RPE Format - Phichain

RPE (Re:PhiEdit) is a popular community chart format created for the Re:PhiEdit charting tool. It features rich easing support and an event layer system.

File Structure

{
  "META": {
    "RPEVersion": 120,
    "offset": 0,
    "name": "Song Name",
    "song": "audio.mp3",
    "background": "bg.png",
    "composer": "Artist",
    "charter": "Charter",
    "level": "SP Lv.?",
    "id": "unique-id"
  },
  "BPMList": [
    {
      "bpm": 120.0,
      "startTime": [0, 0, 1]
    }
  ],
  "judgeLineList": [
    // Line objects
  ]
}

Field Reference

RpeChart Root

META Object

RPEVersion

integer

required

RPE format version. Common values: 100, 120.

offset

integer

required

Audio offset in milliseconds (stored as integer).

name

string

Song display name.

song

string

Audio file path.

background

string

Background image path.

composer

string

Music composer/artist.

charter

string

Chart creator.

level

string

Difficulty level (free-form text).

string

Unique chart identifier.

BPM Point

{
  "bpm": 140.0,
  "startTime": [8, 0, 1]
}

bpm

number

required

Tempo in beats per minute.

startTime

array

required

Beat position as [bar, numerator, denominator].

Judge Line

{
  "eventLayers": [
    // Event layer objects
  ],
  "notes": [
    // Note objects
  ]
}

eventLayers

array

required

Array of event layers. Each layer contains move, rotate, alpha, and speed events.

During import, all event layers are flattened into a single layer. Overlapping events from different layers may produce unexpected results.

notes

array

required

Notes attached to this line.

Event Layer

{
  "moveXEvents": [],
  "moveYEvents": [],
  "rotateEvents": [],
  "alphaEvents": [],
  "speedEvents": []
}

moveXEvents

array

Horizontal position events.

moveYEvents

array

Vertical position events.

rotateEvents

array

Rotation events.

alphaEvents

array

Opacity events (0-255).

speedEvents

array

Speed events.

Common Event

Used for move, rotate, and alpha events.

{
  "startTime": [0, 0, 1],
  "endTime": [4, 0, 1],
  "start": 0.0,
  "end": 100.0,
  "easingType": 2,
  "bezier": 0,
  "bezierPoints": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
}

startTime

array

required

Event start beat [bar, numerator, denominator].

endTime

array

required

Event end beat.

start

number|integer

required

Starting value. Type depends on event:

Position: number (pixels)
Rotation: number (degrees)
Alpha: integer (0-255)

end

number|integer

required

Ending value.

easingType

integer

required

Easing function ID (see Easing Table).

bezier

integer

required

Whether to use custom bezier curve:

0 - Use standard easing
1 - Use bezier curve from bezierPoints

bezierPoints

array

required

Bezier control points [x1, y1, x2, y2] for custom easing.

Speed Event

{
  "startTime": [0, 0, 1],
  "endTime": [4, 0, 1],
  "start": 1.0,
  "end": 1.0
}

Speed events always use linear easing regardless of bezier settings.

Note

{
  "type": 1,
  "startTime": [2, 0, 1],
  "endTime": [2, 0, 1],
  "positionX": 0.0,
  "above": 1,
  "speed": 1.0,
  "size": 1.0,
  "visibleTime": 999999.0
}

type

integer

required

Note type:

1 - Tap
2 - Hold
3 - Flick
4 - Drag

RPE numbering differs from Official format! (2 and 3 are swapped)

startTime

array

required

Note start beat.

endTime

array

required

Note end beat. Same as startTime for non-hold notes.

positionX

number

required

Horizontal position in pixels (not normalized like Official format).

above

integer

required

Position relative to line:

1 - Above
2 - Below

speed

number

required

Note approach speed multiplier.

size

number

default:"1.0"

Note size multiplier. Ignored during import (not supported in Phichain).

visibleTime

number

default:"999999.0"

How early the note becomes visible. Ignored during import.

Easing Mapping

RPE uses integer IDs for easing functions:

ID	Easing Function	ID	Easing Function
0	Linear	15	EaseInQuint
1	Linear	16	EaseOutExpo
2	EaseOutSine	17	EaseInExpo
3	EaseInSine	18	EaseOutCirc
4	EaseOutQuad	19	EaseInCirc
5	EaseInQuad	20	EaseOutBack
6	EaseInOutSine	21	EaseInBack
7	EaseInOutQuad	22	EaseInOutCirc
8	EaseOutCubic	23	EaseInOutBack
9	EaseInCubic	24	EaseOutElastic
10	EaseOutQuart	25	EaseInElastic
11	EaseInQuart	26	EaseOutBounce
12	EaseInOutCubic	27	EaseInBounce
13	EaseInOutQuart	28	EaseInOutBounce
14	EaseOutQuint	29	EaseInOutElastic

Source: phichain-chart/src/format/rpe.rs:130-161

Complete Example

{
  "META": {
    "RPEVersion": 120,
    "offset": -50,
    "name": "Example Chart",
    "song": "music.mp3",
    "background": "bg.jpg",
    "composer": "Composer Name",
    "charter": "Charter Name",
    "level": "SP Lv.15",
    "id": "example-001"
  },
  "BPMList": [
    {
      "bpm": 140.0,
      "startTime": [0, 0, 1]
    },
    {
      "bpm": 160.0,
      "startTime": [16, 0, 1]
    }
  ],
  "judgeLineList": [
    {
      "eventLayers": [
        {
          "moveXEvents": [
            {
              "startTime": [0, 0, 1],
              "endTime": [8, 0, 1],
              "start": 0.0,
              "end": 200.0,
              "easingType": 8,
              "bezier": 0,
              "bezierPoints": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
            }
          ],
          "moveYEvents": [
            {
              "startTime": [0, 0, 1],
              "endTime": [8, 0, 1],
              "start": 0.0,
              "end": 0.0,
              "easingType": 1,
              "bezier": 0,
              "bezierPoints": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
            }
          ],
          "rotateEvents": [
            {
              "startTime": [0, 0, 1],
              "endTime": [8, 0, 1],
              "start": 0.0,
              "end": -360.0,
              "easingType": 7,
              "bezier": 0,
              "bezierPoints": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
            }
          ],
          "alphaEvents": [
            {
              "startTime": [0, 0, 1],
              "endTime": [100, 0, 1],
              "start": 255,
              "end": 255,
              "easingType": 1,
              "bezier": 0,
              "bezierPoints": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
            }
          ],
          "speedEvents": [
            {
              "startTime": [0, 0, 1],
              "endTime": [100, 0, 1],
              "start": 1.0,
              "end": 1.0
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "notes": [
        {
          "type": 1,
          "startTime": [0, 0, 1],
          "endTime": [0, 0, 1],
          "positionX": 0.0,
          "above": 1,
          "speed": 1.0,
          "size": 1.0,
          "visibleTime": 999999.0
        },
        {
          "type": 2,
          "startTime": [2, 0, 1],
          "endTime": [4, 0, 1],
          "positionX": 100.0,
          "above": 1,
          "speed": 1.0,
          "size": 1.0,
          "visibleTime": 999999.0
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Key Differences from Official

Global BPM List

BPM changes apply globally, not per-line.

Pixel Coordinates

Position values are in pixels, not normalized 0-1.

Rich Easing

30 easing functions plus custom bezier curves.

Rotation Sign

Rotation values are negated during conversion (RPE rotates opposite direction).

Conversion Notes

Event Layer Flattening

RPE supports multiple event layers per line, but Phichain flattens them:

// All layers combined
let x_events = line.event_layers
    .iter()
    .flat_map(|layer| layer.move_xevents.clone())
    .collect();

If layers have overlapping events, the behavior is undefined.

Rotation Direction

RPE rotation is negated during conversion:

// Import: RPE → Phichain
start: -event.start,
end: -event.end,

// Export: Phichain → RPE  
start: -rpe_event.start,
end: -rpe_event.end,

Note Timing

Hold duration is computed from beat difference:

let start_beat = note.start_time.into();
let end_beat = note.end_time.into();
let hold_beat = end_beat - start_beat;

Source Code

RPE format implementation:

phichain-chart/src/format/rpe.rs

Official Format

Compare with official Phigros format

Easing Functions

Learn about easing functions

​File Structure

​Field Reference

​RpeChart Root

​META Object

​BPM Point

​Judge Line

​Event Layer

​Common Event

​Speed Event

​Note

​Easing Mapping

​Complete Example

​Key Differences from Official

Global BPM List

Pixel Coordinates

Rich Easing

Rotation Sign

​Conversion Notes

​Event Layer Flattening

​Rotation Direction

​Note Timing

​Source Code

Official Format

Easing Functions

File Structure

Field Reference

RpeChart Root

META Object

BPM Point

Judge Line

Event Layer

Common Event

Speed Event

Note

Easing Mapping

Complete Example

Key Differences from Official

Conversion Notes

Event Layer Flattening

Rotation Direction

Note Timing

Source Code