THE
MANUAL.

Everything you need to master Crate — commands, prompts, use cases, and configuration.

01GETTING STARTED

ZERO TO DIGGING

Get started in under a minute. No setup required.

01

SIGN UP

Create a free account. No credit card required. You can start researching immediately with Crate's built-in API keys.

02

ASK A QUESTION

Type any music question in the chat — "Who influenced Erykah Badu?" or "Build me a neo-soul set for Friday." Crate's agent handles the rest.

03

EXPLORE RESULTS

Results appear as interactive cards — influence chains, playlists with playback, show prep packages. Save anything to your collections.

04

GO DEEPER

Use slash commands for specialized research. Configure your own API keys for unlimited usage. Publish and share your findings.

02COMMANDS

SLASH COMMANDS

Type / in the chat to see all available commands. Each triggers specialized research with optimized prompts and tool access.

/influence

/influence [artist name]

Map an artist's musical influences. Creates an interactive influence chain visualization with 6-12 weighted connections, showing who influenced whom and why. Sources include review co-mentions, Last.fm similar artists, and web research.

EXAMPLE/influence Flying Lotus
OUTPUT

InfluenceChain component with artist images, weights, and source citations

/show-prep

Aliases: /prep, /showprep

/show-prep [station]: [request or setlist]

Generate complete radio show prep packages. Opens an interactive form to specify station, shift, DJ name, guest, and setlist. Produces track context, talk breaks (short/medium/long), social copy for Instagram/X/Bluesky, local event listings, and interview prep.

EXAMPLE/show-prep HYFIN: Khruangbin - Time (You and I)
OUTPUT

Full show prep package with customizable sections

/news

/news [station] [count]

Generate a daily music news segment. Searches current music news from RSS feeds and web sources, cross-references facts, and formats for the specified station's voice. Supports 88Nine, HYFIN, and Rhythm Lab.

EXAMPLE/news hyfin 3
OUTPUT

Formatted news segment ready for on-air delivery

/publish

/publish [telegraph|tumblr]

Publish your research to the web. Telegraph is free and instant — no account needed. Tumblr requires API keys configured in Settings. Content is formatted with clear titles, headings, and source links.

EXAMPLE/publish telegraph
OUTPUT

Published URL you can share with anyone

/published

/published

View all your published content across Telegraph and Tumblr. Shows titles, URLs, categories, and publication dates grouped by platform.

EXAMPLE/published
OUTPUT

List of all published items with links

03PROMPT EXAMPLES

WHAT TO ASK

Crate works best with specific, music-focused questions. Here are real examples organized by category.

INFLUENCE & LINEAGE

“Trace the influence chain from J Dilla to Kaytranada”

Maps the artistic lineage connecting two artists through intermediate influences, with evidence from reviews and credits.

“Who are the key bridge artists connecting Afrobeats to hip-hop?”

Identifies crossover artists with co-mention data from 26 music publications.

“Show me how Sun Ra influenced modern electronic music”

Builds a forward-looking influence chain from a pioneer to contemporary artists.

DEEP RESEARCH

“Tell me everything about Ezra Collective — influences, members, key albums, and live shows”

Comprehensive artist profile pulling from Discogs, Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Genius, and Ticketmaster.

“What's the story behind Madvillainy? Production credits, samples, and legacy”

Deep album research with verified credits from Discogs, sample chains, and critical reception.

“Compare the Milwaukee jazz scene to Chicago's — key venues, artists, and crossover”

Cross-city music scene analysis with local event data and artist connections.

PLAYLISTS & SETS

“Build a 2-hour jazz-funk set for a Friday night show, heavy on Roy Ayers and Herbie Hancock vibes”

AI-curated playlist with playable tracks, BPM flow, and transition notes.

“Create a playlist that traces the evolution of neo-soul from D'Angelo to current artists”

Chronological playlist with context cards explaining each era and connection.

“Give me 15 deep cuts similar to Khruangbin but from African and Middle Eastern artists”

Discovery playlist pulling from Last.fm similarity, Bandcamp, and review co-mentions.

SHOW PREP & PUBLISHING

“/show-prep 88Nine: Noname > Saba > Chance the Rapper”

Full show prep with talk breaks, track context, social posts, and interview questions.

“Write a 500-word feature on the resurgence of vinyl culture in Milwaukee”

Long-form content with sourced facts, ready to publish to Telegraph or Tumblr.

“/news HYFIN 5”

Five current music news items formatted for HYFIN's urban alternative audience.

04USE CASES

IN THE FIELD

Real workflows from real stations. Three voices, three use cases, one tool.

HYFIN

URBAN ALTERNATIVE • MILWAUKEE

Pre-show research for a hip-hop history segment

WORKFLOW

  1. 01DJ types: /show-prep HYFIN: Gil Scott-Heron > Common > Noname
  2. 02Crate generates talk breaks tracing the lineage from spoken word to conscious rap
  3. 03Built-in player lets DJ preview each track while reviewing notes
  4. 04Social copy is ready for Instagram — artist images included
  5. 05Full package published to Telegraph for the station's website

RESULT

45-minute show prep done in 3 minutes. Every fact cited, every track playable.

88NINE

ECLECTIC • COMMUNITY-FORWARD

Discovering local connections for an on-air feature

WORKFLOW

  1. 01DJ asks: "How does the Milwaukee indie scene connect to Malian blues?"
  2. 02Crate searches Discogs credits, Last.fm tags, and 26 review publications
  3. 03Finds that a Milwaukee band's guitarist studied with Ali Farka Touré's student
  4. 04Generates an influence chain with the connection path visualized
  5. 05Ticketmaster data shows both artists have upcoming Milwaukee dates

RESULT

A compelling on-air story that no amount of Googling would have surfaced.

RHYTHM LAB

GLOBAL BEATS • CRATE DIGGERS

Deep crate digging for a global beats playlist

WORKFLOW

  1. 01DJ types: "Build a 90-minute set connecting Ethiopian jazz to UK broken beat"
  2. 02Crate pulls from Discogs releases, Bandcamp catalogs, and Genius annotations
  3. 03Playlist includes deep cuts with BPM-matched transitions
  4. 04Each track has producer credits and sample information verified via MusicBrainz
  5. 05Playlist saved to Collections for future reference and iteration

RESULT

A set that would take hours of digging, ready in under a minute with full source verification.

05DATA SOURCES

19+ SOURCES
EXPLAINED

Every query can tap into any combination of these sources. The agent decides which to use based on your question.

DISCOGS

Releases & Credits

Full discographies, producer credits, label info, release dates, vinyl pressings

MUSICBRAINZ

Metadata & IDs

Canonical artist/album IDs, recording relationships, work credits, ISRCs

LAST.FM

Tags & Similarity

User-generated tags, similar artists, listening stats, genre classifications

GENIUS

Lyrics & Annotations

Song lyrics, community annotations, artist bios, song stories

BANDCAMP

Independent Music

Independent releases, artist pages, genre tags, direct-to-artist catalogs

SPOTIFY

Artwork & Audio

Album artwork (640x640), artist images, audio features, popularity data

WIKIPEDIA

Artist Bios

Artist biographies, career timelines, discography summaries, cultural context

TICKETMASTER

Live Events

Concert listings, venue info, tour dates, ticket availability

YOUTUBE

Video & Audio

Music videos, live performances, interviews, in-app playback

SETLIST.FM

Concert Setlists

Historical setlists, tour data, venue history, song frequency

PITCHFORK

Reviews

Album reviews, ratings, Best New Music, artist features

ALLMUSIC

Guides & Reviews

Expert reviews, style guides, mood classifications, similar albums

RATE YOUR MUSIC

Community Reviews

Community ratings, genre charts, descriptors, user lists

FANART.TV

HD Artist Images

High-res artist backgrounds, logos, album covers, CD art

ITUNES

Album Artwork

Album artwork (600x600), track previews, release metadata

26 PUBLICATIONS

Review Co-Mentions

Cross-referenced artist mentions across Pitchfork, NME, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, and 22 more music publications for influence mapping

06CONFIGURATION

BRING YOUR OWN KEYS

You need either an Anthropic or OpenRouter API key to power the AI agent. All other keys are optional and enhance specific features.

Configure keys in Settings (gear icon in the sidebar). Keys are stored securely and never leave your browser until a research request is made.

ANTHROPIC

REQUIRED

Powers Crate's AI agent directly via the Claude API. Required if you're not using OpenRouter. Get a key from Anthropic's console.

console.anthropic.com/settings/keys

OPENROUTER

REQUIRED

Alternative to a direct Anthropic key. Routes to Claude, GPT-4, and other LLMs through a single API. One key, many models.

openrouter.ai/keys

SPOTIFY

OPTIONAL

Enables high-quality album artwork (640x640) and artist images. Used for the image pipeline in influence chains and playlists.

developer.spotify.com/dashboard

FANART.TV

OPTIONAL

HD artist backgrounds, logos, and album art. Requires a MusicBrainz ID (automatically resolved by Crate).

fanart.tv/get-an-api-key

TUMBLR

OPTIONAL

Required only for /publish tumblr. Lets you publish research directly to your Tumblr blog.

tumblr.com/oauth/apps

GENIUS

OPTIONAL

Lyrics, annotations, and song metadata. Crate provides a default key, but your own avoids rate limits.

genius.com/api-clients

LAST.FM

OPTIONAL

Similar artists, tags, and listening data. Crate provides a default key, but your own avoids rate limits.

last.fm/api/account/create

07FAQ

COMMON QUESTIONS

Is Crate free?

Yes. Crate provides built-in API keys so you can start researching immediately. For unlimited usage, you can add your own OpenRouter API key in Settings.

How is this different from ChatGPT?

ChatGPT generates answers from training data. Crate queries 19+ live music databases (Discogs, MusicBrainz, Genius, Last.fm, etc.) in real-time and cites every source. No hallucinated credits or dates.

What kind of questions can I ask?

Anything music-related — artist research, influence mapping, playlist building, show prep, album deep dives, scene analysis, sample chains. Use slash commands for specialized workflows.

Do I need to be a DJ to use Crate?

No. Crate is built for anyone curious about music — DJs, producers, writers, students, collectors, and listeners. The show prep features are DJ-focused, but most features serve all music enthusiasts.

How does influence mapping work?

Crate analyzes co-mentions across 26 music publications, Last.fm similarity data, and Discogs credits to build weighted influence connections. Each connection includes evidence and source citations.

Can I play music inside Crate?

Yes. The built-in audio player streams tracks via YouTube directly in the research interface. Every playlist and track card includes a play button.

What happens to my research?

Everything is saved to your workspace — playlists, influence chains, show prep, and starred items live in your sidebar. You can also publish to Telegraph or Tumblr.

Is my data private?

Your API keys are encrypted before being stored in your authenticated workspace. They are only decrypted server-side when making research requests to the respective APIs. Your research history and collections are tied to your account and not shared.