Introduction
ReaScript is a feature that allows you to edit, run, and debug scripts within REAPER.
Kind: concept
ReaScript is a feature that allows you to edit, run and debug scripts within REAPER. Scripts are simple text files from which you can call any REAPER action, and also call back into most of the REAPER API functions (the same API used by compiled REAPER plug-ins and extensions). ReaScript can be used to create anything from advanced macros to full-featured REAPER extensions.
Supported scripting languages:
EEL2 A language developed in-house (but open source) which has some similarities to C and JavaScript. EEL is also used to write JSFX plug-ins, OSCII-bot scripts, and video processing effects in REAPER. EEL offers high run-time performance. It supports basic UI management (dedicated script window, docking, context menus, mouse input, etc) and graphics manipulation (drawing primitives, loading image files, etc). EEL is embedded within REAPER and requires no additional downloads or settings.
Lua (v5.4) A popular scripting language. Lua is probably easier to learn and use than EEL or Python, and offers good performance. It supports the same UI and graphic features as EEL. As a general-use scripting language, Lua also benefits from third-party resources, libraries, tutorials, and code examples. Lua is embedded within REAPER and requires no additional downloads or settings. Note that REAPER v6.x and earlier used Lua v5.3.
Python (v2.7-v3.x) Another popular scripting language. Python must be downloaded and installed separately (see requirements) and as such, will never be as portable between users as EEL or Lua. Within REAPER, Python performance is not as good as EEL or Lua, and does not offer any UI or graphic features. However, Python does benefit from a vast number of third-party resources, libraries, tutorials, and code examples.