Does Smart Cleanup delete music files or change cue points
Updated October 9, 2026
Smart Cleanup edits selected text fields in the exported library. It does not delete music files, edit audio, or change cue points, beatgrids, or waveform files. It can still remove text you rely on, including set notes or pinyin and romaji stored in Comment, so review the selected changes before applying.
Which fields can change
The supported text fields are Title, Artist, Album, Genre, and Comment. The URL and email rule and the custom-text rule operate on the fields you choose. Clear Comments clears Comment only.
| Cleanup rule | What it does | What to review |
|---|---|---|
| Remove URLs or email addresses | Removes matching web addresses or email addresses from selected fields | Whether useful text next to the match remains as intended |
| Remove custom text | Removes the specified text wherever it matches in selected fields, without case sensitivity | Whether the same text occurs in a title or artist name you want to keep |
| Clear Comments | Empties Comment for the selected tracks | Set notes, search readings, and other comments that would be lost |
For example, removing Free Download - from a Title can leave the song name. The custom-text rule is a literal text match, rather than an instruction to understand which words are promotional. Inspect the preview if the text is also part of a legitimate song title.
Does it change the original audio tags
Smart Cleanup changes the exported Device Library or OneLibrary database. It does not rewrite the embedded tags in the music files or edit the computer's main rekordbox collection database.
If you later export metadata again from a different source, check which text that source contains. Cleaning an exported USB library does not establish that every other copy of the metadata has changed.
Are playlists and analysis affected
Smart Cleanup does not reorganize playlists, change playlist membership or track order, or edit the analysis files that hold cue points and waveforms. Tracks can display different titles or artist names after a text change while remaining in their existing playlists.
Removing a search reading from Comment is a metadata change, even though the music and cue points remain intact. If you use Latin Alphabet Converter, review its output before clearing comments.
Does it update both exported libraries
Smart Cleanup supports readable Device Library and OneLibrary data. Choose the library or libraries you intend to change. If the USB contains both and you need consistent metadata on both, review both-library processing rather than assuming an edit to one automatically updates the other.
How can I limit it to a few tracks
Preview the rule before applying it. Eligible changes may already be selected across the preview. Changing the displayed playlist or search filter does not automatically clear selections outside that view.
For a small test, clear the global selection first, select the intended tracks, and review the selected-track count. You can edit the proposed text in the preview. Only selected changes are included when you apply.
Close rekordbox before writing. LastCUE creates a local automatic backup before applying the changes. If the source changes after the preview, refresh the source and review the new result rather than relying on a stale preview.