Filename Format

Configure how BeatOps extracts metadata from your beat filenames

Overview

BeatOps can automatically extract metadata from your beat filenames, saving you time on manual data entry. When you name your beats consistently, BeatOps can pull out:

  • BPM - Tempo for YouTube descriptions and BeatStars listings
  • Key - Musical key for searchability and SEO
  • Reference artists - Artist names for titles, tags, and image search
  • Sample info - Credit the original artists you sampled

This means less time filling out forms and more time making beats.

Setting Up Your Format

Configure your filename format in Settings under Filename Format.

You have two options:

  • Presets - Choose from common naming conventions with one click
  • Custom - Define your own field order and separator for unique naming schemes

If you already have a consistent naming convention, select the preset that matches or build a custom format that mirrors your existing filenames.

Understanding Separators

The separator is the character or characters that divide each field in your filename. BeatOps supports two separator styles:

Underscore (_)

Recommended for most producers. Underscores rarely appear in beat names or artist names, making them reliable separators.

Dark Trap_145_F# Minor_Travis Scott_Metro Boomin.mp3

Space-dash-space ( - )

Common in "Type Beat" naming conventions. Works well, but can conflict with artist names that contain hyphens.

Melodic Dreams - 140 - C Minor - Drake - 21 Savage.mp3

Note: Artist names like "Jay-Z" or "A$AP Rocky" work fine with underscore separators, but may cause parsing issues with space-dash-space separators if the name contains " - ".

Available Fields

Configure which fields appear in your filenames and their order:

Field Description Required
Title The beat name (e.g., "Dark Trap", "Melodic Dreams") Yes
BPM Tempo in beats per minute (40-250) No
Key Musical key (e.g., C Minor, F# Major, Gm, Bb) No
Artist 1 Primary reference artist for "Type Beat" titles No
Artist 2 Secondary reference artist No
Sample Artist Artist of the sampled track No
Sample Title Title of the sampled track No

Only the Title field is required. All other fields are optional and can be toggled on or off to match your naming convention.

Optional Fields

You can mark fields as optional when they are not always present in your filenames. For example, you might include Artist 2 on some beats but not others.

Recognizable Fields

BPM and Key can be optional anywhere in your format. BeatOps recognizes them by their pattern:

  • BPM: a number between 40-250
  • Key: a musical note with major/minor (C Minor, Gm, F# Major)

Field Groups

Text fields are organized into groups. Fields within the same group can both be optional, because BeatOps uses a fill-order rule: if only one value is present, it fills the first field in the group.

Group Fields Rule
Artist Artist 1, Artist 2 If 1 artist present, fills Artist 1
Sample Sample Artist, Sample Title If 1 value present, fills Sample Artist

Mixing Groups

Optional fields from different groups cannot be next to each other, because BeatOps cannot tell them apart. You need a required field between them.

Valid:

  • Title_[Artist 1]_[Artist 2] - same group
  • Title_[Sample Artist]_[Sample Title] - same group
  • Title_Artist 1_[Artist 2]_BPM_[Sample Artist]_[Sample Title] - BPM separates groups

Invalid:

  • Title_[Artist 2]_[Sample Artist] - different groups, no separator
  • Title_[Artist 1]_[Sample Artist] - different groups, no separator

When in doubt, keep it simple: use the Recommended preset, or place a required field (like Artist 1 or BPM) between optional fields from different groups.

Example Naming Conventions

Here are common patterns producers use and how to configure them in BeatOps:

Standard (underscore separator)

Format: Title_BPM_Key_Artist1_Artist2

Dark Trap_145_F# Minor_Travis Scott_Metro Boomin.mp3
Moonlight_128_C Minor_Drake_21 Savage.mp3
Bounce_140_G Major_Future.mp3

Type Beat (space-dash separator)

Format: Title - BPM - Key - Artist1 - Artist2

Melodic Dreams - 140 - C Minor - Drake - 21 Savage.mp3
Night Drive - 130 - A Minor - The Weeknd - Metro Boomin.mp3
Purple Haze - 145 - Bb Minor - Travis Scott.mp3

Tips for Best Results

  • Be consistent - Use the same naming convention for all your beats
  • Same separator everywhere - Do not mix underscores and dashes in the same filename
  • Same field order - Put fields in the same position for every beat
  • Valid BPM range - BPM must be a number between 40 and 250
  • Key format - Include Major/Minor or use shorthand (m for minor, M for major): C Minor, Cm, F# Major, F#M
  • Skip fields you do not use - If you never include artist names, turn off Artist 1 and Artist 2
  • Use templates for fixed values - If you always use the same reference artists (e.g., "Drake x 21 Savage"), set them in your template instead of your filename. This keeps filenames shorter and simpler.

Troubleshooting

Metadata not extracted

Check that your filename matches your configured format exactly. The number of separator occurrences should match the number of fields minus one.

Example: If your format is Title_BPM_Key, your filename should have exactly 2 underscores.

Wrong field extracted

Verify that the field order in your configuration matches the order in your filenames. If your filenames are Title_Key_BPM but you configured Title_BPM_Key, the values will be swapped.

Partial extraction

This is normal when optional fields are missing from a filename. For example, if your format includes Artist 2 but a particular beat only has one artist, BeatOps will extract what it can.

BPM shows as artist name

Make sure the BPM field is marked in the correct position. BeatOps validates that BPM is a number between 40-250, so if the wrong field contains "140", it will not be recognized as BPM.

Key not recognized

Check that your key format is supported: C Minor, Cm, C minor, F# Major, F#M, Bb, etc. Keys must include the root note and optionally major/minor designation.

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