A new free app wants to take the waiting out of DJ prep. rbxport is a desktop library manager for Mac, Windows, and Linux that opens your existing rekordbox 6 or 7 library, lets you manage playlists, cues, and tags, and exports to USB drives or PRO DJ LINK, all without loading the full rekordbox. It launched October 7, it’s always free, and its source code is public on GitHub.
The creator is Chris Le, a California-based DJ and independent software developer who performs as TRIODE. According to the project’s press kit, rbxport grew out of his own experience preparing sets for club and festival gigs, EDC among them. His pitch to DJs is simple: if all you do in rekordbox is build playlists and load a stick, you shouldn’t have to start a whole performance suite to do it.
What it is, and what it isn’t: rbxport isn’t a clone of rekordbox or an official companion. It’s an independent project with no connection to AlphaTheta (Pioneer DJ), and rekordbox remains their trademark. Think of it as a purpose-built alternative for one job, library prep. Because it reads your existing rekordbox library, there’s nothing to migrate, and it can run alongside rekordbox when you need both.
The open-source angle: rbxport’s code lives at github.com/chrisle/rbxport under the GPL-2.0-or-later license. The repository states its vision as “fewer features,” arguing that a project that keeps adding tools eventually turns into the full-featured DJ software it was meant to avoid. Anyone can fork it, and a number of forks already exist, including another developer’s native macOS rebuild. It’s built on Tauri, React and TypeScript, and a Rust core.
Where it says it’s better:
- Speed: On a library of more than 38,000 tracks, rbxport starts in about 1.5 seconds and uses under 200 MB of memory, according to its developer.
- Multiple USB export: Export to several drives at once, with an auto-eject option. A Max Compatibility mode writes FLAC and M4A files as WAV for older CDJs.
- Beatgrids tuned for electronic music: The analysis targets familiar rekordbox annoyances: grids landing one beat off, drum & bass read at half tempo, and small offsets when the first kick sits right at the start of a file. It also detects tempo changes mid-track. TRIODE says it was tested on hundreds of Beatport tracks, custom DJ edits, and hand-checked grids.
- Key detection built for mixing: When the analysis is too close to call, it favors minor over major, which is more common in dance music, and weighs the first and last 24 bars, the sections DJs blend most.
- LINK EXPORT over Ethernet: In testing on a CDJ-3000, scrolling, searching, tagging, and loading tracks were all faster over gigabit Ethernet than from a USB stick. It has only been tested on the CDJ-3000 and XDJ-RX3 so far, though it should work with other PRO DJ LINK players.
- Fuller backups: It backs up waveforms, analysis data, artwork, and supporting files, everything except the music itself, with a separate Restore app to bring it all back.
- Older hardware: It exports OneLibrary USBs for AlphaTheta’s newest players and was tested on a 2017 Windows machine with 16 GB of RAM.
- Small extras: Undo and redo, AppleScript control on macOS, harmonic key sorting, a new VU meter, and zoom and key/tempo preview for checking a grid or a blend before you commit.
What it won’t do: This is the part to read before you uninstall anything. rbxport has no performance mode, no lighting control, no song editor, and no cloud library sync, and TRIODE says none of those are coming. It displays phrase and vocal data that rekordbox has already analyzed but doesn’t run that analysis, and it doesn’t do stems. If you perform from a laptop or controller, you still need rekordbox. rbxport’s own FAQ puts it plainly: if you use rekordbox only to prepare your library and play from USB or PRO DJ LINK, it can handle your everyday workflow, and if you perform from a laptop or lean on the advanced modes, keep rekordbox.
A fair caveat on the numbers: the startup time, memory use, Ethernet speed, and analysis accuracy all come from the developer’s own testing, and we haven’t benchmarked them independently. Since the app opens your real library, back up your rekordbox data before you try it, and the app’s built-in backup is a good first step.
For DJs who’ve sat watching a loading bar before a gig, though, a free, open-source tool that does exactly the prep job and nothing else is an easy one to try alongside what you already use.
Download rbxport free at rbxport.com. The source code is at github.com/chrisle/rbxport.
