomo) — only with your consent. More on this in the app privacy policy and the website privacy policy.