203 Reaper Keyboard Shortcuts + Cheat Sheet

REAPER is one of the most powerful DAWs for recording, editing, mixing, and producing audio but if you’re doing everything with the mouse, you’re wasting a lot of time. That’s where REAPER shortcuts make a huge difference. With the right shortcut keys, you can quickly split clips, glue items, duplicate sections, move your cursor, add markers, control playback, and even render your project without breaking your workflow.

In this guide, I’m sharing the most useful REAPER shortcut keys for Windows, including editing shortcuts, timeline tools, markers & regions, track controls, and playback/recording commands. Whether you’re cutting vocals, arranging beats, cleaning up podcasts, or mixing a full song, these shortcuts will help you work faster and stay focused.

Use this page as your REAPER shortcuts cheat sheet and if you want, you can also download the printable PDF version for quick reference.

Most Used REAPER Shortcuts

If you’re new to REAPER or you just want the shortcuts you’ll actually use every day, start with this list. These are the most common REAPER shortcuts for playback, recording, editing, saving, and working faster on the timeline.

Quick Tip: If you memorize only these shortcuts first, you’ll already feel a big speed boost while editing and recording in REAPER.

Project & File Shortcuts (REAPER)

These REAPER project shortcuts help you start new sessions, open saved projects, manage tabs, and save versions quickly. They’re especially useful when you’re working on multiple songs or client projects and want to avoid losing progress.

Use Save New Version (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S) before making big edits this is a lifesaver when you want to keep backups without overwriting your main project.

Editing & Clipboard Shortcuts

These REAPER editing shortcuts help you copy, cut, paste, undo mistakes, and speed up arrangement work. They work on items, tracks, and even envelope points depending on what you have selected.

Item Editing Shortcuts

These item editing shortcuts are some of the most important for real-world editing. Use them to split clips, glue sections together, add crossfades, trim hidden audio, and clean up your timeline fast.

Cursor Movement & Time Selection Shortcuts

These REAPER cursor movement shortcuts help you jump between item edges, detect transients, and create quick time selections while editing. They’re extremely useful when you’re tightening vocals, cutting drums, or cleaning up timing without zooming in too much.

Markers & Regions Shortcuts (Arrangement & Navigation)

These REAPER marker and region shortcuts help you structure your project like a pro. You can quickly drop markers for verses/choruses, navigate between sections, and create regions for exporting stems or full song parts.

Track & Mixer Shortcuts

These REAPER track shortcuts help you manage tracks faster adding new tracks, jumping between them, adjusting volume, and showing envelopes without digging into menus. This is super useful while recording, arranging, and mixing.

Playback & Recording Shortcuts

These REAPER playback shortcuts let you control playback, recording, looping, and navigation without touching the mouse. If you record vocals, instruments, podcasts, or MIDI, this section will save you a lot of time.

View, Windows & Interface Shortcuts

These REAPER interface shortcuts help you control the workspace faster fullscreen mode, window visibility, toolbars, themes, and useful panels like the Media Explorer. Great for keeping your screen clean while recording or editing.

Grouping, Snap, Grid & Lock Shortcuts

These REAPER snap and grouping shortcuts help you stay organized while editing. You can group items, lock edits, control snapping, and toggle grid lines super useful when arranging a song or editing tightly synced audio.

Takes & Comping Shortcuts

These take shortcuts are extremely useful when you record multiple takes of vocals, guitar, or any instrument. You can quickly switch between takes, crop to the best one, or delete unwanted takes while comping.

Render & Export Shortcuts

These REAPER render shortcuts help you export your project quickly without digging into menus. This is perfect when you’re bouncing a final mix, exporting stems, or saving live output while recording.

REAPER Shortcuts Not Working? (Common Fixes)

If your REAPER shortcuts are not working, don’t worry—most of the time it’s not a bug. It usually happens because REAPER is focused on the wrong panel, your keyboard settings changed, or a shortcut has been customized accidentally.

Here are the most common fixes you should try:

1. Click inside the Arrange View first

Many shortcuts only work when your cursor is active in the Arrange/Timeline area.
✅ Simply click once in the main timeline and try the shortcut again.

2. Check if the shortcut was changed in the Action List

REAPER lets you customize almost everything, so sometimes the default shortcut gets replaced.

✅ Fix:

• Press ? to open the Action List
• Search the action name (example: “Split items”)
• Check which key is assigned

3. Your keyboard layout may be different

If your Windows keyboard layout is changed (example: US vs UK vs India), some keys like { } [ ] may behave differently.

✅ Fix:

• Go to Windows Settings → Time & Language → Language & Region
• Confirm your correct keyboard layout is selected

4. NumPad shortcuts not working? (Check Num Lock)

Some REAPER actions use the Numpad keys, and they may behave differently if Num Lock is OFF.

✅ Fix:

• Turn Num Lock ON
• Try again (example: Num 4, Num 6, Num 8, etc.)

5. Another app is conflicting with REAPER shortcuts

Apps like screen recorders, GPU overlays, keyboard tools, or background utilities can steal keys.

✅ Fix:

• Close apps like overlays, macros, or hotkey tools
• Restart REAPER and test again

6. Media keys may not work on every keyboard

Shortcuts like:

• MediaKbdPlay
• MediaKbdStop
• MediaKbdMute

…depend on your keyboard and Windows support.

✅ Fix:
Use the standard REAPER playback shortcuts instead:

• Play/Stop → Spacebar
• Play/Pause → Enter
• Record → Ctrl + R

FAQs About REAPER Shortcuts

Learning REAPER shortcuts is one of the easiest ways to speed up your workflow, whether you’re editing vocals, recording instruments, arranging a full track, or mixing a project. Once you memorize the most used shortcut keys like Split (S), Render (Ctrl + Alt + R), and the Action List (?), you’ll spend less time clicking and more time creating.

If you want quick access while working, bookmark this page and keep it open as your REAPER shortcuts cheat sheet.

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