What is the RCP file format?
An .rcp file is associated with two unrelated applications. As a Rich Chart Builder project file (Blue Pacific Software), it stores a chart's data, visual configuration, and layout settings in a proprietary Windows binary format. The application appears to have been discontinued with no active product presence from its developer.
The .rcp extension is also recognised in music communities as the native sequence format for Recomposer, a Japanese MIDI composition tool popular in the late 1980s and 1990s on PC-88 and PC-98 computers. Recomposer .rcp files store note events, tempo maps, and channel assignments in a compact proprietary binary structure. These files can be converted to standard MIDI format using tools such as TiMidity++ or dedicated community converters, enabling playback on modern systems.
Because the Rich Chart Builder format is proprietary and undocumented, .rcp files from that application can only be opened with the original program. The Recomposer variant has somewhat better community support through conversion utilities, and Recomposer .rcp archives from the PC-98 era remain in circulation among retro-computing and chiptune enthusiasts. Neither variant has publicly documented magic bytes, making identification by file content alone unreliable.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWPassive data/project file; no executable content.
Format details
in a nutshell- Recomposer MIDI Sequence (RCM) - Japanese MIDI sequencer format from Come-On Music (PC-98 era); contains up to 18 tracks; supported by TiMidity++ and convertible to SMF (.mid) via rcm2smf.
- Recipe file (various) - Some cooking/recipe management applications use .rcp for recipe data; unrelated format.
Programs that open RCP files
Windows2 apps
Rich Chart Builder
Paid Open project file directly in Rich Chart Builder. Website may be inactive - verify before downloading.
TiMidity++ (for Recomposer .rcp files)
Open-source Run: timidity file.rcp - plays Recomposer MIDI sequences natively. Technical details
deep spec| Format variants | Two unrelated uses: Rich Chart Builder project files (Blue Pacific Software) and Recomposer MIDI sequence files |
| Rich Chart Builder encoding | Proprietary undocumented binary; no public specification exists |
| Recomposer encoding | Proprietary binary storing MIDI note events, tempo maps, and channel assignments; created on PC-88 and PC-98 computers |
| Recomposer conversion | Can be converted to standard MIDI using `TiMidity++` or dedicated community converters |
| String encoding (Recomposer) | Shift-JIS encoding for Japanese-language track and song name strings within the binary |
| Rich Chart Builder status | Blue Pacific Software product appears discontinued; no active downloads from developer |
| Magic bytes | No publicly documented magic bytes for either variant; identification by extension only |
| Byte order | Little-endian (x86/PC-98 platform for both variants) |
| Encoding | Binary (both variants) |
| Typical size | KB range for both chart project data and compact MIDI sequences |
| MIME type | `application/octet-stream` (no registered MIME type for either variant) |
| Related Recomposer formats | `.r36` (36-track variant), `.g36` (another Recomposer variant), `.mcp` (MIDI Converter Plus project) |
| Released | unknown (Blue Pacific Software; no public date found) |
RCP conversions
Community Q&A
asked by usersNo questions yet - be the first to ask about RCP files.
