Before you start
- Use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on a laptop or desktop. Other browsers may not support every feature (like choosing the output device).
- Use the same computer you'll run the show on, if possible. Your sounds are stored inside this browser on this computer.
Set up in 4 steps
- Name your show. Click "Untitled Show" at the top left and type your production's name.
- Create your scenes. The blue buttons on the left are pages. Use one page per scene. Click + Add page, and double-click a page to rename it (e.g. "Scene 3 – Market").
- Add your sounds. Open a page, then click + Load sounds (or drag audio files from your computer onto the board). Each file becomes a tile. MP3, WAV, M4A and OGG all work.
- Pick your speakers. At the bottom left, choose the Broadcast Device, meaning the speakers, interface or mixer the sound should go to. Leave it on "System default" if you're unsure.
Your sounds are remembered automatically. Close the browser, come back tomorrow, and everything is still there on this computer.
Set up each sound (tile)
| Volume | Drag the bar on the tile to set how loud that sound plays (default 50%). |
| Loop ∞ | Hover over a tile and click ∞ (top left) to make it repeat until you stop it. It turns amber when looping is on. |
| Cue note ✎ | Hover over a tile and click ✎ (top right) to write when it plays, e.g. "After Ravi says 'I'm leaving'". The note shows on the tile. |
| Rename | Right-click a tile → Rename… |
| Category | Right-click → choose Music, SFX, Ambience or Voice. This adds a coloured stripe, and you can filter by category above the board. |
| Reorder / move | Drag a tile onto another tile to reorder it. Drag it onto a page button on the left to move it to that scene. |
| Replace audio | Right-click → Replace file… to swap the audio without losing the tile's settings. |
How sounds behave when a new one starts
Every scene has a Scene default (the top row of buttons). It decides what happens to sounds that are already playing when you fire a new one:
| Multi-Play | New sounds play on top of whatever is already playing. Good for layering ambience, music and effects. |
| Cut | The new sound instantly stops everything else. |
| Auto-fade | Everything else fades out while the new sound starts. |
| Crossfade | The old sounds fade out while the new one fades in. |
One sound needs to behave differently? Right-click it → Trigger behavior and choose a different option. A small coloured label (CUT / FADE / X-FADE / LAYER) appears on that tile so you'll spot it during the show.
Example: in a busy scene, keep the scene on Multi-Play so the crowd, drums and vocals layer up. Set only the final vocal tile to Fade out others. When you fire it, everything else fades away and it plays alone.
Extras (per scene)
| Fade In | Sounds in this scene rise up from silence instead of starting at full volume. |
| Fade Out | Stopping a sound fades it out instead of cutting it. |
| Playlist | When a sound finishes, the next tile on the page plays automatically. |
The fade box on the right sets how long all fades take, in seconds.
Playing cues
| Play | Click anywhere on a tile. It turns green while playing. |
| Stop one sound | Click the playing tile again, or click its ■ button. |
| Pause one sound | Click ⏸ on the playing tile, then ▶ to continue from the same spot. |
| Instant stop | Double-click a playing tile to stop it immediately, skipping any fade. |
| Stop everything | The red Stop button. It fades if Fade Out is on, otherwise it cuts. |
| Emergency stop | Press Esc. Everything stops instantly, no fades. |
After a sound has played, its tile turns red so you can see what's already been used. Reset Page / Reset All clears the red before the next performance.
Under dialogue: Duck
When an actor starts speaking over music, click Duck. All playing sounds fade down to the level in the box next to it (25% by default) so the lines stay clear. Click Duck again to bring the music back up.
The display at the top right
- Broadcast slider: the overall master volume.
- Elapsed / Remaining: timing for the most recent sound.
- Waveform: click or drag on it to jump to any point in the sound. Handy in rehearsal.
- Now playing bar: shows every sound that's playing and which scene it came from. Click × on one to stop it.
Before each show: open the show, click Reset All, test one sound through the speakers, and set the Broadcast slider.
Back up your show
Click Save set. You get one .zip file containing your whole show: every scene, every tile setting, every note, and the audio files themselves. Keep a copy on a pen drive or cloud drive.
Move to another computer
- On the old computer: Save set.
- Copy the .zip to the new computer.
- On the new computer: open StageCue → Open set → choose the .zip. Everything comes back, audio included.
Important: Clearing your browser's history or site data, or using a private/incognito window, can erase the sounds stored on this computer. Always keep a recent Save set backup, especially before a performance.
Keyboard and mouse shortcuts
| Esc | Emergency stop: everything stops instantly. |
| Space | Pause / resume all sound. |
| Click tile | Play, or stop if it's already playing. |
| Double-click tile | Instant stop for that sound (no fade). |
| Right-click tile | All options: rename, cue note, loop, trigger behavior, category, remove. |
| Right-click page | Rename, move up/down, delete. |
| Drag tile | Reorder, or drop onto a page to move it there. |
Something not working?
- Tile says "not loaded": the audio isn't on this computer. Use + Load sounds with the same file, or Open set with your backup .zip.
- No sound: check the Broadcast slider, the Broadcast Device at the bottom, and that Duck or Pause isn't on.
- Something odd happened: click 🔍 Log, then Copy all, and send the text to the person who shared StageCue with you.
About StageCue
StageCue was designed and built by Aaqib for theatre sound operators.
Terms of use
- StageCue is © 2026 Aaqib. All rights reserved.
- You're welcome to use it free of charge for your own theatre productions, rehearsals and training.
- Access is personal. Please don't share your login or give others access.
- You may not copy, download, modify, redistribute, resell, or build another product from StageCue's code, design or features without written permission.
- Your audio files stay on your own computer. They are not uploaded anywhere.
- StageCue is provided "as is", without any warranty. Always keep a backup of your show and test before every performance. The author isn't responsible for any loss of data or issues during a performance.
- Access can be withdrawn at any time.
Questions or feedback? Contact the person who invited you to StageCue.