Pulse

Inspiration

At parties, someone always ends up being responsible for the music—choosing the next song, managing the queue, and trying to keep the energy going. We wanted to make that process easier and eventually create an experience where the music can manage itself.

What it does

Pulse is a party music platform that makes it easy to search for music, build a queue, and control what is playing from one simple interface. Our long-term goal is to turn Pulse into an intelligent DJ that can understand the vibe of a party, choose what should play next, and create smoother transitions between songs.

How we built it

We built the backend using Flask and integrated the YouTube API to search for and access music. We also designed a custom frontend focused on creating a simple, polished experience that feels more like a DJ interface than a traditional music player.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was working with the YouTube API. Handling search results, video data, playback, and API limitations required more work than we initially expected. Connecting everything smoothly between the frontend and our Flask backend was also an important part of the challenge.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're especially proud of the interface and overall experience we were able to build during the hackathon. We created a functional foundation for Pulse while giving the app a visual identity that feels appropriate for parties and live music.

What we learned

We learned a lot about working with external APIs, building a Flask backend, connecting frontend and backend systems, and designing around the limitations of third-party services. We also learned more about what would actually be required to build an intelligent DJ rather than simply a music player.

What's next for Pulse

Next, we want to improve the interface and develop the Pulse DJ, an intelligent system that can analyze songs, understand the current mood and energy of a party, choose what should play next, and eventually create transitions and effects automatically.