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After2AM Audio for macOS

# Your music. A proper playback deck.

After2AM Audio pairs a compact hi-fi playback deck with a spacious, resizable library-management window. Use the deck to choose and play music; use management mode for tags, sources, collection work, maintenance, and settings.

Local Your audio stays in its folders.
Private No account is required.
Native Designed specifically for macOS.
Choose a topic

## Start

Get music into the app and learn the playback deck.

Add your music Grant folder access, scan your library, and play the first album.→ Understand the deck Learn the meters, transport controls, drawers, and management window.→

## Browse and organize

Find music, improve its catalogue data, and track physical releases.

Browse and choose music Work with albums, tracks, artists, and playlists.→ Overview and smart listening Use Quick Picks, seasonal rows, portraits, and listening history.→ Manage the library Open the full workspace for catalogue, sources, and maintenance.→ Repair album metadata Preview provider matches and apply safe library-only corrections.→ Physical collection details Maintain release facts and your own ownership information.→ Metadata and artwork Choose library-only edits, verified file writes, or server edits.→

## Listen

Control play order, sound, loudness, tempo, and output.

Shape Up Next Read, reorder, remove, and clear queued tracks.→ Playback behavior Understand stable order, shuffle, repeat, gapless play, and network files.→ Volume leveling Analyze loudness and understand playback gain.→ BPM and tempo tools Analyze, edit, and filter music by tempo.→ Audio output devices Choose where music plays and what happens if a device disappears.→ Use the equalizer Shape ten bands and read the live spectrum analyzer.→

## Reference and help

Configure the app, look up commands, and solve problems.

Settings and storage Configure sources, folders, playback quality, and stored data.→ Keyboard shortcuts Keep the deck and management window under your fingers.→ Troubleshooting Resolve common scanning, playback, metadata, and connection issues.→ Local and Server mode Choose a library source and understand what each one supports.→
Start here · 3 minutes

## Add your music

Grant access to one or more folders and let After2AM Audio build its local catalogue. It indexes files in place; importing a folder does not duplicate, move, rename, or rewrite your music.

1. Open library management. Press MANAGE on the deck, choose File → Open Library Management, or press `⇧⌘L`.
2. Open Settings and choose Add Folder. Select the folder that contains your music. macOS asks once so the sandboxed app can remember access between launches.
3. Let the first scan finish. The scan walks subfolders, reads embedded metadata and artwork, and groups files into albums and artists. You can keep using the playback deck while progress is shown in the management window.
4. Open Browse and pick an album. The Albums section is the default. Open a release and choose Play, or use Tracks when you want to search across the complete library.

Supported discovery formats

FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, M4A, AAC, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, and Ogg Opus files are indexed and playable. Vorbis and Opus support is built in, so no external codec installation is required.

Front panel

## Understand the deck

The fixed upper window is playback mode. BROWSE, QUEUE, and EQ each reveal a separate focused listening drawer without replacing the deck. Only the active drawer button stays illuminated; press it again to tuck the drawer away. MANAGE opens a separate, resizable window instead of another drawer.

### Now Playing display

Shows cover art, disc and track address, title, artist, album, source format, BPM when available, elapsed time, and time remaining.

### Playback Levels

The stereo 32-segment meter shows post-fader output by default. PRE switches to source level. Peaks hold for three seconds; session peak memory remains visible, while CLIP always warns about the final post-fader output even when PRE is selected. On buffered outputs such as AirPlay and HomePod, the meter follows the output's measured presentation delay so it moves with the sound you hear.

### Program position

Drag the horizontal position control to seek within the loaded track. Elapsed time is on the left and remaining time on the right; GAP, XFD, and LVL switch the live playback preferences beside it.

### Output controls

PREV, PLAY/PAUSE, NEXT, STOP, SHUFFLE, REPEAT, and MUTE operate the current queue. GAP, XFD, and LVL control gapless playback, crossfade, and volume leveling. The illumination button changes display brightness; drag the output knob vertically to set volume.

### Playback-mode drawers

Browse is for choosing music, Queue gives the Up Next play order its own spacious control surface, and EQ provides quick tonal adjustment and live analysis. Collection, tag editing, sources, maintenance, and settings do not occupy the deck's restricted drawer space.

### Manage

MANAGE opens the full library-management window. It can be resized and uses comfortable desktop-sized text and controls for extended organisation and editing sessions.

What the meter means

Levels are digital dBFS, not an analogue VU calibration. Red segments and clip latches indicate peaks near or at full scale; they do not measure speaker loudness in the room.

Browse drawer · playback mode

## Browse and choose music

Browse is divided into four playback-oriented sections. Counts in the section bar reflect the indexed catalogue. The play queue now has its own QUEUE drawer on the main deck.

### Albums

Browse cover cards, change between six- and eight-column layouts, open release details, then play or shuffle the complete album. The card context menu and detail-view More menu can also play the album next, add it to the queue, or add it to a manual playlist. Distinct source editions remain separate.

### Tracks

Search title, artist, album, or genre; filter by multiple genres, vibe and inclusive year bounds; sort by title, artist, album, duration, rating, play count, or date added; then play, play next, queue, or favourite. In Library Management, Create Playlist uses the same filters to build a playlist from every matching result. Browse All opens the complete track list.

### Artists

The scope picker separates Album artists from All artists (track credits). Each detail view combines a large portrait, artist information, playback and playlist controls, an album grid, and a Most Played top ten. Those tracks use the same playback, queue, favourite, rating, and metadata controls as album detail rows. When the library contains releases with the same title, opening an album still takes you to the correct edition.

### Playlists

Create Playlist opens the Tracks builder, where artist, multiple genres, vibe, search, and year bounds shape the result set. The generated name includes those choices and remains editable before saving either a fixed snapshot or an auto-updating playlist. You can also copy an existing list and reorder manual entries. Every add sheet lists manual targets plus OR CREATE A NEW PLAYLIST. Header controls use the exact visible order.

Queue drawer · playback mode

## Shape the Up Next play order

Press QUEUE on the main deck for a dedicated, full-width view of the current play order. Browse remains a separate drawer, so only QUEUE is illuminated while Up Next is open.

### Readable track rows

Larger artwork, title, artist, album, duration, and play-order status make every entry easy to scan from the deck. Played tracks disappear, so the current track is always number one.

### Direct controls

Large up and down controls adjust a track's position, while the red trash control removes that entry from the queue. Set a one-to-five-star rating or toggle the heart without leaving Up Next.

### Queue status

The header shows total and upcoming counts. Shuffle and repeat state stay visible above the list, and Clear Upcoming preserves the current track while removing what follows it.

Browse → Overview

## Overview and smart listening

Overview is the local-library home page. Its greeting follows the time of day, while every recommendation is computed from music and listening history already stored on this Mac.

### Quick Picks and album shortcuts

Quick Picks can Play all in displayed order, respecting the deck's global shuffle setting. Recently Added and Featured cards open the exact album edition and also offer Play next and Add to queue. Recently Added labels show Today, Yesterday, days, weeks, months, or years relative to now.

### Seasonal and smart rows

Seasonal hints, Rediscover, Fresh, genre mixes, favourites, and history are calculated from your local library and listening history. If there is no seasonal match, that row simply stays hidden.

### Artist portraits

Top artists use an artist portrait when one is available, fall back to album artwork, then use the normal placeholder. Once loaded, portraits remain available while browsing offline.

### Local history

Play counts, last-played dates, favourites, ratings, and recently added dates drive recommendations. Clearing or editing that local data changes the next computed view; there is no remote profile.

Deck playback controls

## Playback and queue

Playback, queue, output, and transition controls stay on the main deck. GAP, XFD, and LVL provide immediate access to gapless playback, crossfade, and volume leveling without opening another panel. Equalization retains its dedicated EQ drawer.

### Stable album order

Album, artist, and playlist playback create a logical queue. Missing or unreadable files are skipped while the remaining order is preserved and playback continues when possible.

### Shuffle and repeat

Shuffle changes the upcoming order without losing the base queue. Repeat cycles through Off, All, and One. Both settings persist.

### Gapless playback and crossfade

GAP joins consecutive tracks from the same album edition without an audible stop, preserving continuous live recordings and suites. XFD overlaps eligible queue boundaries; its 1-to-12-second duration is adjusted in Settings. GAP and XFD are mutually exclusive: switching either one on switches the other off. LVL applies the stored loudness adjustment for each track. Music without a current measurement plays at its normal level. All three preferences persist between launches.

### Network volumes

When a playable file is on a network volume, After2AM Audio stages a temporary copy on this Mac before playback. Starting the track may take longer, but playback is less likely to be interrupted by changes in network speed.

### Ogg Vorbis and Opus preparation

Ogg Vorbis and Ogg Opus playback is built in. The first play can take longer while After2AM Audio prepares a temporary playable copy. The app checks that enough free space is available and removes the copy when it is no longer needed. Damaged or unsupported files show an error instead of being added silently. See the bundled Third-Party Notices for decoder licence information.

Library Management → Settings → Volume Leveling

## Volume leveling and loudness analysis

Analyze Library measures the loudness of each track without rewriting your audio files. When LVL is enabled, After2AM Audio uses those measurements to reduce distracting volume jumps between tracks.

### Analyze safely

Start Analyze Library from Settings. Tracks that are already up to date are skipped, changed tracks are measured again, and missing files are reported without stopping the rest of the run. Playback or tag writing may pause while an affected file is being analyzed.

### Progress, cancellation, and fallback

The panel shows analyzed, unchanged, missing, and failed counts along with recent messages. Cancel stops the remaining work but keeps every measurement already completed. A track without a current measurement plays at its normal level instead of using an estimated adjustment.

### Failures and Retry

Failed files remain listed with a reason. Copy Failed Paths copies each affected file and its message for easier troubleshooting. If completed measurements cannot be saved, Settings shows Unsaved and offers Retry Save.

### Playback behavior

Enable LVL on the deck or in Settings. It continues to work through gapless and crossfade transitions. Turning LVL on or off while a track is playing does not restart it or change your position.

Album detail → Analyze BPM · Metadata → BPM

## BPM analysis and tempo tools

Open an album in Library Management and choose Analyze BPM to fill missing tempo values. The metadata editor also supports typed values, tap tempo, halve, and double for individual corrections.

### Album analysis

Analysis reports progress and can be cancelled. Tracks with a current result are skipped. Unsupported, missing, or low-confidence files remain unchanged and are reported instead of receiving an unreliable tempo value.

### Library-only or verified file tags

Metadata Edit Target decides where an accepted BPM value is saved. Library only keeps it inside After2AM Audio. Write to files updates the embedded tag and verifies the result. If verification fails, the previous file is restored and the problem is reported.

### Tempo editor

Tap updates the draft after consistent taps. ½ and 2× correct common half-time or double-time readings. Revert reloads the current stored value before Save.

### Vibe filtering

Track browsing maps valid positive BPM to Slowdown, Cruise, Groove, Lift, Energy, or Chaos at the documented boundaries. Missing or invalid BPM belongs to no vibe bucket.

Library Management → Settings → Audio Output

## Audio output devices

Choose System Default or another available audio output. After2AM Audio remembers your chosen device even if its displayed name later changes.

### System Default

System Default follows the output selected in macOS, including later changes made in System Settings. Refresh updates the list of available outputs and distinguishes devices that share the same name.

### Fallback rules

If a device is temporarily unavailable, the app keeps your selection and current output while it checks again. If the device has actually been removed, playback falls back to System Default and a warning explains what happened.

### Route changes

Changing output keeps your queue, track position, play or pause state, EQ, volume, mute, and LVL settings. If the new device cannot be used, the previous working output remains selected.

### Wake and device changes

The output list refreshes when devices are connected or removed, when the macOS default changes, and when your Mac wakes. If the selected device disappears, the normal fallback rules apply.

EQ drawer · playback mode

## Use the equalizer

EQ stays on the deck for fast access while listening. Its layout pairs hands-on gain controls with a real view of the playing signal.

### Ten manual bands

Ten vertical up/down sliders cover the equalizer's fixed frequency bands. Choose Manual to edit them, or recall Flat, Bass Boost, Bass/Treble Boost, Vocal, Treble Boost, or Lounge from the preset memory below the display. The Manual curve is saved independently, so trying another preset does not overwrite it; selecting Manual recalls it. Preset recall drives all ten caps together with short, distance-timed motor travel while the audio curve changes immediately. Touch a moving fader to stop that motor, take control, and switch to Manual while the other caps finish their recall. Reset clears both the active EQ and the saved Manual curve. Automatic headroom compensation models the combined response of all ten overlapping bands and trims boosted curves before the output fader, preserving their shape without turning EQ boost into clipping.

### Ten-band LED analyzer

The adjacent ten-column LED spectrum analyzer is driven by the source signal before EQ and the output fader. Each column represents the corresponding frequency region; EQ settings, output volume, and mute do not alter its reading. The display refreshes 30 times per second. Each band's peak holds for three seconds, then releases as the signal falls. It is a live analyzer, not a decorative animation and not the same measurement as the deck's switchable stereo level meter. Like the deck meter, it follows the active output's measured presentation delay when audio is buffered.

### Gain versus energy

The slider side shows the gain you request. The analyzer side shows changing source-signal energy. Matching columns make the relationship easy to read, but EQ settings do not alter the analyzer heights.

Standalone window · library management mode

## Manage the library

Press MANAGE or `⇧⌘L` to open a separate, resizable window. This is the native app's full-size library workspace, with normal desktop-sized text, controls, rows, and editing surfaces. All local browse, playlist, metadata, analysis, collection, maintenance, and settings workflows are active. See Local and Server mode for the differences between the two library sources.

### Catalogue tools

Browse and organise Albums, Tracks, Artists, and Playlists with enough room for full lists, filters, details, artwork, and longer labels. Playback continues independently on the deck.

### Metadata editing

Inspect tracks and albums, manage ratings and favourites, edit genre, BPM, and source tags, choose the write target, and refresh public artist or album information without squeezing forms into a temporary deck drawer.

### Physical collection

Collection has its own management destination rather than a deck drawer. Add, edit, and delete owned releases; record their format, archive and release-match states, barcode, catalogue number, shelf, and notes; then search, filter, and sort the saved local catalogue. Search MusicBrainz by barcode or fetch an exact public Discogs release by ID or URL when online. Either lookup is optional.

### Sources, maintenance, and settings

Add or remove library folders, rescan sources, inspect scan status, clean orphaned managed data, choose quality and metadata defaults, and configure the application from the management window.

Two windows, one player

Resizing or closing library management does not close the deck or stop playback. Reopen it at any time with MANAGE or `⇧⌘L`. If you close the deck while another After2AM Audio window remains open, choose File → Show Playback Deck to bring the singleton deck back.

Library Management → Albums → album detail

## Album metadata repair

Repair Metadata performs a conservative MusicBrainz lookup for one exact local album edition. It never writes audio files and never auto-applies the best-looking result without review.

### Match and Preview Repair

The matcher searches by title and artist and accepts only a release whose disc and track layout fits the album. You see its confidence and a field-by-field preview before Apply Repair becomes available.

### Seven-field library repair

Apply updates seven library-only fields: track title, artist, album title, album artist, year, disc number, and track number. Queue, playlists, the current selection, and playback continue to point to the repaired tracks after the change.

### Revert after a rescan

After2AM Audio remembers the values originally read during the latest scan. Revert Repair restores those values without going online, even if you have rescanned since applying the repair.

### Failure boundary

If lookup, validation, saving, or cancellation fails, the library remains unchanged. The preview stays available when it is safe to retry, and Repair Metadata never changes the audio files themselves.

Library Management → Collection

## Physical collection details

The physical Collection follows the active library source. Local-folder mode uses the catalogue stored on this Mac; Server mode loads the shared Collection from After2AM Audio Server. Create an entry manually or start with the available barcode or exact Discogs release lookup.

### Rich provider facts

Candidate details include title, artists, label, catalogue number, barcode, country, date, genres, styles, formats and descriptions, identifiers, tracklist, images, and matrix/runout values. Country filtering is local and never launches another lookup.

### Your ownership data

Format, archive status, release-match status, shelf, and notes are yours. Applying information from a release match does not overwrite those ownership details.

### Available actions

Local mode can add, update, and delete Collection entries. Server mode can add and edit entries but cannot currently delete them. Changes appear only after they have been saved successfully. If a save fails, the previous item and your editable draft remain available.

### Local and shared records stay separate

Switching to Server mode loads the shared Collection without overwriting records stored on this Mac. Switching back restores the local Collection exactly as you left it. Cover sharpness depends on the artwork available for each release.

Library management mode · tags and enrichment

## Metadata and artwork

Scans read embedded tags and cover art. You decide whether later genre, BPM, and source-tag edits stay in the app or are written back into supported audio files. These editing tools live in the standalone management window, not the Browse drawer.

### Library-only metadata

This is the safe default. Edits are stored inside After2AM Audio and reapplied after rescans. The audio file remains byte-for-byte unchanged. Genre suggestions and canonical source-tag presets are shared by the track and album editors; tokens can be added, removed, cleared, or entered in batches.

### Write directly to files

For supported local formats, the app embeds the requested genre, BPM, and source tags, saves the file, then rereads it to verify every value. If a write fails, the edit remains saved inside the After2AM Audio library.

### Server metadata editing

With After2AM Audio Server active, the same editors update track BPM and album genre or source tags. Library only changes the server's catalogue. Write to files also updates the audio files managed by the server and is available only when the server supports it. Successful changes refresh the catalogue; failures remain visible for retry.

### Artwork

Cover art comes from embedded images or common sidecar images in album folders. The app reuses artwork shared by tracks from the same album. In Server mode, grids and lists use a smaller cover for quick browsing, while album details and the playback deck request a larger version when one is available. Downloaded covers are kept on this Mac so they can be reused without another request.

### Artist and album information

Detail views can enrich the local catalogue from MusicBrainz, Wikimedia, and Wikipedia. Successful biographies, notes, source links, and artist portraits remain available for offline browsing. In Server mode, the same information comes from After2AM Audio Server. Use Refresh when information is missing or out of date.

Keep backups before enabling file writes

Tag editing is an in-place change to your music files. The app verifies supported fields without changing the recorded audio, but important libraries should still have an independent backup.

Library management mode

## Settings and storage

Open Settings in the management window for folder access, rescanning, playback-transition duration, library source, server connection, the metadata write target, and safe cleanup of downloaded artist and album information. Settings remains in the management window rather than the compact deck.

### Library source and server connection

Choose Local folders for the library stored on this Mac, or choose After2AM Audio Server to enter its address, username, and password, check the connection, and see its library status. Internet-facing server addresses must begin with `https://`; addresses on a local or private network may use `http://`. Switching back restores the local catalogue without changing it.

### Music folders

Add multiple roots, rescan one folder or all of them, and remove a root from the catalogue. Removing a root deletes its indexed records from the app; it does not delete or modify audio files.

### Library data

The catalogue, bookmarks, playlists, playback state, ratings, favourites, history, and settings for Local folders are stored on this Mac. They are not replaced when you switch to Server mode.

### Enrichment cache cleanup

Clean Orphaned Data removes only artist and album enrichment no longer referenced by the current library. It keeps music files, current metadata, artwork, playlists, and listening history.

### Library persistence and safe quit

Library Persistence shows Saved, Saving, Unsaved, or Read Only. If it shows Unsaved, choose Retry Save before closing the app. When changes cannot be saved safely, After2AM Audio may postpone quitting and show what needs attention instead of discarding your work.

### Quality selectors

Streaming quality controls After2AM Audio Server playback: 192 kbps AAC uses less bandwidth, while Original streams the untouched source file. Streamed tracks are prepared temporarily for playback but are not saved as offline downloads. Download quality is reserved for a future offline feature and does not currently download anything. Local files always play in their original quality.

macOS commands

## Keyboard shortcuts

Every shortcut is also available from the application menu bar.

Action | Shortcut
--- | ---
Open or close Browse drawer | `⌘1`
Open or close Queue drawer | `⌘2`
Open or close EQ drawer | `⌘3`
Open library management | `⇧⌘L`
Show a closed playback deck | File menu
Close active / reopen last drawer | `⌘E`
Add music folder | `⇧⌘O`
Refresh all music folders | `⇧⌘R`
Play or pause | `Space`
Previous track | `⌘←`
Next track | `⌘→`
Stop | `⌘.`
Toggle shuffle | `⌥⌘S`
Cycle repeat | `⌥⌘R`
Mute or unmute | `⌘M`
Open this manual | `⇧⌘?`

Safe next steps

## Troubleshooting

Start with the least destructive check. Your original music files remain untouched.

A folder or its tracks disappeared

Confirm the disk or network share is mounted, then open Library Management → Settings and rescan that folder. If macOS access was revoked, remove the folder from After2AM Audio and add it again to create a fresh security-scoped bookmark. Removing the folder from the app does not remove files from disk.

A discovered file will not play

Check that the file still exists, opens in another macOS player, and is readable by your account. Ogg Vorbis and Opus use the built-in decoder; damaged, incomplete, or unsupported files show an error. The queue skips unreadable entries and continues when it can.

Album grouping or artwork looks wrong

Inspect the files' embedded album, album-artist, disc, and track tags, plus cover images in the album folder. Correct the source tags in a trusted tag editor, then rescan. Use Library-only edits for genre, BPM, and source labels that should remain private to After2AM Audio.

Playback from a network share is slow to begin

The app copies network-hosted tracks into local temporary storage before playback. Startup therefore depends on file size and network speed, but real-time playback no longer depends on the share once staging completes. Keep the share mounted until the track loads.

A metadata file write failed

The audio format may reject that field, the file may be read-only, or verification may not match. The app reports the failure and keeps the requested value inside its library. Check file permissions and your backup before trying an in-place write again.

The meter is moving but I hear no sound

Check the MUTE button and output level first, then confirm the intended device in macOS Sound settings. PRE can show source level even when the post-fader output is muted or turned down, so switch PRE off when diagnosing the final output level.

Library sources

## Local and Server mode

Choose Local folders to work with music stored on this Mac or a mounted drive. Choose After2AM Audio Server to browse and stream a library from your configured server. Switching sources does not merge or replace their catalogues.

### Local folders

Local mode indexes files where they already live and plays them in their original quality. Its playlists, Collection entries, ratings, favourites, analyses, and listening history remain on this Mac. Removing a folder from the catalogue never deletes its audio files.

### After2AM Audio Server

Server mode loads the server's catalogue, playlists, queue, artwork, artist information, album notes, and shared Collection. It can stream Original quality or 192 kbps AAC and can edit supported metadata. Server mode can add and edit Collection entries, but it cannot currently delete them.

### What Server mode does not do

Offline downloads are not currently available in Server mode. The app also does not automatically synchronize the local catalogue, settings, listening history, or local Collection with other devices. Streaming a track does not save it as an offline copy.

### Switching safely

Switching to Server mode leaves the local library and Collection untouched. Choose Local folders again to return to them exactly as you left them.

### Public enrichment is separate

MusicBrainz, Wikipedia, and Discogs requests supplement local records when you explicitly refresh or look up details. Their availability is separate from the server connection. These services provide descriptive information and release matches; they do not provide playback or synchronization.