Quick start
From a fresh laptop to tapping your first song on the iPad, in about ten minutes.
Downstage 0.9.0 · updated 13 Oct 2026Before you start, you need Ableton Live 11 or 12 on a Mac (any edition), your show's Live set, and an iPad or phone on the same Wi-Fi as the laptop. Full list: Requirements.
Install Downstage on the Mac
Open the .dmg you were sent and drag Downstage into Applications, then open it.
The beta is not yet signed by Apple, so macOS will refuse the first time. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll to the bottom and press Open Anyway. You only do this once. Install on your Mac has the details.
Connect it to Live
In Downstage, open Backstage › Live set and press Install the connector. Then quit Ableton Live and open it again.
In Live, open Settings › Link, Tempo & MIDI and choose Downstage in a Control Surface slot. Leave Input and Output on None.
The dot at the top left of Downstage turns green and says Live.
Check your songs
Every locator in the arrangement becomes a song, named after the locator. Three names are special:
| Locator name | What it does |
|---|---|
YELLOW | A song called YELLOW. |
SONG END | Where the song before it finishes. |
STOP | Put it in a few empty bars. Songs set to "stop after" land here, so nothing bleeds through. |
Set Live's launch quantisation to 1 Bar (the menu beside the metronome). Every jump waits for it. The full rules are in Songs from locators.
Connect the iPad
Put the iPad on the same Wi-Fi as the laptop, open Safari and go to:
http://downstage.localTap Share › Add to Home Screen so it opens full screen next time.
Before every gig: Settings › Display & Brightness › Auto-Lock › Never. A web page cannot keep the iPad awake by itself.
Play your first song
Press Play. Then tap the next song in the list. It turns amber — it is waiting for the bar line — and Live jumps on the next bar.
To stop mid-song, hold Stop. A tap is not enough, on purpose.
Add your license
Without a license everything works for 15 minutes at a time. Open Backstage › License, press Copy to copy this computer's code, and send it to us. We send a license back; paste it in the same place. More in License.