CueDeck Documentation

Get your first event running in five steps:

1. Sign up — Go to app.cuedeck.io and create an account with the invite code provided by your director (or start a free trial).
2. Create an event — Click + New Event in the sidebar. Give it a name, date, and venue.
3. Add sessions — Click + Add Session to create your programme. Set title, speaker, room, start time, and duration for each session.
4. Invite your team — Go to Operators in the sidebar and invite stage managers, AV techs, and other crew by email. Assign each person a role.
5. Go live! — On event day, open the console. Move sessions through the state machine: PLANNED → READY → CALLING → LIVE → ENDED

Creating an Account

Navigate to app.cuedeck.io and click Sign up. You will need:

• A valid email address
• A password (minimum 6 characters)
• An invite code from your director, or select "Start free trial" if you are the director

Signing In

Enter your email and password on the login screen. CueDeck uses Supabase Auth with secure session tokens. Your session persists across browser tabs.

The Welcome Modal

First-time users see a welcome modal that explains the console layout, role assignments, and key shortcuts. You can revisit this anytime from the sidebar help menu.

Choosing a Role

Your director assigns you a role when inviting you. Each role shows a different view of the console optimised for that crew position. See the Roles section for details.

The CueDeck console is divided into five main regions:

1. Top Bar

Contains the CueDeck logo, current event name, role switcher pills (Director / Stage / AV / etc.), database and realtime connection indicators, and the synced clock.

2. Sidebar

Navigation hub with links to: Events, Sessions (list view), Timeline, Signage, Operators, Broadcast, AI Agents (director only), Event Log, and Billing.

3. Session List

The main content area showing all sessions as cards. Each card displays session number, title, speaker, room, time, status badge, and action buttons. Cards are colour-coded by status.

4. Broadcast Bar

A persistent bar at the top of the session area for sending messages to all operators. Includes quick presets and a character counter.

5. Clock

An NTP-synced clock in the top-right corner showing the corrected time across all connected devices. Accuracy is maintained via RTT-based offset calculation.

CueDeck supports six distinct operator roles. Each role has a tailored view showing only the controls and information relevant to that crew position.

Every session in CueDeck follows an 8-state machine. Transitions are enforced server-side via Supabase Edge Functions to ensure consistency across all connected devices.

The 8 States

Transition Flow

The typical happy path for a session is:

Special Transitions

• LIVE → OVERRUN — Triggered automatically when the session exceeds its planned end time.
• LIVE → HOLD — Pause a session (e.g. technical issues). Resume sends it back to LIVE.
• Any state → CANCELLED — Cancel a session. Can be reinstated back to PLANNED.
• CANCELLED → PLANNED — Reinstate a cancelled session.

Each session card displays action buttons appropriate to its current state. The available controls change dynamically as the session progresses.

Card Anatomy

• Session number — Sequential order in the programme
• Title & speaker — Session name and presenter
• Room — Physical location / room name
• Scheduled time — Start time and duration
• Status badge — Colour-coded pill showing current state
• Progress bar — Visual indicator showing elapsed vs. remaining time (visible when LIVE)
• Action buttons — State-specific controls (Ready, Call Speaker, Go Live, Hold, End, Cancel)

Timing Display

When a session is LIVE, the card shows:

• Elapsed time since going live
• Remaining time until planned end
• A progress bar that fills from left to right
• The bar turns amber at 80% and red at 100% (overrun)

Notes

Each session has a notes field visible to all operators. Directors can edit notes; other roles can read them. Use notes for technical requirements, speaker preferences, or last-minute changes.

The broadcast system lets directors send real-time messages to all connected operators. Messages appear as a banner at the top of every operator's screen.

Sending a Broadcast

1. Click the broadcast bar at the top of the session list (or press B for the keyboard shortcut)
2. Type your message (max 280 characters — a counter shows remaining)
3. Press Enter or click Send

Quick Presets

The broadcast bar includes one-click presets for common messages:

• "Doors open in 5 minutes"
• "Please hold — technical issue"
• "All clear — resume programme"
• "Break time — 15 minutes"
• "VIP arrival — standby all positions"

Dismissing

Operators can dismiss a broadcast locally by clicking the X button. The message remains visible to other operators who haven't dismissed it. Sending a new broadcast replaces the previous one for everyone.

When a session runs late, the delay cascade automatically adjusts all downstream sessions to maintain the correct schedule gap.

Applying a Delay

1. Open the session that is running late
2. Click the delay button (clock icon) or use the keyboard shortcut
3. Enter the delay amount in minutes (e.g. +10)
4. Choose whether to cascade to downstream sessions
5. Confirm — all affected sessions update instantly for every operator

Cascade Logic

• Same room — All later sessions in the same room shift by the delay amount
• Cross-room — Sessions in other rooms are not affected unless they depend on the delayed session
• Anchor sessions — Sessions marked as "anchored" will not move, creating a hard boundary

Resetting Delays

Directors can reset all delays back to the original schedule using the "Reset to planned" button. This reverts every session to its originally scheduled time.

The filter bar sits above the session list and lets you quickly narrow down what you see.

Search

Type in the search box to filter sessions by title, speaker name, or room. Results update as you type.

Status Filter

Click any status badge in the filter bar to show only sessions in that state. Click again to deselect. You can select multiple statuses.

Room Filter

Select a room from the dropdown to show only sessions in that location. Useful when your event spans multiple rooms or halls.

CueDeck includes a built-in digital signage system. Drive lobby screens, wayfinding displays, and sponsor carousels directly from the console — no extra software needed.

Registering a Display

1. Go to the Signage panel in the sidebar
2. Click "+ Register Display"
3. Give it a name (e.g. "Lobby Left"), a slug, and choose orientation (landscape/portrait)
4. Open the display URL on your signage device — it connects automatically via realtime

Display Modes

Sequences

Each display can run a sequence — an ordered list of modes that rotate automatically. For example: Sponsors (30s) → Agenda (20s) → WiFi (10s) → repeat.

Global Overrides

Directors can push a global override to ALL displays at once. Common overrides include Break Screen, 5-Min Recall, and Emergency Message. Overrides take priority until manually cleared.

The Stage Monitor (confidence monitor) provides a fullscreen overlay for speakers and stage crew showing essential session information.

What It Shows

• Current session title and speaker name (large, readable from a distance)
• Elapsed and remaining time with large countdown numbers
• Status badge (LIVE, OVERRUN, HOLD)
• Next session preview so the speaker knows what follows
• Broadcast messages when sent by the director

How to Use

1. Click the "Stage Monitor" button in the top bar or sidebar
2. The display opens in fullscreen mode
3. Place the browser on a monitor facing the stage
4. Press Escape to exit fullscreen

CueDeck includes three AI-powered agent modules that assist directors during and after events. Agents are powered by Anthropic's Claude and are available on Pro plans.

1. Incident Advisor

When something goes wrong (technical failure, speaker no-show, schedule conflict), open the Incident Advisor. It analyses the current state of your event and provides:

• AI-generated diagnosis of the incident
• Numbered resolution steps ranked by urgency
• Suggested broadcast messages to send to your team
• Timeline impact assessment

2. Cue Engine

The Cue Engine fires automatic pre-cue alerts 8 minutes before each session is scheduled to start. It helps stage managers prepare by:

• Showing a countdown modal with session details
• Listing technical requirements for the upcoming session
• Highlighting any notes or special instructions
• Auto-dismissing when the session transitions to READY or LIVE

3. Report Generator

After your event, the Report Generator creates a comprehensive post-event report with four tabs:

• Executive Summary — AI-written overview of how the event went
• Session Variance — Planned vs. actual timing for every session
• Incidents Log — All issues flagged during the event
• Recommendations — AI suggestions for improving future events

Directors manage their team from the Operators panel in the sidebar. This is where you invite crew, assign roles, and monitor who is connected.

Inviting Operators

1. Go to Operators in the sidebar
2. Click "+ Invite Operator"
3. Enter their email address
4. Select a role (Stage, AV, Interpreter, Registration, or Signage)
5. They receive an email with a signup link and invite code

Role Assignment

Each invited operator is assigned a role that determines their view and permissions. You can change roles at any time from the Operators panel.

Approval Flow

New operators who sign up with an invite code start in a pending state. The director must approve them before they gain access to the console. This prevents unauthorised access.

Removing Operators

Directors can remove operators from their team at any time. Removed operators lose access to the console immediately.

CueDeck offers flexible pricing to match your production needs. All plans include a 3-day free trial with no credit card required.

Plans

Free Trial

New directors automatically start on a 3-day free trial of the Pro plan. When the trial expires, you can choose any plan to continue. Your data is preserved regardless of which plan you choose.

Upgrading

Go to the Billing panel in the sidebar and click "Upgrade". You will be redirected to a secure Stripe Checkout page. Payments are processed by Stripe — CueDeck never stores your card details.

Annual Billing

Save 20% by choosing annual billing on Starter and Pro plans. Switch between monthly and annual from the Stripe customer portal.

CueDeck supports keyboard shortcuts for fast operation during live events. Shortcuts are available in all roles.

Accurate timing is critical in live events. CueDeck uses a round-trip-time (RTT) synchronisation algorithm to ensure all connected devices show the same clock — regardless of network latency or device clock drift.

How It Works

1. On connection, CueDeck takes 3 time samples between the client and the Supabase server
2. Each sample measures the round-trip time and calculates the one-way offset
3. The median offset is stored and applied to all time displays
4. All functions use correctedNow() instead of raw Date.now() for consistent timing

Reconnection

If the connection drops and recovers, CueDeck automatically re-syncs the clock. The console shows connection status indicators (database + realtime) in the top bar.

CueDeck logs every significant action during your event — session transitions, broadcasts, delays, and operator actions. This log is invaluable for post-event review.

Viewing the Log

Go to Event Log in the sidebar. Entries are displayed in reverse chronological order with timestamps, actor (who triggered it), and the action description.

Log Entry Types

• Session state transitions (e.g. "Session 3 → LIVE by director@company.com")
• Broadcast messages sent
• Delay cascade applications
• Operator connections and disconnections
• Signage override pushes

CSV Export

Click the Export CSV button to download the full event log. The CSV includes columns for timestamp, action type, session ID, actor, and description. Use this for client reporting or internal review.

You can bulk-import sessions from a CSV file instead of creating them manually. This is especially useful for events with 20+ sessions.

CSV Format

Your CSV file must include the following columns (headers in the first row):

Importing

1. Go to the Sessions view
2. Click "Import CSV" in the toolbar
3. Select your CSV file
4. Review the preview — CueDeck shows a summary of what will be created
5. Confirm to import all sessions at once

Validation

CueDeck validates your CSV before importing. It checks for:

• Required columns present
• Valid time formats
• Positive duration values
• No duplicate session titles in the same room and time