Getting started

Grit turns your music into sections you can launch, layer, loop, and scratch across four or eight decks. Start with two familiar tracks and learn the path from Library to Perform.

These guides cover the native Grit app. The website’s browser playground is a separate demonstration; its controls and saved state do not replace your native library.

Before you begin#

Grit needs a Mac with Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or later. If you downloaded Grit from this website, copy Grit.app to Applications before opening it. Song analysis and stem preparation run locally.

You can prepare and play music through your Mac’s stereo output. To preview privately while decks are playing, configure a headphone output in Settings → Audio. On macOS, this can be another stereo pair on your interface or a separate output device. See Audio and headphones.

1. Add your first track#

Open Library, choose Import audio…, and select a file you know well. You can also import a folder or drag audio files from Finder into Library.

Wait for analysis to finish. Grit finds a tempo, key, beatgrid, and sections. Needs review means you should check the result before relying on it in a performance. It is separate from whether analysis has finished.

Grit keeps its own audio copy in the managed library. Your original file remains where it was. Library and import explains batches, playlists, and missing files.

2. Check the preparation#

Choose Edit beside the track. Select a section, turn on Metronome, and press Space to preview it. The accented click should follow the first beat of each bar.

Check the start, a later section, and the end. Correct the BPM, first beat, or section starts if needed. Mark the track Ready for performance, then click Save or press ⌘S.

The editor holds an explicit draft. Save or discard it before leaving or loading the track. ⌘Z undoes changes and ⇧⌘Z reapplies them. Follow Preparing tracks for the full workflow.

3. Load a stopped deck#

Choose a target with 1–4 or 1–8, depending on your deck layout, then click Load → Deck. Loading prepares the deck and leaves it stopped. Grit refuses to replace a deck that is active.

Return to Library after saving, then press Tab to switch to Perform. To begin with wider controls, choose 4 Decks in Settings → Controls.

4. Launch and listen#

Set the session BPM and choose 1 Bar in the Sections menu, the toolbar button with section bands. Click a section pad to launch it; while a session is running, a queued section waits for the next bar boundary.

The selected deck follows your keyboard. Q–P launches sections, Space pauses or resumes the deck, and Enter launches the highlighted section. Choose V / B / N for Continue, Loop, or Stop at the section’s end.

Bring a second track into another stopped deck. Keep levels modest as you layer music. Prepared stems let you try one track’s instrumental under another track’s vocals. Continue with Performing and Stems and mixer.

5. Save a set#

In Perform, press ⌘Shift+S, enter a name, and save. A set remembers tracks and performance settings; recalling it loads the decks stopped. It does not resume a live playhead.

Back up the complete ~/Music/Grit folder to keep the catalog, managed music, preparation, and sets together. Sets and scenes covers reusable arrangements.