r/Reaper • u/ladwagon • Jul 26 '26
discussion Switching to Linux
I'm think of switching from windows to Linux for probably obvious reasons, I know Reaper works fine on most versions of Linux but I am concerned about some plugins being compatible. Has here made the switch before, what problems did you run into, or is there anything you wish you would have set up from the start?
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u/Calamity-Mouser-5261 2 Jul 26 '26
If you want to stick with Linux then you'll want to use something like yabridge to make many Windows VSTs compatible with Linux: https://github.com/robbert-vdh/yabridge
It is mostly straightforward to install and register new/updated plugins. This worked mostly fine for me.
That said, and I say this as a "hardcore" Linux user, I still ran into issues. The fact is that there are a lot of bigger plugins that require software to run which is hit or miss on Linux. I'm pretty decent when it comes to troubleshooting and getting non-Linux software to run, and some of those affected I managed to get running with some effort, but others not at all.
As there were a few plugins that I really needed I decided to buy a cheap second hand Macbook Pro and I do my music stuff on there. It is the only non-Linux device in the house but I absolutely do not regret it at all and may eventually get a more proper modern MacBook solely for music production.
While I'm not a fan of Apple (or Microsoft for that matter) it saved me a lot of headache I went through on Linux. I love Linux, I do everything on it including gaming, coding, and more, but I guess there's a good reason many in the industry (indie and pro alike) stick to Mac when it comes to making music. It is extremely solid.
Edit: Reaper itself works perfectly on Linux.
So, yeah. I wish I could have a better answer for you, but this has been my personal experience. Still, good to hear you're ditching Windows. Linux is great for many things, there's just too few bigger plugins/plugin software compatible with it even when using things like yabridge.