REAPER

ApplicationCockos

Also called cockos reaper, reaper daw

CockosCreative

A cheap, deep DAW from Cockos. reaper.exe is the process. It is not FL Studio.

What you need to know

REAPER is Cockos's cheap deep DAW. It is not FL Studio.

reaper.exe is a track-based DAW. FL Studio started as FruityLoops and is pattern-first. An .rpp file is REAPER.

What is it?: Digital audio workstation
Still current?: Yes, see Current status
Official download?: Use the vendor link in this article

Feex says

If reaper.exe is the process, that is Cockos REAPER, not FL Studio. I would not hunt FL64.exe to explain an .rpp project.

What is REAPER?

REAPER is a digital audio workstation. Projects live in .rpp files. The Windows executable is reaper.exe.

If you have never used it

REAPER is Cockos's DAW. reaper.exe is the process. It is cheap and deep. It is not FL Studio. Download from reaper.fm/download.php. The evaluation is official. A random 'REAPER full' host is junk.

What is it used for?

Multitrack record

Record and edit audio and MIDI. FL Studio is pattern-first. REAPER is track-first.

Routing and FX

Deep routing. Cockos documents this. FL's mixer is a different layout.

Video optional

REAPER can pull video for scoring. It is not Premiere.

Who is it for?

Engineers who want a cheap deep DAW
People leaving a trial of another DAW
Anyone who opened FL Studio looking for REAPER tracks

Current status

REAPER (2006) is a current digital audio workstation from Cockos. The vendor still points Windows users at https://www.reaper.fm/download.php.

How old is it?

Justin Frankel shipped REAPER in 2006. It is younger than FL Studio (1998 as FruityLoops) and it is still a Cockos product. Current REAPER is the 7.x line people install.

Versions

Major channels first. Exact build numbers are not all verified here.

Current Windows build

System requirements

Values follow the publisher's public guidance. Workload still changes the real need.

Minimum

Minimum system requirements
Operating system	A current supported Windows 10 or Windows 11 release, per the vendor
RAM	Enough for Windows plus this app. Heavy projects want more.

Resource profile

CPU demand: Follows what you open inside the app
RAM demand: Follows documents, tabs, or libraries

Installed processes

These executables belong to this product when it is installed.

Installed processes
reaper.exe	Main Windows executable

Startup components

REAPER does not need to start with Windows.

File locations

Common REAPER locations
Typical install	C:\Program Files\REAPER (x64)\

File formats

RPPWAVMIDIMP3

Common problems

Evaluation nags treated as a crack need

Cockos sells a cheap license. Pay them. Do not download a keygen.

Plugin scan hung launch

Re-scan or isolate a VST path. This is not FL's plugin wrapper.

Getting unstuck

Confirm reaper.exe

Program Files\REAPER is the app. FL64.exe is Image-Line.

Install from reaper.fm

x64 is the current Windows build.

Reset the config if the UI vanished

REAPER resource path is documented. This is not FL's Image-Line folder.

Alternatives

FL Studio, Ableton Live, and Audition overlap. FL Studio does not replace an .rpp session.

Official help and downloads

Start with the vendor. Random exe sites are not a support channel.

Official contacts
Download	www.reaper.fm/download.php Official installer or vendor page
Help	www.reaper.fm/userguide.php Vendor support
Official site	www.reaper.fm/ Start here, not a random exe host

Related hardware

REAPER runs on modest PCs. Buffer size and an audio interface matter more than a GPU.

Technical details

Vendor version numbers change. This article does not pin a build.

Sources and verification

Reviewed by Feex editorial. Last verified August 2026 Status: Feex Reviewed. How we research.

REAPER official site · Vendor product page
REAPER help · Vendor support
Foxhole process map · First-party samples on Windows PCs. Not a lab benchmark.

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