How to Export Your Podcast Edit to Reaper

By Paper Edit Team — March 17, 2025

Once you've built your podcast script through paper editing, you need to get those editorial decisions into an audio editor for the final mix. Reaper is the DAW of choice for most serious podcasters — and Paper Edit exports directly to Reaper's native project format.

Here's everything you need to know about how the export works, what Reaper is, and how to get from script to finished episode.

What Is Reaper?

Reaper (Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering, and Recording) is a fully-featured digital audio workstation developed by Cockos. It handles recording, editing, mixing, and mastering for audio and MIDI. Despite being less well-known than Pro Tools or Logic, Reaper has a large, passionate user base among podcast editors, audiobook producers, and independent musicians.

For podcasters specifically, Reaper has become something of a standard. It's powerful enough for professional work, lightweight enough to run on older hardware, and — crucially — very affordable. A personal/small business license costs just $60, compared to $600+ for Pro Tools or $200/year for Logic Pro.

See our full guide to Reaper for podcasters for more on getting started.

What Is an RPP File?

Reaper stores projects as .RPP files — plain text files (using a Reaper-specific format) that describe the project structure: tracks, regions, clips, their positions on the timeline, effects chains, and settings. It's a project definition, not the audio itself.

When you open an RPP file in Reaper, Reaper reads the project definition and loads all the audio files it references from their locations on disk. This is important: the RPP file doesn't contain audio — it points to audio files that need to be accessible on your computer.

A simplified example of RPP structure. Each ITEM represents an audio clip at a specific position on the timeline.

How Paper Edit Exports to Reaper

When you've finished building your script in Paper Edit, clicking "Export to Reaper" generates an RPP file that represents your editorial decisions as Reaper timeline items.

Here's what happens under the hood:

1. Each selected passage in your script becomes an ITEM on the Reaper timeline
2. The item's position and length are set using the word-level timestamps from the transcription
3. The source audio file is referenced by its filename — the same file you uploaded to Paper Edit
4. Items are placed sequentially on the timeline in the order you arranged them in your script

Step-by-Step Export Walkthrough

Step 1: Complete your script in Paper Edit

Make sure all the passages you want in the final episode are selected and arranged in your script. Check the order. Review any gaps between sections — you may want to add bridge narration later in Reaper.

Step 2: Click "Export to Reaper"

Paper Edit generates an RPP file and prompts you to download it. Save it to a folder on your computer where your source audio files are also saved — or where you plan to move them.

Step 3: Open in Reaper

Double-click the RPP file or open it via File → Open Project in Reaper. Your timeline will populate with all the clips from your script, placed in order. Hit play to hear your rough edit.

Step 4: Fine-tune the edit

Now you're in traditional waveform editing mode. Listen through the assembled edit and:

• Tighten the start and end of individual clips to remove awkward pauses or cut-off words
• Add crossfades between clips where transitions are abrupt
• Insert additional takes or pickup recordings where needed
• Add music beds, intro/outro elements, and sound design

Step 5: Mix and master

Add your effects chain: noise reduction, EQ, compression, and final loudness normalization (target -16 LUFS for most podcast platforms). Reaper has excellent native plugins, and third-party VST plugins are widely supported.

Step 6: Export the final audio

Go to File → Render. Choose your format (MP3 at 128kbps is standard for podcasts), set the output path, and render. Your finished episode is ready.

Why Reaper for Podcast Editing?

A few reasons Reaper is especially well-suited to the paper editing workflow:

• RPP is an open format — easy for tools like Paper Edit to generate programmatically
• Handles complex timelines well — a paper edit can produce dozens of short clips; Reaper handles this effortlessly
• Excellent crossfade tools — cleaning up cut points is straightforward
• Low cost — accessible to independent podcasters
• Scriptable via ReaScript — power users can automate repetitive tasks

Not on Reaper yet? Our beginner's guide to Reaper for podcasters covers everything you need to get set up.