Cockpit overview: all hotkeys at a glance.

1 · Layout overview

From top to bottom:

1. Top bar — session timer, next to it while a session is running the recording indicator (pulsing red dot with "Recording", or an empty circle with "no recording"), preset selector
2. Level sliders — three sliders in the top strip (Mic · Music · Nature), each with a dB readout
3. Phase buttons — four tiles (Intro / Middle / Climax / Outro) + Soft Stop
4. Nature sounds — collapsible row of 5 tiles directly below the phase buttons, collapsed by default (see the dedicated guide)
5. Playlist shelf — current phase + previous/next tracks of preset playlist
6. Anchor buttons — collapsible row "Anchor sounds (hotkeys Q · W · E · R · T · Z)" with six trigger buttons (Anchor 1–6) for the anchoring technique; collapsed on first launch, after that your chosen state is kept. When expanded, a separate "Anchors" slider above the buttons sets the overall level of all anchor sounds (in percent). The hotkeys also work while the row is collapsed.
7. Microphone & mode — row below the anchor buttons: mute button, level meter, "Microphone" (the active device's name appears as a tooltip) and the "Soundcheck" button (plays a sound bed through the music path before the session so you can check that the music gets through — no session, no recording) on the left, the Loop/Playlist mode toggle on the right
8. Up-next display — bottom bar with the "Now" and "Up next" cards; shows match percentage and countdown when a change is pending

2 · Hotkeys

On QWERTY keyboards (US/UK layout), Y also fires anchor 6 — the same physical key position as Z on a German QWERTZ keyboard.

Hotkeys do not fire when the cursor is in an input field — no accidental phase changes while typing.

3 · Phase buttons in detail

Four tiles, each with its own icon and hotkey label top-right:

• Intro (hotkey 1) — start of the session, trance induction
• Middle (hotkey 2) — deepening, main work
• Climax (hotkey 3) — emotional peak, core work
• Outro (hotkey 4) — winding down, integration, returning

Click or hotkey fires a quantised transition: Hypnotika waits at least the set time (visible in the "Up next" card of the bottom bar with a countdown), then starts the crossfade on the playing track's next downbeat. You set the wait under Settings → "Playback & Mixing" → "Minimum lead time before transition": "Instant" (no waiting), "2 s", "3 s" (default) or "5 s". The crossfade only lands exactly on the downbeat if the "Automatic pitch & tempo match" switch is on and Hypnotika can match the tempo and beat of both tracks; otherwise it starts right after the wait.

Re-clicking an already active phase

If a phase is already playing and you click it again (or hit its hotkey again): crossfade to the next track in the phase playlist (with a fixed playlist per phase, such as in the "Standard session" preset active out of the box, only when the "Mode" toggle is set to "Playlist"; in the out-of-the-box "Loop" position, the same track starts again). With a fixed playlist, the minimum lead time doesn't apply here: the crossfade starts right away or, if Hypnotika can match the tempo and beat of both tracks, on the next downbeat. Useful when you want to skip the current track without waiting for it to end. Repeated presses then cycle through the list: track 1 → track 2 → track 3 → back to track 1.

Clicking a chip in the playlist shelf

The playlist shelf below the phase buttons shows the tracks of the active phase as small chips. Click on a chip = direct jump to that exact track (also backwards in the list). Useful when you want to see what's playing or jump to a specific track.

4 · Mode toggle: Loop or Playlist

At the bottom right of the cockpit sits the "Mode" toggle with two positions:

• Loop — the current track keeps playing endlessly (classic DJ behaviour); with a fixed playlist per phase, pressing the phase button again restarts it.
• Playlist — the tracks of the phase play through automatically, one after another, without you clicking anything.

The default comes from the active preset; in the cockpit you can switch at any time — the change takes effect at the next automatic advance.

The "Up next" display

All transition info lives in the bottom bar: on the left, the "Now" card shows phase, track and BPM/key of the current piece; in the middle sits the crossfade arrow with the match percentage; on the right, the "Up next" card shows the upcoming track. While an announced change waits out the minimum lead time, the right card additionally shows: a badge with the track type (e.g. "Music" or "Nature"), the match score in percent, a live countdown ("in 4.2s") and a cancel button — if the app auto-adjusts pitch or tempo, that's shown too. The match score changes colour with match quality: green from 80%, blue in between, orange below 60%; the card border itself always stays orange during that time. You can also cancel with Esc.

5 · Soft Stop

Soft Stop (hotkey Space) gently fades the master volume to 0 — any running nature sounds always fade out with it. The "Standard session" preset, which is active out of the box, has a fixed 5 sec for this. With any other preset, or without a preset, the time set under Settings → "Playback & Mixing" → "Soft-stop duration" applies (default 2 sec); while "Standard session" is active, that setting has no effect. Unlike a hard stop: no click, no abrupt silence shock for the client. Stops the session recording too if active and finalises the MP3 file. Soft Stop is the only way to end a session — otherwise timer and recording keep running.

6 · Anchor buttons

Six dedicated buttons in the anchor area. Hotkeys Q · W · E · R · T · Z (on QWERTY keyboards, Y also fires anchor 6). Click plays a short sound (1-3 sec) ON TOP of the running music, without crossfade. Detailed guide in the anchor sounds topic.

7 · Level sliders: Music, Mic, Nature

In the top bar, the cockpit has three sliders, each with a dB readout of the set value:

• Music — adjusts only the music (louder/quieter), affects both your speakers AND the recording; voice and anchor sounds stay untouched.
• Mic — adjusts your voice level. It's the same setting as Settings → "Audio & Hardware" → "Mic level" (appears once "Enable microphone" is on) — turn it here and the value changes there too (and vice versa). So you can correct it mid-session without leaving the cockpit.
• Nature — level of the nature-sounds layer, independent from the music slider; also applies to the recording.

Recommendation: set it slightly lower than usual at the start of the session — clients in trance hear more intensely.

Related: Anchor sounds · Nature sounds · Phases & transitions · Stream Deck