Free Reaper Script: Fast Marker Workflow for Dialogue Editing (or any audio)

Earlier this week I had a job where I needed to edit a large amount of dialogue in a very short amount of time.

There were constant small issues to address. Repetitions, timing fixes, things that needed to be double checked. I kept dropping markers as reminders and jumping back and forth to make sure nothing slipped through.

My workflow is simple. I place a marker wherever something needs attention. I rarely name them. I know what they are for in the moment. Once the issue is fixed, I delete the marker. It is a fast and practical way of working through dialogue.

At some point it became obvious that manually inserting markers and navigating between them was slowing me down. It was actually faster to build a small tool tailored to how I work than to keep fighting the default workflow.

So I made this script.

It is basically a copy and paste evolution of some of my earlier scripts, with a bit of AI help because I did not have time to overthink it.

If you work with dialogue, podcasts, audiobooks, or any material where you constantly need temporary navigation points, this should save you time.

What It Does

The script is designed to:

Quickly insert markers
Navigate between markers efficiently
Act as a lightweight marker control panel
Be toggled on and off with a single key

It is built for speed and minimal friction.

Manual

1. Installation

I provide an installation file. Just run it and the script will automatically be placed in your Reaper Scripts directory.

After that:

Open Reaper.
Go to Actions → Show Action List.
Click New custom action…
In the dialog that opens, choose Load ReaScript…
Navigate to your Reaper Scripts folder if it is not already open.
Select the script and click Open.
Assign a keyboard shortcut.

In my case, I assigned it to the Y key.

From that point on, the script is available like any other ReaScript.

2. Basic Usage

Press your assigned shortcut key, for example Y.
The script window opens.
Use the functions inside the script to insert and navigate markers.
Press the same key again to close it (this needs a 5-second tinkering before working, see topics 3 and 4 below)

The key point is that the same key both launches and closes the script.

3. How the Toggle Works

This is what makes the workflow smooth.

Example:

You assign the script to Y in the Action List.
You press Y in Reaper and the script starts.
Inside the script, you “teach” it that Y is also the close key.

Now Y becomes a true toggle:

Press Y and the script opens.
Press Y again and the script closes.

It does not matter if focus is in the script window or back in Reaper. The same key toggles it.

4. First-Time Terminate Setting (Important)

The first time you close the script using your shortcut key while focus is in Reaper, Reaper will ask:

Should it start a new instance of the script?
Or should it terminate the currently running instance?

You must:

Tick the option to remember this choice.
Choose Terminate.

If you do not select Terminate and remember it, the toggle behavior will not work properly.

Once this is set, the toggle will work flawlessly.

Download:

Freebie and Demo-hub
https://www.patreon.com/posts/95921910

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