Files and folders

Masterpiece keeps its own files in one settings folder in the user’s profile and writes a few files next to an organ’s installation. This page lists every file and folder the program reads or writes, where each lives on each system, what it holds, and what happens when it is deleted. It ends with what the program sends over a network, which is nothing.

The settings folder

The folder is hidden on Windows (AppData) and on macOS (Library). Settings > General settings > Log > Open the log folder opens it on a desktop system.

The standalone program and the plugins share this folder, so both see the same settings, combinations and MIDI mappings. On a phone or tablet, uninstalling the app removes it.

The Flatpak sandbox gives the program access to the home folder, /media, /run/media and /mnt, so organs on those paths open without further steps. Other paths are outside the sandbox.

Layout

Masterpiece/
  settings.mpglobal            global settings and favourites
  audio.xml                    audio device state (standalone program)
  window.txt                   main window position (standalone program)
  dialogs.txt                  dialog sizes
  jack-connections.txt         JACK MIDI connections (Linux)
  split-keyboard.txt           split keyboard presets and controls
  masterpiece.log              this session's log (standalone program)
  masterpiece.previous.log     the previous session's log
  organs/                      <organ>.mporgan, <organ>.mppanels
  midi/                        <organ>.mpmidi, console.mpmidi
  combinations/                <organ>.mpcomb, <organ>.<set>.mpcomb
  split/                       <organ>.mpsplit
  cache/                       samples.mpcache, samples-<organ>.mpcache
  Packaged/<id>/               organs unpacked from their archives
  Portable/                    copies that keep an organ playable without its files
  Standard noises/             generated stand-ins for a set's standard noises
  Organs/                      packages copied into the app (Android)
  Linked/                      packages read where they are (Android)

How a file is named for an organ

Per-organ files are named by the organ’s identity, so renaming or moving the sample set keeps its files.

• An organ that declares an identity is <name>-<UniqueOrganID>. <name> is the organ’s name with letters and digits kept, spaces, hyphens and underscores turned into hyphens, cut to 48 characters.
• An organ that declares none is <name>-p<16 hexadecimal digits>, a hash of the definition’s full path in lower case. Moving such an organ starts it with fresh files.
• Files written by older versions under the definition’s own file name are adopted and rewritten under the new name at the next save.

Global files

settings.mpglobal

A text file, one key value per line, lines starting with # ignored. It holds the settings that apply to every organ and the favourites. The first start of the standalone program shows the first-run wizard while this file does not exist; a plugin load creates it.

The standalone program rewrites the file at once when most of these change. The plugins read it at each organ load.

Deleting settings.mpglobal resets every general setting, empties the favourites and the library list, turns the first-run wizard on again, and removes the crash mark. Organs keep their own files.

audio.xml

The audio device state: driver, device, sample rate, buffer size and channels, as the audio device manager writes it. Written when the standalone program quits. A saved state that no longer matches the hardware is dropped and the defaults return. Deleting it resets the audio device. The plugins do not use it.

window.txt and dialogs.txt

window.txt holds the position and state of the main window. dialogs.txt holds the size each kind of dialog was last left at, one kind=width height line each. A window position that no screen shows is moved onto a screen at the next start. Deleting either resets the layout.

jack-connections.txt

On Linux, the JACK ports connected to Masterpiece’s JACK MIDI input, one port name per line, restored at the next start. Deleting it drops the connections.

split-keyboard.txt

The split keyboard’s presets, triggers and the chosen source keyboard. See Split keyboard. Deleting it removes the presets.

Per-organ files

All files below are in the settings folder, named <organ> as described above.

Deleting a per-organ file resets that part for that organ. Deleting organs/<organ>.mporgan makes the standalone program open Organ settings again before the organ’s next first load. Deleting a .mpcomb file removes the stored pistons and cannot be undone; copy the file first if the registrations matter.

Files next to an organ’s samples

When a composite organ plays packages that are not in its folder, Masterpiece records where it found them in the organ’s root folder, the folder that holds OrganInstallationPackages (for an organ opened from packages, its folder under Packaged):

Deleting them makes the next load search again and, if needed, ask for the packages again. For an installed Hauptwerk-format organ these files are written inside the installation folder. Masterpiece writes nothing else there.

The sample cache

cache/samples.mpcache is the decoded samples of the last organ loaded. With Sample cache set to One cache per organ (uses more disk), each organ has samples-<organ>.mpcache. A cache is read only when the organ’s definition (size and modification time) and every loading setting that changes the stored bytes match; any difference rebuilds it. A file ending in .part is a cache being written; the program moves it into place when it is whole.

The folder is the cache folder of the settings folder, or the Cache folder chosen in Organ settings > Loading. If the chosen folder cannot be created, the usual folder is used and Run the checks reports it.

Deleting a cache file is safe: the next load of the organ decodes the samples again and writes a new cache, which takes as long as the first load. Caches can reach several gigabytes. An organ set to Keep this organ playable without its installation files depends on its cache when its drive is unplugged; deleting that cache ends this until the organ loads completely again with its drive connected.

Organs opened from packages

Packaged/<id>/

When a .rar or .orgue package opens, Masterpiece unpacks the definition and the console artwork into Packaged/<id>, where <id> is derived from the archives themselves, so the same packages open the same folder from any location. The samples stay in the archives and are read in place.

Deleting a folder under Packaged is safe while the original archives exist: the next open indexes and unpacks them again, which can take several minutes for a large set. The organ’s settings are in organs/ and stay. A folder without masterpiece-archive.txt counts as an unpack that did not finish and is rebuilt. The count of these folders is one line in Run the checks.

Portable/

Created for organs with Keep this organ playable without its installation files. Portable/<organ>/ holds a copy of everything under the organ’s root except the audio files (the definition, the console pictures and masks) and a stamp.txt; Portable/index.txt maps each original definition to its copy, one original<TAB>copy per line. When the original is missing, the program opens the copy and plays from the organ’s cache. Deleting the folder removes the option until the next complete load.

Standard noises/

Generated 16-bit stereo WAV files that stand in for a set’s standard key, stop and blower noises when the set does not ship them. They are created when needed and are safe to delete.

Phones and tablets

On iPhone and iPad, packages come through the Files app and are read where they are. Deleting these folders on Android removes the copies; open the packages again to restore them. See Phones and tablets.

Logs

The standalone program moves masterpiece.log to masterpiece.previous.log at each start and replaces the older previous log, so two starts in a row leave only the later two sessions. --log <file> writes the log to the named file and bypasses both. The plugins write no log. Deleting the logs is safe. See Troubleshooting and caveats.

Run the checks writes a temporary file .masterpiece-check in the settings and cache folders to test them and deletes it at once. Send the report and the log on a phone writes masterpiece-report.txt in the system’s temporary folder and shares it with the log files.

Recordings and other files you choose

Masterpiece writes these where the player says.

An existing file with the chosen name is replaced. The file dialogs reopen in the folder last used for each kind.

Masterpiece reads the organs the player opens, the MIDI files the player loads, and the impulse responses and Scala .scl files the player picks. The paths of an impulse response and a Scala file are stored in the organ’s .mporgan file.

Privacy

Masterpiece sends nothing over a network.

• The code contains no network access: no update check, no account, no analytics, no crash reporting. The build switches off JUCE’s web browser and network (curl) features.
• The Android app declares no internet permission. Its permissions are Bluetooth (to find Bluetooth MIDI devices), location up to Android 11 (a platform requirement for Bluetooth scanning, never read) and storage up to Android 12 (to open organ files).
• The Flatpak bundle asks for no network access at run time.
• The log records what the program did, such as the organ that loaded and the devices found. It leaves the computer only when the player attaches it to a report. On a phone, Send the report and the log opens the system’s share sheet, and the player chooses the destination.
• The LV2 identifier https://masterpiece.audio/plugins/masterpiece is a name that hosts compare. No program opens it.

The privacy policy is at masterpieceorgan.com/privacy.html.

What is safe to delete

Close Masterpiece before deleting files in the settings folder: the program rewrites several of them as it runs and at exit.