How to organize Reaper projects (.rpp) across drives and years

Why Reaper projects get lost

A Reaper project is a plain-text .rpp file plus whatever media folder you told it to record into. Reaper will happily save the .rpp anywhere, keep .rpp-bak backups next to it, and record audio into a path set per project. Combine that with portable installs, several computers and a habit of Save As, and you get mix.rpp, mix-2.rpp, mix FINAL.rpp across three drives, some pointing at media that only exists on one of them.

A structure that keeps Reaper projects together

1. Turn on “Create subdirectory for project”. Preferences → Project: every new project gets its own folder with the .rpp and a media subfolder. This single setting prevents most of the scatter.
2. One root, year first. Music/Reaper/2026/rainy-bassline/rainy-bassline.rpp.
3. Record into the project folder. Keep the default media path relative to the project, never an absolute path on a specific drive.
4. Version inside the folder. Reaper’s Save new version of project (Ctrl+Alt+S) numbers files in place. Delete the .rpp-bak files when you archive.
5. Consolidate before moving drives. File → Save project as with Copy all media into project directory, or Consolidate/Export, makes the folder self-contained.
6. Render into the project folder. A rough MP3 next to the .rpp is how you’ll recognise it later.

What folders can’t answer

Because .rpp is text, you can technically grep it for TEMPO. Nobody does. “The 95 BPM one with the slide guitar” is how memory works, and that needs the project’s tempo, key and track names pulled out and the audio listened to.

How MusicCat catalogues Reaper projects

MusicCat’s desktop client watches your Reaper root and parses every .rpp directly. It reads the project tempo, time signature, track names (including folder tracks and their children), the FX chain per track with plugin names, and the Reaper version that saved it. Any render in the project folder is analysed for key, energy, brightness and danceability, and vocals are transcribed into searchable lyrics.

An AI writes a short description of each project from that data. The catalogue then lets you filter by key, BPM range, mood or the plugins you used, listen to the render, and open the .rpp from the card. Files are never moved — MusicCat only reads. The same library holds your Ableton, Cubase and MPC work.