User guide

Everything StandbyCue can do — from your first event to calling the show live.

What is StandbyCue?

StandbyCue is a run-of-show (rundown) tool for live events: a shared, minute-by-minute plan that your whole crew sees in real time — and that a Show Caller can run live, cue by cue.

WorkspacePersonal or a teamEvente.g. Annual ConferenceStandalone rundownNo event — quick one-offFolderGroups rundownsRundownRun of showDashboard folderGroups events & rundowns
How content is organized: a workspace (you or a team) holds events; events hold folders and rundowns. Standalone rundowns live directly on the dashboard.
  • Workspace — your personal space, or a team you share with colleagues. Everything you create lives in one.
  • Event — a container for everything belonging to one production (e.g. a conference): rundowns and folders.
  • Folders — group rundowns inside an event, or group events and standalone rundowns on the dashboard. Dashboard folders can be nested.
  • Rundown — the actual run of show: rows (cues) with times, titles and your own columns. Can live inside an event or standalone on the dashboard.

Getting started & signing in

There are three ways into StandbyCue:

  • Email + password — the standard sign-in. You can change your password under Profile.
  • Magic link — type your email, click the link we send you. No password needed.
  • PIN — for crew who just need to see a rundown: open the /pin page, type the 6-digit code, done. Read-only, no account. See “Sharing & access”.

Under Profile you can change your name, password and theme (dark/light — it follows your account across devices). Each rundown can show times in 24-hour or 12-hour (AM/PM) format — set per rundown in its settings.

The dashboard

The dashboard is home: upcoming events, your folders, standalone rundowns and anything shared with you.

  • List / grid — toggle with the two icons in the toolbar. Grid shows tiles you drill into; your choice is remembered.
  • Search — the search box finds events, rundowns and folders by name, wherever they are.
  • Sort — by event start date, created date, alphabetical or team.
  • Folders — create one via + New event ▾ → New folder. Drag events or rundowns onto a folder to file them; drag to the top area to take them out. Folders can hold subfolders, get a logo, and belong to you or a team.
  • Move… — every card's menu has a Move option if you prefer a picker over drag & drop.
  • Archive — the single safety net. Archiving an event, rundown, document or folder tucks it under Archived (kept for as long as you like). Archiving an event takes its rundowns with it; Restore brings them all back.
  • Delete permanently — only from inside Archived, and only the owner or a team admin can do it. There's no separate Trash — you archive first, then delete for good if you really want to.
  • One libraryRundowns holds everything (upcoming and past together). Use Sort to order it — alphabetical, by date, created or team. A small badge marks anything shared with you.
On the Free plan a counter shows how many of your own rundowns you've used. Events are unlimited; rundowns are capped — upgrade under Billing when you hit the limit.

Events

Create an event with + New event. An event has a name, date (or date range), location, label and logo — all editable later via the gear icon on the event page.

  • Inside an event you create rundowns and folders, and drag rundowns between them.
  • Duplicate an event from its menu — copies the event with its rundowns.
  • Share an event to give people access to everything inside it (see “Sharing & access”).
  • A rundown can be moved out of an event (Move… → Dashboard) and becomes standalone — or from the dashboard into an event.
  • If an event was shared with you, you can Leave it from the event page.

Event timeline

On an event page, switch the view with List · Grid · Timeline (top right). Timelinelays every rundown in the event on one time axis — one lane per rundown, grouped by day.

  • See at a glance what runs in parallel, where the gaps are, and the whole day in one view.
  • A red NOW line marks the current time when the day is today.
  • Click a lane to jump straight into that rundown.
  • Rundowns without a date or start time can't be placed — they're listed under Without a time; set a date/start to put them on the axis.

Tasks

Each event has a Tasks card — a prep checklist so the crew knows who does what, by when. Click the card to open the full list.

  • Add a task with a title, then set a status (to-do → in progress → done by clicking the circle), an assignee (anyone in the event) and a due date. Overdue, unfinished tasks show in red.
  • Only mine filters the list to your tasks; the card shows how many are done and how many are overdue.
  • An assignee can tick their own task even with view-only access; editors manage everything.
  • Email — assign a task to someone and they get a “you've been assigned a task” email; a reminder goes out when a task is due and still open.

Documents & call sheets

A Document is a free-form grid inside an event — the same columns, colours, sharing and PDF/CSV export as a rundown, but with no timeline or live mode. Perfect for artist lists, contacts, technical needs — or a call sheet.

  • Create one under the event's Documents section (or + New ▾ → New document). Add your own columns, rows, headers and sections just like a rundown.
  • Add crew member — at the bottom (next to Add row) or by right-clicking a row: pick a team member and the Name / Email / Phone columns fill in from their profile (those columns are created if they don't exist). External crew you type in by hand.

Files & attachmentsPRO

Each event has a Files section for riders, run sheets, images and other attachments (a Pro feature; viewers can still download).

  • Upload from the event toolbar or drag files into the Files section; organise them into file folders.
  • Preview — click a file to open it: images, video, audio, PDF and text show inline, and Office files (PowerPoint, Word, Excel) preview too. The download button saves the original.
  • A usage bar shows the per-event storage cap. Deleting a file is permanent.

Templates

A template saves a rundown's columns (not its rows) as a reusable blueprint, so every new rundown can start with the same layout.

  • Save as template — open a rundown, then ⋯ → Save as template… and give it a name. It captures the columns only.
  • New template — or build one from scratch with + New template on the Templates page.
  • Use it — when you create a rundown, pick it under Start from template; the new rundown copies the columns but keeps its own name, date, time and empty rows.
  • Manage — templates live under Templates in the sidebar. Open one to edit (changes save automatically — a Template badge shows you're in a template), or use its menu to rename or delete. Templates don't count toward your Free rundown limit.

The editor: rows, headers & sections

BIUS– 14 +Row ElementsCell ElementsNUMBERSTARTDURATIONTITLEWHOMICSPRESENTATION109:0000:05:00Doors openSubtitleCrewHold slide209:3001:00:00RehearsalSubtitleAlex & SamB1+B2Run-throughGap of 15m 0sSTART SHOW310:4500:10:00WelcomeSubtitleAlex & SamB1 + B2FILMBAACopyPaste 1 row belowDuplicateAdd row aboveAdd row belowAdd header aboveAdd header belowAdd buffer belowTake off the clockDeleteWHOHide for meRenameDuplicate columnNew columnDelete column
The editor: a number rail, the fixed Start / Duration columns (with the Fixed/Follow icon), a rich-text Title with a subtitle, and your own custom columns. Section bars group rows; 'Gap' markers show idle time. Right-click a row or a column header for its menu.

Rows (cues)

  • Add a row with + Add row at the bottom, from the right-click menu (Add row above/below), or just press Enter on the last row.
  • Click the row number to select a row. Shift-click selects a range, Cmd/Ctrl-click toggles rows in and out of the selection. Actions (duplicate, delete, colour, move) then apply to the whole selection.
  • Drag the row number to reorder — a multi-selection moves as one block. Numbers always renumber automatically (1, 2, 3 …).
  • Deleting rows shows an Undo toast for a few seconds — click it to bring them back, values included.
  • Copy / Paste from the right-click menu works across rundowns: copy rows in one rundown, open another, paste. Custom-column values follow along when column names match.

Headers & sections

  • A header is a label-only row (no time, never called live) — for stage directions like “DOORS”, “PART 2”.
  • A section is a collapsible bar that groups the rows below it. Click the chevron to fold a section away and rename it inline; deleting one keeps the rows.

Edit history

Hover a Title or custom cell and click the small clock icon: every change is listed with who made it and when — and you can restore any earlier version. On Free the history shows the last 24 hours; Pro keeps the full history.

Columns

Built-in columns — Start, Duration, Title (with a subtitle line stacked underneath) — are always there. Everything else is yours:

  • Add column at the right end of the header row; name it right away (e.g. Camera, Audio, Graphics).
  • Resize by dragging the edge between two headers; double-click the edge to auto-fit the widest content.
  • Reorder by dragging a header — a live preview shows where it lands. Or, from any cell in the column, press Cmd/Ctrl ← / → to move it, and Cmd/Ctrl Shift ← / → to add a new column on that side.
  • Rename with a double-click on the header, or right-click → Rename.
  • Right-click a header for the column menu: colour, rename, duplicate column (with values), new column, delete. Deleting always asks first — it erases the column's values for everyone.
  • Private Notes — every user automatically has a personal column only they can see. Hide it with the eye icon; bring it back from the header row. It can't be deleted.
  • Hide for me — hover any column header and click the eye (or use the column menu) to hide that column just for you — handy when you only care about your own columns. It doesn't remove the column or change what anyone else sees, and it never touches exports; bring it back from the Show … button next to Add column.
  • A small padlock on a header means your role only has edit access to specific columns — the locked ones are read-only for you (see “Crew Roles”).

Text, images & formatting

The toolbar above the table formats whatever text cell you're typing in (Title, subtitle and custom columns — Start/Duration are plain time fields).

  • Style: bold Cmd/Ctrl B, italic Cmd/Ctrl I, underline Cmd/Ctrl U, strikethrough.
  • Size: − / + buttons or Cmd/Ctrl ↑ / Cmd/Ctrl ↓ while editing.
  • Align: horizontal (left/centre/right) and, for custom cells, vertical (top/middle/bottom).
  • Colour & highlight swatches for the selected text. Hover a swatch to drop down 5 shades of that colour — pick a lighter or darker nuance without crowding the toolbar.
  • Bullet lists and links (select text → link button → type the URL).
  • Images: drag an image file straight into a custom cell, or use the image button. Click an image and drag its corner handle to resize; drag the image itself to another cell to move it.
  • The toolbar can be hidden (chevron at the right end) and enlarged by dragging its bottom edge — handy on a control-room screen.

Text variables & find / replacePRO

Text variables and Find & replace are Pro features.

Store reusable values once and reference them anywhere. Open ⋯ → Variables and add pairs like host = Jonas or doors = 18:00. Then in any text cell type {{host}} — or use the {{ }} button in the toolbar. Change a value once in Variables and every cell that uses it updates — in the editor, exports, the prompter and shared links.

  • In the editor a variable shows a faint dotted underline so you know it's dynamic. On the prompter, exports and shared links it's just the plain value.
  • Names use letters, numbers, _ and -, and are not case-sensitive — {{Host}} and {{host}} both work. A name with no matching variable shows in red.
  • Click into a cell to edit the raw {{token}}; click away to see the resolved value again. Punctuation right after works too, e.g. {{host}}.

Find & replace

Open ⋯ → Find & replace to search across every cue title, subtitle and text column, with a live match count, an optional Match case, and Replace all. Replacements happen inside the text only, so bold, links and images are left untouched.

Row, cell & column colours

  • Row colour: right-click a row → pick a swatch. Tints the row and adds an accent on the left edge.
  • Cell colour: right-click a single cell.
  • Column colour: right-click a column header.
  • Each picker has two rows: the globe row colours for everyone; the person row is your private marker (e.g. highlight your own cues) — nobody else sees it.

Timing: starts, durations & targets

NUMBERSTARTDURATIONTITLE109:0000:05:00Doors openSubtitle309:3001:00:00Moderators testSubtitle200:00:00Welcome — host on stageSubtitle09:0509:0500:00:00Target timeCancelSave
Set times inline: click a row's Start to type a clock time (that makes it Fixed), or click the mode icon to switch it to Follow so it begins when the row above ends. Duration opens a popover where a target end-time can drive the length.
  • Follow (the default) — the row starts when the row above ends (its start + duration). Times cascade automatically, so trimming one cue shifts everything after it.
  • Fixed — the row starts at its own clock time. To make a row Fixed, just click its Start time and type (e.g. 20:50 or 2050) — the mode icon flips to Fixed. To go back to Follow, clear the field or click the Fixed icon. The first row is always Fixed: it anchors the schedule.
  • Target time — set it from the Duration editor to give a row a fixed end time. The Duration cell then shows that target clock time (small target icon) rather than a length, since the real duration varies with when the cue starts. It's a hard out — live, that cue counts down to the fixed clock time, so an overrun on the cue above is absorbed automatically and it still lands on time.
  • Off the clock — the eye icon in the number rail excludes a row from the schedule (struck through, doesn't push later rows). Great for optional or parallel items.
  • Gaps & overlaps — when a Fixed start doesn't line up with the previous row's end, a small strip appears between the two rows: green “Gap of …” when there's dead time to fill, red “Overlaps by …” when the schedule collides. It sits under the Start / Duration so you can see exactly where the slack or clash is and adjust a time.

Schedule vs projected

In the header you set the Schedule (Start / End — click to edit). Next to it, Cue shows the live countdown of the current cue. On schedule answers “are we on schedule?” — off air it compares the planned finish to your planned End; on air it goes live, tracking how far ahead or behind the running order actually is (a late start, a cue that overran, or time you clawed back), updating at every GO. Green is ahead, red is behind. Proj. end is the projected finish, shifted live by that drift.

Going live

SCHEDULEStart12:00End19:00CUE02:14+16:02On schedule +9h 45mTIME OF DAY22:04:37On AirLockNUMBERSTARTDURATIONTITLEWHOMICSPRESENTATION712:45Serving ready…Backstage13:0000:10:00WelcomeSubtitleAlex & SamB1 + B2FILM beforeintro + agenda913:1000:30:00CMUJordan LeeB3PresentationNextLIVEWelcome07:46−16:02OF 00:10:00Crew Roles ▲End47 rowsMessage for the stage…StandbyGo−5−1+1+5
Going live: press Next (or Space) to advance cue by cue. The header shows the running cue countdown, schedule drift and On Air; the live row is tinted red with a pulsing marker. Open the clock control for Standby → Go and ±1/±5 nudges.
  • Go Live starts the show from the selected row (or the first). Everyone in the rundown sees the red live row, the countdown and the On Air badge — in real time.
  • Next (or Space / ) advances; goes back. Skipped and off-the-clock rows are passed over.
  • Pause freezes the cue countdown (“Hold”); resume shifts the clock so the remaining time is honest.
  • Tracking auto-scrolls so the live cue stays centred — perfect on a wall display.
  • Clock control (the clock icon in the live bar, Show Callers) opens one panel with everything you push to the screens: a Message (type it, then Show/Hide — it takes over the stage & timer screens), the Standby / Go cue light, and ±minutes to nudge the running cue's countdown live (it clears itself when you move on). See “Stage display & cue light” and “Stage timer”.
  • Time Stamps (callers only): when on, StandbyCue records each cue's actual start time and how far over/under it ran. The start shows under Start (green on time, red late) and the over/under under Duration; both survive reloads, are shared between caller clients, feed the On-schedule projection, and appear in your PDF & CSV exports. Going live again lets you keep or clear the previous run's stamps.
  • End show stops the live state. A live rundown left untouched for 2 hours ends itself.
  • The countdown clock is stored centrally — reload the page or open the rundown on another machine and it keeps counting correctly.
  • Survives network drops — if the venue Wi-Fi hiccups, a red “No connection” bar appears but you can keep calling the show: your GOs and edits queue locally and sync the moment you're back (a green “back online” bar confirms it). Other screens catch up on reconnect. The app also keeps working after a reload while offline, so a live show never leaves you stuck.
Only Show Callers (and owners/admins) can run the transport. Everyone else sees the controls greyed out but follows the live state.

Stage display & cue light

Open the stage display from the editor's menu (or ⌘K → “Open stage display”): a full-screen, read-only screen for a confidence monitor or projector. It mirrors the live state in real time — time of day, the current cue (title + subtitle), elapsed and remaining/over, and the next cue.

Standby → GO

While live, open the clock control in the live bar for the Standby and Go cue light (Show Callers). Press Standby and the stage screen shows a big amber STANDBY with the upcoming cue; press Go for a green GO. It's a silent cue light for the people on stage — no walkie needed. Press the same button again to clear it; moving to the next cue clears it automatically.

MAIN STAGE · DAY 1LIVETIME OF DAY23:02:19NOW · CUE 9WelcomeKeynoteELAPSED0:10REMAINING9:50NEXT · CUE 10KeynotePanelGET READY — YOU'RE NEXTSTANDBYKeynoteYOU'RE UPGOKeynoteMessage for the stage…StandbyGo−5−1+1+5
The stage display: a full-screen confidence monitor showing time of day, the current cue, elapsed & remaining, and what's next. From the clock control the Show Caller flashes a silent Standby (amber) then GO (green) cue light — it takes over the whole screen for the people on stage.

Messages

From the same clock control, type a message and press Show: it takes over the stage and timer screens — centred, big and clear, with everything else dimmed behind it. Press Hide to remove it.

Stage timer

The stage timer is a focused, full-screen countdown for the people on stage — just the clock, the current cue, the time of day and what's next. Open it from the editor's menu → Stage timer, or on any screen with no login via a code.

Open it with a code — no account

  • Every rundown has an automatic 5-character code (created for you — no PIN to set up). Find it in the Share panel under “Stage timer”.
  • On the screen, go to /timer, type the code, and the clock runs. Or copy the direct link(/timer/<code>) and just open it — it needs no account and reacts to Go / next quickly.
  • The code is read-only and protected by the same brute-force throttle as PIN codes.

Make it your own (per screen)

  • Move the pointer to the bottom of the screen for the control bar, then press Adjust layers: each piece (countdown, cue title, time of day, next…) gets a dashed frame you can drag anywhere, resize from the corner, and recolour.
  • Layers turns each element on or off; Background sets the page colour; Full screenfills the display.
  • Every choice is saved locally on that screen, so each display keeps its own look — no account, nothing shared.

In OBS / vMix (Browser Source)

To put the timer straight into your stream or screen mix, add a Browser Source pointing at the timer URL — no plugin, no account. In OBS: Sources → + → Browser; in vMix: Add Input → Web Browser. Use /timer?code=<code>&screen=obs — the screen=obs part gives it its own saved layout, separate from your stage screens.

For it to sit cleanly over your video, pick Background → Transparent (or add &bg=transparent to the URL). Then only the countdown and text show — no box.

The countdown, cue light and messages on the timer are the same live values as the editor and the stage display — everything stays perfectly in sync.

Session board (lobby / door display)PRO

The session board is a Pro feature. Anyone who opens a board with its code sees it on any screen with no account.

The session board is a big, glanceable “Now / Up next” screen for the foyer, the door of a breakout room or a lobby wall. It follows the rundown by the clock — showing the session that's on now and the ones coming up — with speaker photos, names and a subtitle, so guests always know where to be. Open it from the editor's menu → Session board.

Session boardFieldsLayoutDisplayBrandingBackgroundGraphicTemplatesS5MY8Open board ↗RUNDOWN ROWSSCENESClearPREVIEW · NOW09:00Doors open & registration09:30Opening keynote10:15Panel: The road ahead11:00Coffee & networking11:20Closing remarks11:45Lunch11:20Closing remarks1Doors open & registration09:00Time09:0009:30Hide2Opening keynote09:303Panel: The road ahead10:154Coffee & networking11:005Closing remarks11:20NOW09:2409:41Doors open09:00 – 09:30Opening keynote09:30 – 10:15UP NEXTOpening keynote09:30Panel: The road ahead10:15Coffee & networking11:00Panel: The road ahead10:15Coffee & networking11:00Closing remarks11:20Opens at /board with the rundown's code — same as the stage timer. Changes save automatically.
The board builder: drag rundown rows into scenes (left); the dark preview shows the live Now / Up next. It follows the clock — when a session's start time passes, the next scene becomes Now and the list shifts up. Put it on a screen at /board with the rundown's code — no login.

Put it on a screen — no account

  • It reuses the rundown's automatic 5-character code — the same one as the stage timer. Find it in the Share panel under “Session board”, or in the board builder's top bar.
  • On the screen, go to /board and type the code, or open the direct link(/board?code=<CODE>). It needs no login, refreshes itself, and updates within seconds when you change the rundown or the board's design — perfect for a kiosk left running all day.
  • When the show is live, the board follows the live cue's place in the running order rather than the wall clock. Otherwise it uses the scheduled times; once every session is in the past the board goes blank.

Build it with scenes

  • The builder is a drag & drop editor. Drag rundown rows from the left into scenes — each scene is one screen. Only rows you add show up, in the order you arrange them.
  • Drop several rows into one scene to make a panel (Pecha Kucha / multi-speaker): the board turns it into a row of avatars — a round photo, name and role for each person.
  • Group scenes under named sections (the section title rides along as a kicker above each scene). Reorder loose scenes and sections freely, and set start times on or off — or override the time text per scene.

Choose the fields & photos

  • Map which columns feed Presenters Name and Description (the built-in Subtitle is an option for either), plus which column holds the photo.
  • Click any image in the editor and use Crop to frame it — a draggable rectangle with an optional circle guide so you can see exactly how a round avatar will look. Cropping is non-destructive; the original is kept so you can re-crop any time.
  • Put photos on the left (default) or the right — text and images swap sides to match.

Make it look the part

  • Pick a layout: a Now hero over Up next (1), a split with Up next down the side (2), or slanted photo strips with an animated reveal (3 & 4).
  • Set a Background — colour with opacity, or a full-bleed image (any size, it fills the screen).
  • Add a calm looping Graphic effect behind everything — particles, lines, a soft glow, bars, aurora, bokeh and more — with amount, colour and scale controls and live previews in the picker.
  • Under Branding, style each kind of text on its own — cue titles, times, section titles, Speaker names and Description each get their own colour, size, bold, italic and shadow.
10:12NOWUP NEXTPanel: The road ahead10:00 – 10:30Alex Ryan, Mira Haugen & Sam OkoroOpening remarks10:45Jordan LeeProduct deep-dive11:05Priya SolbergClosing keynote11:30Marcus Vold
What the audience sees: a branded door display with your layout, a full-screen background image, styled cards and speaker photos. (Brand, names and faces here are invented placeholders.)

Save a look for the whole team

Use Templates to save the design (colours, layout, background, graphics, fonts — everything but the scenes) and reuse it on any rundown in your workspace, so every room's board looks the same.

TeleprompterPRO

The teleprompter is a Pro feature. Guests who open a prompter link don't need an account or a plan.

Turn any column into the script, and a clean, full-screen prompter shows it big and scrolling — automatically following the live cue as you run the show.

PrompterPick which column holds the script. On the prompter its textshows big and scrolls, following the live cue. That column'scells stay compact and open a focused editor when clicked.SCRIPT COLUMNNone (prompter off)Presenter notesCameraAudioScriptNone (prompter off)ScriptPublic link · no loginAnyone with the link sees the live script — not the restof the rundown.standbycue.app/prompter/••••CopyCloseOpen prompter ↗Open prompter ↗
Set up the prompter: pick which column holds the script (here the “Script” column). Tick the no-login Public link and a masked /prompter link appears to copy — a guest sees only the live script, not the rest of the rundown. Then Open prompter.

Set it up

  • Open the editor's menu → Prompter and pick which column holds the script. That column's cells stay compact in the grid and open a focused editor when clicked, so a long script never blows up the rundown.
  • Press Open prompter to launch the full-screen view. It mirrors the live cue in real time — go to the next cue and the prompter jumps to that script.

On the prompter screen

SCRIPT · CUE 2DoneBIU– 14 +Your script goes here…… shows big on the prompter, following the live cuePREVIEWCue 2 · OpeningPowered by StandbyCueYour script goes here…▶ Play‹ CUE 2 ›SPEED − 4 +SIZE A− A+SIZE A− A+GuideMirrorFull screen
Editing the script column opens a focused editor (top); whatever you type shows big on the prompter (below), following the live cue. The control bar sets Play/scroll, cue nav, Speed, text Size, a reading Guide line, Mirror, and Full screen.
  • Play / Pause (or Space) scrolls hands-free; Speed −/+ sets the pace.
  • Size A− / A+ changes the text size; the yellow reading-line Guide marks where to read and stays a fixed size.
  • Mirror flips the text for beam-splitter glass; Top jumps back to the start; Full screen hides everything else.
  • The control bar flashes briefly when the page opens, then tucks away — move the pointer to the bottom edge to bring it back.

Hand a presenter a link

In ⋯ → Prompter, turn on the Public link and copy it. Anyone with the link sees only the live script — never the rest of your rundown — with no login. It follows the live cue just like the built-in prompter, so a guest host can read from their own phone or laptop. Switch the link off any time.

Rundown control APIPRO

The Rundown API is a Pro feature.

Drive a rundown live from outside the app — a Stream Deck, Bitfocus Companion, or your own script. Open the editor's menu → Rundown API, switch it on, and copy the token.

Anyone with the token can control the rundown — keep it secret. Press Reset in the dialog to revoke the old token and issue a new one.

Sending commands

Each command is a plain HTTP GET:

GET https://standbycue.app/api/v0/rundown/<id>/<action>?token=<token>

Actions: start pause next previous stop state. pause toggles (call it again to resume), and state only reads — it changes nothing, so it's the safe one to test with first. The id is in the rundown's URL (/show/<id>).

What comes back

Every call returns JSON with the resulting live state, the current and next cue, and your remaining rate budget. For example, advancing one cue from a terminal:

curl "https://standbycue.app/api/v0/rundown/ID/next?token=TOKEN"

Live readouts

For a ticking clock or a current-cue display, poll /state, or subscribe to the rundown over realtime — the same live stream that already powers the stage display and prompter. (There's no command into the rundown over realtime; commands go through the GET endpoints above.)

Limits

Up to 60 requests per minute per rundown. Responses carry RateLimit-Remaining; going over returns HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header so your client can pace itself.

Companion / Stream Deck

Use Companion's Generic HTTP action (or a Stream Deck HTTP button): method GET, URL …/rundown/<id>/next?token=…. One button press = next cue.

Crew Roles & ready checksPRO

NUMBERSTARTDURATIONTITLEWHOMICS· your role209:3001:00:00RehearsalSubtitleAlex & SamB1 + B2310:0000:15:00SoundcheckSubtitleSamB1 + B2B1 + B3OK410:1500:10:00DoorsSubtitleCrewB3Someone edits a cell in your column → it gets a red ring and an OK for you to acknowledge; the caller sees the count.Crew Roles ▾⚠ 1Ready?✓ ReadyRole: Sound ▴READY CHECKAre you ready?The Show Caller is checking in for Sound.HoldI'm ready
Crew Roles (Pro): you cover a role (here Sound → the MICS column). When someone edits a cell in your column it gets a red ring and an OK to acknowledge, and the caller sees the alert count. Take a role and run ready checks from the Crew Roles button.

Column mapping

The Show Caller opens Crew Roles → Column mapping… and links each role (Sound, Light, AV … add your own) to a column. Several roles can share a column.

Taking a role

  • Crew pick their role under Crew Roles in the footer. A role shows as filled to everyone else; you hold one role globally — taking a role in another rundown releases the old one.
  • If someone holding a role disconnects, it frees itself after a grace period (longer while the show is live, so a network blip never costs an operator their role).

Ready check

The caller clicks Ask everyone if ready: everyone with a role gets a prompt — I'm ready or Hold (which keeps a persistent reminder up). The role list shows green/amber dots and a ready count.

Cell change alerts

When someone edits a cell in your role's column, the cell gets a red ring and an OK button, plus a red counter in the footer that jumps to the change. Clicking OK clears it and tells the caller you confirmed.

Chat

  • Open Chat in the rundown header. Everyone with edit access can chat; viewers can't see it.
  • @mention a person by name or a @role (e.g. @Light) — mentions light up red for the people they hit, and the unread badge pulses.
  • DM: pick a person under “To” for a private message; they get a Reply shortcut.
  • Messages clear automatically after 24 hours. Callers can also Reset the chat for everyone.

Sharing & access

SHARE LINKSRead-only linkView-only, opens in one click — best for email or chatEdit linksGuests edit with just a name — no account needed+ New linkGuest editor linkCopyRegenerateDeleteClient previewCopyRegenerateDeleteScreen PINShort code at /pin — for venue & stage screens+ New PIN• • • • •enter atstandbycue.app/pinStage timerAuto code — a big countdown at /timer for stage screensAutomatic• • • • •enter atstandbycue.app/timerSession boardNow & up next for the door — same code, at /boardAutomatic• • • • •enter atstandbycue.app/boardINVITE BY EMAILname@email.comEvent ViewerInvite
A rundown's Share & roles panel: a one-click read-only link, several labelled edit links (create as many as you like — each with its own label and column limits), a screen PIN, plus the automatic Stage timer (/timer) and Session board (/board) codes, and invite-by-email with a role.

Inviting people

  • Share a rundown, folder or event from its Share panel — type an email, pick a role. Sharing a folder or event covers everything inside it.
  • Viewer reads; Editor edits cue content; Show Caller can also run the show live. Owners/team admins manage structure (rename, move, delete, share).
  • An editor's access can be narrowed to specific columns (the padlock you may see on headers).
  • Invites stay pending until accepted: the recipient gets a prompt (and a badge on Upcoming events) with Accept / Later — access is granted only when they accept.
  • Ask for permission — on a shared event or rundown, the menu lets the recipient request a higher role (Editor or Show Caller). The owner sees pending requests in the Share panel and a badge on Users, and approves or declines. That same menu is also where you Leave shared content.
Inviting editors needs Pro (unlimited editors across teams & events). On Free you can still share unlimited read-only access via viewers, the public link or a PIN. See “Plans, teams, users & billing”.

Public link

Toggle the public link to get a read-only web page — no sign-in. It refreshes itself and follows the show live. Perfect for screens around the venue or external partners.

Edit links

An edit link grants edit access without an email invite: guests open it, type their name and are straight in — no account needed. You can create several links per rundown, each with its own label (say who it's for) so you can keep track of who holds which, and its own column limits (and whether it can add/delete rows or columns). Guests are content editors only — they can't run the live show (no Go Live or tracking) and stay locked to that one rundown. There's no limit on the number of guests per link. Each guest shows up in the Members list with a guest badge and in edit history under their name. Regenerate or Delete a link to instantly cut off just that link's guests — the other links keep working.

An event's Share panel has its own event edit links (Pro): one link that grants edit access to every rundown in the event at once — hand a client a single link for the whole show. Same labels and per-link revoke; column limits stay a per-rundown option.

PIN access

Generate a 6-digit PIN for a rundown, a folder or a whole event. Crew open /pin, type the code and get a read-only view (folder/event PINs show a list to pick from). PINs can be deactivated or given an expiry, and the page keeps itself up to date — including live tracking. Personal columns (Private Notes) are never included in public or PIN views.

Cell ElementsPRO

DRAG INTO A CELLImageweb searchLight+ New elementAdd your first chipLightCheckbox — tick it off in the cellMake global (team)DeleteA CELLLight×double-click ✎ rename
Cell Elements (Pro): reusable chips you drag into a cell — give each a colour and icon, optionally a tick-off checkbox, and make it global for the team. Double-click a chip to rename it.
  • Open Cell Elements in the toolbar and drag a chip into any custom cell — a consistent, coloured marker (Light Cue, VB/Video, or your own with name, colour and icon).
  • Make an element a checkbox (toggle in its settings): dropped into a cell it gets a tick box — “Mic check”, “Graphics ready” — that anyone with edit access can tick off, synced live for everyone. Per-row readiness, right in the plan.
  • Make an element global to share it with the whole team across rundowns.

Images

Drag the built-in Image element into a cell to open a web-search picker — search, pick a photo and Insert. Resize it by dragging a corner, or use the crop button for a circle-guided crop (handy for round speaker avatars on the session board).

A CELLspeaker photoSearchImages from the web — check usage rights.InsertCrop image☑ circle guideReset (no crop)CancelSave
The Image cell element: drag Image into a cell to open a web-search picker, choose a photo and Insert. Resize by dragging a corner, or use the crop button for a circle-guided crop.

Walk-on music

Walk-on music1 · SUGGESTEpic / cinematicTech AwardWelcome To The JungleGuns N' RosesUseWe Will Rock YouQueenUseKnights of CydoniaMuseUse2 · IN THE CELLWelcome To TheJungleGuns N' RosesStart: The introAppWeb3 · ACTIONSPlay in appOpen in Spotify webEdit start point…Remove
Walk-on music in three parts: 1 — describe the person and moment, and AI suggests three intro songs (each a real Spotify track with a preview and a start cue). 2 — the chosen song drops into the cell as a tidy chip. 3 — click it to play in the Spotify app or web, edit the start point, or remove it.

Drag the built-in Walk-on music element onto a person's row to pick their entrance song. Describe who's walking on and the moment — role, energy, occasion and a few notes (interests, vibe, anything to avoid) — and StandbyCue suggests three songs, each with a reason, a vibe and a suggested start point (e.g. “the drop, ~0:48”). Every suggestion is matched to a real track on Spotify, so you get album art, an inline preview player and a working link — no dead links. Prefer to choose yourself? Switch to Search Spotify and pick any track. The chosen song drops into the cell as a tidy chip that also shows on the session board, PDF and CSV exports.

Playing recorded music at a public event may require a performance licence — that's the venue or organiser's responsibility, not something StandbyCue handles.

Wireless Mics planner

Under Cell Elements → Wireless Mics: tell StandbyCue how many headsets (WL1–N) and handhelds you have and who the host is. AI reads the rundown and suggests who speaks in each row, where the breaks are and which rows are Q&A — you review everything. A deterministic planner then rigs headsets break-to-break, keeps the host on the same mic all day, gives Q&A the handhelds, and — when there aren't enough mics — plans the fewest possible swaps, clearly marked in amber with who hands over to whom. The plan is written as chips into a column of your choice (your own notes in that column are kept), plus a per-mic overview with warnings for mid-segment swaps and impossible rows.

Buffer rows

A buffer row (Row Elements → Buffer, or right-click → Add buffer below) is a stretch row: it has no duration of its own — it shrinks or grows so the next Fixed row still starts exactly on time. Put one before “Lunch 12:00” and it continuously shows how much slack is left as the morning drifts; it turns red the moment the schedule overruns the milestone (and the Fixed row gets its overlap warning).

Live, a buffer is a real cue: hit GO onto it and the countdown follows the wall clock down to the milestone — a built-in holding pattern (“we have 4:10 of stretch before doors”). If there's no Fixed row after the buffer, it tells you to set a start time on a later row.

Parallel SessionsPRO

▾ PARALLEL SESSIONSOpenBreakout APreview1 10:00 Intro2 10:05 TalkBreakout BPreview1 10:00 Intro2 10:05 TalkBreakout CPreview1 10:00 Intro2 10:05 Talk
Parallel Sessions (Pro): one anchor row in the main rundown expands into live-mirrored session cards. The next Follow row starts when the LAST session ends.
  • Open Row Elements → Parallel Sessions, choose how many sessions and (optionally) a shared start time, and Insert. Each session is a full rundown that inherits the main rundown's columns.
  • The main rundown gets one anchor row. Expand it to see live session cards: current cue, countdown, live dot — mirrored in real time.
  • Preview opens a session in an overlay so you can edit it without leaving the main rundown; the gear adds/removes sessions.
  • Timing: a Follow row placed after the anchor starts when the last session is planned to end.
  • Standalone rundown: sessions are hidden children, only reachable from the anchor. They're parts of the one rundown, so they don't appear in your dashboard list and don't count toward the Free 3-rundown limit — one rundown with three sessions still counts as one.
  • Inside an event: sessions are created as real rundowns in their own folder (so you can open and share them individually) — so there each session does count as a rundown.
  • Deleting the anchor asks whether to keep or delete the session rundowns. Each session can also be detached into a normal rundown (which then becomes its own rundown and counts toward the limit).

Plans, teams, users & billing

Editors & viewers

An editor is anyone who can edit or run a show — Editor, Show Caller, Admin or Owner. Viewers are always free and unlimited: share read-only access via PIN, public link or a view-invite. Pro has no seats and no per-editor cost — one flat price covers as many editors as you like.

The two plans

  • Free — for getting started: just you editing, up to 3 active rundowns, up to 15 cues per rundown, unlimited viewers, live Show Caller mode and team chat. Shared read-only views (PIN, stage and public links) carry a small StandbyCue watermark. Exporting — PDF, CSV and the full-page preview — plus Save as template are Pro, and edit history shows the last 24 hours. You can't invite other editors on Free — for that you need Pro.
  • Pro — one flat $100 / month per team, with unlimited editors and every feature included: unlimited rundowns and cues, PDF & CSV export with no watermark, templates, full edit history, multiple team workspaces & roles, inviting editors to teams and events, roles & ready checks, the teleprompter, the session board, variables & find/replace, Cell & Row Elements, Parallel Sessions, the Rundown API and the AI tools. No per-seat maths, no add-ons.
New to StandbyCue? You can Try Pro free for 7 days from the Billing page — full Pro, including teams, once per account, no card needed.

The sharing ladder

  • Free — viewers only (PIN, public link, view-invites). Plus the public edit link on standalone rundowns, where guests need no account.
  • Pro — invite unlimited editors to whole teams and events.

Teams & users

  • Team — a shared workspace: create one and invite members. Team content is visible to the team; admins manage structure, the owner manages the team and its plan.
  • Users — see everyone you collaborate with across your workspaces.
  • Billing — plans are per team. Subscribe, upgrade and download invoices from the Billing page; payments and tax are handled by Lemon Squeezy (Merchant of Record), so card data never touches StandbyCue.

Managing your subscription

  • One flat price — Pro is $100 / month per team with unlimited editors, so there are no seats to add or remove and nothing to prorate. Add as many editors as you need at no extra cost.
  • Cancel — the Cancel subscription button stops future billing but keeps Pro until the end of your paid period. After that the team drops to Free with all your rundowns intact. You can Resume any time before it ends.
  • Manage billing — opens the secure Lemon Squeezy portal to update your card, company / VAT details and download invoices.
Deleting a team also cancels its subscription automatically (billing runs to the end of the paid period, then stops — no further charges). Your rundowns aren't deleted; they simply move out of the team.

Transferring team ownership

An owner can hand a team to another member: on the Team page, click Make owner next to their name.

  • They become the owner; the team becomes an extra team for them (not their default workspace).
  • Billing does not transfer — your subscription (if any) is cancelled, and the new owner starts their own plan. Until they do, the team is read-only (view links and PINs still work; editing resumes the moment they activate Pro).
  • Everything in the team stays put — rundowns, events, folders, files and every share link are kept. You remain on the team as Event Admin.

Help & feedback

Two links sit at the bottom of the sidebar:

  • Docs — this guide.
  • Feedback — opens a quick form: pick a topic (Help, Bug, Feature request, Billing, Other), write a message and send. You get a ticket number and a confirmation email, and we reply to your email — just reply back to keep the thread going.

You'll also find Privacy and Sub-processors links there (and on the sign-in page) explaining what data we store and who processes it. To request a copy or deletion of your data, email hello@standbycue.app.

Import & export: PDF, CSV

Exporting is a Pro feature. PDF, CSV and the full-page preview all need Pro. On Free you can still share read-only views (PIN, stage and public links) — those carry a small StandbyCue watermark, which Pro removes.

Open Share → Export… to build a print-ready PDF or a CSV with exactly what you need:

  • Columns — pick which columns to include, including your own Private Notes (marked “private” in the printout).
  • Layout — portrait or landscape, A4 or Letter, comfortable or compact density (compact fits roughly twice the rows per page).
  • Include — toggle section bars, header rows, row colours, images, subtitles, the description and the logo.
  • The header repeats on every page, rows never split across a page break, and a footer stamps the export date. Preview opens the page without the print dialog; your choices are remembered per rundown.

Export CSV (same dialog) downloads a spreadsheet-ready file with the same column selection: formatting and images are stripped, subtitles and sections get their own columns, and the computed start times are included. Pick Excel (;) or Standard (,) as delimiter.

Importing (CSV, Excel or paste)

Go the other way too: + New event ▾ → Import rundown… on the dashboard, or Import… on an event page. Drop a CSV or Excel (.xlsx) file — or just paste a copied table from Excel / Sheets straight into the dialog. Map each column to Start / Duration / Title / Subtitle / Section or a new custom column, with a live preview of the first rows so you can see what's what. Intro metadata (like Rundown Studio's "Name: / Export date:" block), header rows, delimiters and Excel time cells are detected automatically; multi-sheet workbooks get a sheet picker. Rows with a Start become Fixed; the rest follow the row above; title-only rows become header rows; consecutive identical Section values become sections.

Build a rundown from a draft (AI)

In the import dialog you can also drop a PDF, or paste an agenda / programme / email into the build from a draft box. AI reads it and turns it into rows — with times, titles and columns — which land in the same preview so you can fix anything before creating. It never invents content; unclear cells are left blank. (Scanned, image-only PDFs have no text to read — paste the agenda instead.)

The public link view has the same full Export panel — anyone you share it with can build a PDF or CSV with their own column and layout choices, no account needed.

Keyboard shortcuts

General
Cmd/Ctrl KCommand palette — run any command
?Open this keyboard-shortcuts list
EscStop editing · close any popover without saving
Navigating cues (not editing)
↑ / ↓Browse cues — move the selection up / down (follows the scroll)
Shift ↑ / ↓Extend the selection up / down
Shift+Alt ↑ / ↓Jump to the first / last cue
Click / Shift / Cmd-clickSelect · range · toggle rows
~Add the current row to the selection
Rows (not editing)
Cmd/Ctrl Shift ↑ / ↓New row above / below the selection
Alt/Option Cmd/Ctrl ↑ / ↓New title (header) row above / below
TConvert the selected row to / from a title row
Cmd/Ctrl DDuplicate selected row(s)
Cmd/Ctrl C · VCopy selected row(s) · paste below the selection
Cmd/Ctrl ↑ / ↓Move selected row(s) up / down
Cmd/Ctrl BackspaceDelete selected row(s) — with Undo
Editing a cell
EnterSave cell, move down (creates a row at the end)
Tab / Shift+TabNext / previous column
Cmd/Ctrl B · I · UBold · italic · underline
Cmd/Ctrl \Clear formatting
Cmd/Ctrl ↑ / ↓Bigger / smaller text
Cmd/Ctrl Shift = / -Bigger / smaller text
Cmd/Ctrl ← / →Move this column left / right
Cmd/Ctrl Shift ← / →Add a new column to the left / right
Live (Show Caller)
Space or →GO — next cue
Previous cue

Missing something? The guide grows with the app — tell us what you were looking for.