WIRECUE User Manual

1 · Getting Started

WIRECUE runs as a desktop app on macOS and Windows. It opens straight into a 14-day free trial — no key required — so you can use every feature right away. Enter a serial any time to unlock it permanently.

1. Open WIRECUE. You're in the trial immediately; a reminder shows how many days remain.
2. Open a project (your songs and cues) from the left panel, or start fresh with New empty project.
3. Connect your SMPTE source — an audio interface carrying LTC timecode — and choose Live LTC. To rehearse without hardware, leave it on Internal and use the play/scrub controls.
4. Open the output on your second screen, switch to Run, and the lyrics follow the timecode.

Activating

When you're ready to buy, enter your serial on the activation screen in the form WIRE-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX and click Activate. A serial unlocks up to two devices. The full activation details are in the Licence section at the end.

2 · The Screen, at a Glance

The window has three columns under a top bar.

Area	What it's for
Top bar	The large SMPTE timecode readout, the next-cue preview, the source switch (Internal / Live LTC), transport (play, return-to-start), and the mode tabs.
Left column	Your set list and the song list within it, plus project controls (open, save, import, new).
Centre column	The current song's lyrics with a cue time beside each line. This is where you program and edit.
Right column	The output preview and all its settings (display mode, scrolling, font, size, mirror), the timing & offset controls, frame rate, and the LTC audio input.
Status bar	Current mode, song, cue count, and active offset along the bottom.

3 · Timecode & Sources

WIRECUE positions lyrics by SMPTE timecode (HH:MM:SS:FF — hours, minutes, seconds, frames). There are two ways to feed it time.

Internal clock

A built-in timecode generator for rehearsal and programming. Press play to run it, drag the scrub slider to jump anywhere, and press return-to-start to jump to just before the current song's first cue. No hardware needed.

Live LTC

In a real show, timecode arrives as LTC (Linear Timecode) — an audio signal on one channel of an audio interface. Switch the source to Live LTC, choose your interface and the channel the timecode is on, then click Listen to SMPTE. The input meter shows signal level and the lock indicator confirms WIRECUE is reading clean timecode.

Frame rate

Set the frame rate to match your source: 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 (drop-frame), or 30. Or choose Auto-detect and WIRECUE measures the rate from the incoming LTC, reading the drop-frame flag to distinguish 29.97 from 30.

4 · The Three Modes

The mode tabs at the top right switch what the centre column is for.

Mode	Use it to…
Edit	Change lyrics, type exact cue times by hand, rename the song, and insert or remove lines. Click any lyric line to edit its words; click any cue time to type a precise timecode.
Program	Stamp cues live while timecode plays — select a line and press a key to capture its entry time. This is how you teach WIRECUE when each line should appear.
Run	Show time. The lyric list follows the timecode and the active line is tracked. On the internal clock, switching to Run starts playback automatically.

5 · Programming Cues

A cue is the timecode at which a line should become active. There are two ways to set them.

Stamping live Program

1. Switch to Program mode and start your timecode source (internal or live).
2. Select the line you want to cue (click it, or use the arrow keys).
3. At the moment that line should appear, press a number for its scroll speed: 1 slow, 2 medium, 3 fast. WIRECUE stamps the current timecode to that line and jumps to the next line, ready for the following cue.
4. Press ⌫ to clear a cue you got wrong, or just re-stamp it.

Typing exact times Edit

In Edit mode every cue time is editable. Click the amber timecode beside a line and type a precise value (Enter to commit, Esc to cancel, clear it to remove the cue). This is ideal for fine-tuning a stamped cue to the exact frame, or building a song from a known cue sheet without playing anything.

Inserting & removing lines Edit

If a lyric is missing — a line you didn't type, or one a transcription skipped — you don't have to start over. In Edit mode, hover any line to reveal a + (insert a blank line below) and a × (delete the line). There's also a + Line button in the song toolbar, which inserts below the selected line, or at the end if nothing is selected. Type the words into the new line and cue it like any other.

6 · AI Transcribe WireCue-AI only

AI Transcribe builds a song's lyrics and cue timeline for you from an audio file, using AudioShake's speech/lyric detection. It lives in the left column, below your project controls. Treat its output as a draft — it gives you a fully-cued starting point to review and refine, not a final, guaranteed-accurate transcript.

Transcribing a song

1. Click Transcribe a song file… in the AI Transcribe panel.
2. Choose an MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, AAC, OGG, or AIFF file from disk.
3. Progress and status appear in the panel while the audio is analysed. When it finishes, a new song is added with its lyric lines already cued to the moments AI detected them.
4. Open the song and review it like any other — switch to Edit to fix any missed, mis-heard, or extra lines, retime individual cues, or insert/delete lines exactly as you would with a hand-built song.

Exporting timed lyrics

Click Export timed lyrics ▾ to save the cued timeline in a standard format:

Format	Use it for
LRC	Karaoke-style synced lyrics.
SRT	Video subtitles.
VTT	Web video captions.
Timed JSON	Feeding the cued timeline into another tool or pipeline.

Bring your own AudioShake key

The ⚙ Bring your own AudioShake key toggle is a desktop-only, testing-oriented option. Paste your own AudioShake API key and click Save key (stored locally); the key is kept on your machine only.

7 · Waveform Cue Editor WireCue-AI only

The Waveform Cue Editor is a visual alternative to typing or stamping cues: load the song's audio, see its waveform, and drag cue markers into place against what you can see and hear. It's a separate panel from the plain lyric view, opened with the ◷ Waveform button in the centre column toolbar.

Loading audio and finding your way around

1. Click ◷ Waveform to open the panel below the lyric list.
2. Click Load audio… and choose the song's MP3/WAV (or M4A, FLAC, AAC, OGG, AIFF) file.
3. Once decoded, the waveform is drawn in the panel and a marker appears for every existing cue, labelled with that line's lyric.
4. Click anywhere in the waveform to seek; scroll to pan across the song; use ⌘/Ctrl + scroll to zoom.
5. Use − / + to zoom out or in a step at a time, or Fit to zoom out to the whole song.

Placing and adjusting cues

Drag an amber marker to move that line's cue — the underlying cue time updates immediately and the lyric list, active-line highlighting, and offset all reflect the change straight away, exactly as if you'd retimed it in Edit mode.

Playback while you cue

Press ▶ to play the loaded audio, ■ to stop, or ⏮ to rewind to the start. While the waveform panel is driving playback, the main SMPTE clock follows the audio in sync, so the lyric preview and active line track exactly what you hear. Use the speed selector to play back at 0.25×, 0.5×, 0.75×, 1×, 1.5×, or 2× — useful for placing cues precisely on a fast or busy vocal line. This transport is for programming and rehearsal only; it doesn't drive the live show output.

Beat detection and snapping

Click Detect beats to analyse the track's tempo; detected beats are marked on the waveform and Snap turns on, so dragged cue markers snap to the nearest beat. Click Snap again to toggle snapping off if you want to place cues freely.

Click Close ✕ to hide the panel and return to the plain lyric view — your cues stay exactly as placed either way, since both views edit the same underlying song data.

8 · Re-timing with Offset

Cues are stored as absolute timecodes. If the show's start time changes, you don't have to re-stamp every line — you shift the whole song with an offset.

Song start

Type the timecode you want the song's first cue to land on, and click Set. WIRECUE works out the difference and shifts every cue by that amount.

Global offset

Type a signed offset applied to all cues, or nudge by −1f / +1f (one frame) and −1s / +1s (one second) for quick alignment against a moving source. Reset returns the offset to zero.

9 · The Output Display

The right column previews exactly what your audience screen shows. Two buttons send it out: Fullscreen (fills your current screen) and 2nd Screen (opens a separate output window to drag onto a connected monitor or projector).

Display mode

Mode	Look
Highlight	The active line is large and bright in the centre; the previous and upcoming lines are smaller and dimmed around it.
Uniform + arrow	Every line is the same size and colour, with a fixed arrow at screen centre marking the current line as the text scrolls past. A clean, even look with no emphasis.

Scrolling

Smooth	The text creeps continuously between cues, synced to the timecode, arriving on the next line exactly as its cue fires.
Glide	The text stays still between cues and slides to the next line when its cue fires.

Appearance

Set the output font and size independently of the editing view. In Highlight mode, Lines shown controls how many upcoming lines are visible. Mirror flips the output horizontally for use with teleprompter beam-splitter glass.

10 · Songs & Set Lists

A set list is an ordered collection of songs. The dropdown at the top of the left column switches between set lists; the list below shows the songs in the chosen one, each with a badge showing how many cues it has. Click a song to load it.

Action	How
New song	+ Song at the top of the set list.
Edit lyrics	Select the song, click Edit lyrics (or the Edit tab), and click any line.
Insert a line	In Edit mode, hover a line for + / ×, or use + Line in the toolbar.
Rename	In Edit mode, click the song title at the top of the centre column.
Clear cues	Clear cues removes all cue times from the current song (lyrics stay).
Delete	Delete removes the song from the project and every set list. You're offered the chance to export it first.

11 · Projects, Import & Export

A project (.wirecue file) holds all your songs, cues, set lists and settings. Use Save project and Open project in the left column.

Exporting a single song

Select a song and click Export song. You choose:

• WIRECUE file — lyrics and cue timing, as a single-song .wirecue. Re-importable into any project with cues intact.
• Plain text — lyrics only, as .txt. Good for sharing words, but cues are not included.

WireCue-AI only A song built with AI Transcribe can also be exported in its own synced-lyric formats — see AI Transcribe for LRC, SRT, VTT, and Timed JSON. Not available in plain WIRECUE.

Importing songs

Import song(s)… accepts both formats and adds them to your current set list (it never replaces your project). A .txt comes in as a song with no cues; a single-song .wirecue comes in with its cues and timing preserved. You can select several files at once.

12 · Running a Live Show

1. Open your project and confirm every song you need is in the active set list.
2. Connect the LTC feed, switch the source to Live LTC, pick the interface and channel, and click Listen to SMPTE. Confirm the lock indicator is green and the timecode is moving.
3. Check the frame rate matches the show (or use Auto-detect).
4. If the show's start time differs from how a song was programmed, set Song start or nudge the offset until the first cue lands correctly.
5. Open the 2nd Screen output, drag it to the audience monitor, and put it fullscreen.
6. Switch to Run. The lyrics now follow the incoming timecode.
7. Between songs, select the next song in the left list — its cues and offset load with it.

13 · Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
Space	Play / pause the internal clock
↑ / ↓	Move the selected line
1 / 2 / 3	Program stamp current line at slow / medium / fast scroll speed (and advance)
⌫	Program clear the selected line's cue
Enter	Edit commit a typed cue time
Esc	Edit cancel a cue edit
Scroll	WireCue-AI only Waveform Cue Editor — pan across the waveform
⌘ / Ctrl + Scroll	WireCue-AI only Waveform Cue Editor — zoom in / out

14 · Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check
No timecode / lock won't go green	Confirm the source is set to Live LTC, the correct interface and channel are selected, and the input meter shows signal. LTC must be on the channel you chose, at a healthy level.
Lyrics appear at the wrong time	Check the frame rate matches the source. Then use Song start / offset to align the song to the incoming timecode.
Frame rate reads oddly on Auto	Set the rate manually — particularly for 23.976, which Auto cannot distinguish from 24.
Output window is blank	Make sure a song is selected and timecode is at or after its first cue. Re-open the 2nd Screen window if needed.
Opening a file did nothing useful	A single song must come in via Import song(s), not Open project. Open project is for full .wirecue projects.
WireCue-AI only AI Transcribe missed or mis-heard lines	Expected on some material — review and fix the song in Edit mode (or drag cues in the Waveform Cue Editor) before using it live. Treat every transcribed song as a draft. Not applicable to plain WIRECUE, which has no AI Transcribe.
WireCue-AI only Waveform panel shows no audio / won't decode	Confirm the file is a supported format (MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, AAC, OGG, AIFF) and isn't corrupted. The panel's status line reports a decode failure if the file can't be read. Not applicable to plain WIRECUE, which has no Waveform Cue Editor.
WireCue-AI only Dragged waveform cues jump to the wrong place	Check the Audio starts at anchor — it must match the SMPTE time the audio file's 0:00 actually represents.
Trial ended / app asks for a serial	The free trial has lapsed. Enter your serial (or your owner code) on the activation screen. See the next section.

15 · Licence & Subscription

WIRECUE is a yearly subscription ($59 / year). A serial activates up to two devices. Three ways get you in:

Method	What it does
Free trial	14 days of full use from first launch, no key needed. When it lapses, a serial is required.
Serial	A key in the form WIRE-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX from your welcome email. Enter it once to unlock permanently.
Owner code	A developer/owner override for your own machines. (If you administer your own licensing, you'll know your code.)

• Offline use — once activated online (where applicable), the app keeps working offline for up to two weeks before it needs to confirm again, so a venue with no internet won't stop a show.
• Renewals are automatic; your serial stays the same.
• Manage or cancel from the billing portal link in your payment receipt.

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WIRECUE User Manual · Version 1.2. Features described reflect the shipping app; wording in menus may be refined between releases. Sections marked WireCue-AI only describe features exclusive to WIRECUE-AI and do not apply to plain WIRECUE.