REAPER Audio Workflows
How to install VST plugins in REAPER (and fix plugins not showing up)
Published August 24, 2026
Installing a VST is two steps: run the plugin’s installer, then make sure REAPER is looking in the folder it installed to. If a plugin will not appear in the FX list, the fix is almost always to open Options → Preferences → Plug-ins → VST, add the folder where the plugin lives to the VST plug-in paths, and click Re-scan. If it still does not show, the usual culprit is a 32-bit vs 64-bit mismatch or a VST3 file in the wrong place. This is nearly always fixable in a few minutes.
You downloaded a plugin, ran the installer, opened REAPER to use it, and it is nowhere in the list. This is one of the most common first-hour problems for new REAPER users, and it is almost never a broken plugin. In most cases the plugin installed fine, but it landed in a folder REAPER is not scanning, so REAPER simply never found it. Point REAPER at the right folder, re-scan, and it appears.
Here is how plugin installation actually works, where files are supposed to go, and how to walk a missing plugin back to a working one in REAPER. The steps are the same whether you are on Windows or macOS unless noted.
How installing a plugin actually works
A plugin is just a file (or a small bundle of files) that a DAW loads. You do not “install” it into REAPER specifically. You install it onto your computer, into a plugin folder, and then any DAW that scans that folder can use it. That is why the same plugin can show up in REAPER, another DAW, and a video editor at once.
There are two common plugin formats on desktop, and they behave differently:
- VST3 is the current standard and has a fixed install folder that the format requires. Installers almost always put VST3 files in the right place automatically, which is why VST3 plugins usually just appear.
- VST2 (a
.dllon Windows, a.vstbundle on macOS) has no single required location. The installer often asks you to pick a folder, or drops it somewhere generic, and if that folder is not one REAPER scans, the plugin never shows up. This is where most “missing plugin” problems come from.
Where the files are supposed to go
The VST3 standard defines one shared location per system. On Windows that is C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3. On macOS it is /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 (all users) or ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 (just you). REAPER scans these by default, so a properly installed VST3 normally needs nothing from you.
VST2 is the loose one. Common Windows folders include C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST2, C:\Program Files\VSTPlugins, or C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins. On macOS, VST2 lives in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST. The key move with VST2 is to notice which folder the installer used and make sure REAPER is pointed at that exact folder.
When a VST2 installer shows a “plugin folder” or “VST path” screen, read it and, if you can, set it to a folder you will remember. Half of all “it did not show up” cases are solved just by knowing where the file actually went.
The fix: add the folder and re-scan
If a plugin is installed but missing from REAPER, this is the sequence that resolves it most of the time.
Find where the plugin installed
Check the installer’s folder screen, or search your drive for the plugin’s .dll, .vst3, or .vst file. Note the folder it sits in. You are going to give REAPER that folder.
Open REAPER’s VST preferences
Go to Options → Preferences (on macOS, REAPER → Settings), then Plug-ins → VST. You will see a box labelled VST plug-in paths with one or more folders listed, separated by semicolons.
Add the folder
Click Edit path list (or type into the box) and add the folder from step 1. Leave the existing paths in place; you are adding to the list, not replacing it.
Re-scan
Click Re-scan and choose Clear cache and re-scan VST paths for all plug-ins. This forces REAPER to look again from scratch. Give it a few seconds to finish.
Look in the FX browser
Add an FX to any track and type part of the plugin’s name in the search box. If it scanned correctly it will be there. A full re-scan is also a good habit any time you install a batch of new plugins.
Add to the path list, do not overwrite it. If you paste a single new folder over the whole box, REAPER can lose track of plugins that were loading fine before. Keep the existing entries and append the new one.
If it still will not show up
When the folder is correct and a re-scan still does not surface the plugin, one of these is usually the reason.
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Plugin installed but never appears after re-scan | REAPER is not scanning that folder | Add the exact folder to VST plug-in paths, then clear cache and re-scan |
| Only some plugins from an installer show | VST2 and VST3 went to different folders | Add both the VST2 folder and Common Files\VST3 to the path list |
| Plugin is 32-bit, REAPER is 64-bit (or vice versa) | Architecture mismatch | REAPER can bridge it, but install the 64-bit version when one exists; see the note below |
| Plugin shows once, then vanishes after a crash | REAPER blacklisted it after it failed to load | Re-scan; if it stays hidden, the plugin itself is failing to initialise |
| Nothing scans at all, even stock plugins act odd | Wrong or empty path list | Restore default paths, then add your custom folder back |
32-bit vs 64-bit
Modern REAPER is 64-bit and 64-bit plugins are the norm. If you have an older 32-bit plugin, REAPER has a built-in bridge that can run it inside the 64-bit host, and the bridging support is installed with REAPER by default. Bridging works well for most plugins, but a native 64-bit build is always the more reliable choice, so install the 64-bit version whenever the developer offers one. A 32-bit plugin that crashes even when bridged is usually just too old for current systems.
macOS security
On macOS, a plugin from a developer your Mac does not recognise can be blocked by the system the first time it loads, which can look like the plugin failing to scan. If a Mac plugin refuses to appear right after install, check whether macOS is asking you to approve it in the security settings. This is an operating-system gate, not a REAPER setting.
Stock plugins never have this problem
Everything above is about third-party plugins. REAPER’s own stock plugins, the ones whose names start with “Rea” such as ReaEQ, ReaComp, and ReaGate, ship inside REAPER itself. They are always present, never need installing, and never go missing. If you are troubleshooting a missing plugin and just want to get to work, you can build a complete, good-sounding vocal or podcast setup with stock plugins alone while you sort the third-party one out. For a ready-made starting point, see how to build a full REAPER vocal chain with stock plugins, and if you are choosing free extras to install next, the best free vocal plugins for REAPER covers picks that install cleanly.
What this will not fix
Adding a path and re-scanning solves a plugin that is installed but not found. It will not solve every plugin problem.
- It will not make a plugin appear if it was never actually installed, or if the download was a sample pack, a preset, or an AU-only build with no VST version.
- It will not authorise a paid plugin. If a plugin loads but shows a “demo” or licensing screen, that is a separate activation step with the maker, not a scanning issue.
- It will not run a plugin built for a different operating system. An AU (Audio Unit) is macOS only, and REAPER on Windows will not load it.
- It will not fix a plugin that is genuinely crashing REAPER on load. If a single plugin keeps taking REAPER down, run it as a separate process or leave it uninstalled until the developer updates it.
Most “missing plugin” cases are a folder-and-scan problem and clear up in a couple of minutes. A plugin that still refuses to load after a clean re-scan is usually incompatible or unlicensed, and no REAPER setting will change that.
Install the plugin, then make sure REAPER is scanning the folder it landed in. VST3 usually just works; VST2 often needs its folder added under Options → Preferences → Plug-ins → VST followed by a clear-cache re-scan. If it is still missing, check 32-bit vs 64-bit and whether the VST3 file is in Common Files\VST3. Stock “Rea” plugins never need any of this.
Want to keep working while you sort out a plugin?
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- Cockos, REAPER User Guide (current version 7.79, August 2026) - Preferences > Plug-ins > VST, VST plug-in paths, and the clear-cache re-scan. reaper.fm/userguide
- Cockos, “ReaPlugs” - the stock Rea-series plugins bundled with REAPER, which require no installation. reaper.fm/reaplugs
- Steinberg, VST 3 Developer Portal - Plug-in Locations: the required VST3 install folders on Windows (
Program Files\Common Files\VST3) and macOS (Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3). steinbergmedia.github.io/vst3_dev_portal - Cockos forum - REAPER’s built-in 32-bit/64-bit plugin bridging, installed with REAPER by default. forum.cockos.com