# Getting started

> Install the plugin, run the one-time Reason setup, and check that the deck follows your selection.

Source: https://www.reasonremote.com/guide/getting-started/  
Applies to: Reason Remote 1.4.0, Reason Remote Lite 1.3.0

Reason Remote has two halves. The **Stream Deck plugin** draws the pages and switches between them. A **Reason Remote codec** tells the plugin what you selected and carries the dials to Reason. They talk over four virtual MIDI ports. Setup installs all three pieces once, and takes about 20 minutes.

![The four setup steps](https://www.reasonremote.com/img/gallery/setup.png "Setup at a glance")

## What you need

| | |
|---|---|
| Stream Deck | An Elgato **Stream Deck +**. The pages are built for its eight keys, four dials and touch strip. |
| Computer | **Windows 10 or later**, with Stream Deck software **6.9** or newer |
| Reason | **Reason 12** or later, or **Reason Recon** |
| PowerShell 7 | Free from Microsoft: [aka.ms/powershell](https://aka.ms/powershell). The installer needs `pwsh`, not the older Windows PowerShell. |
| loopMIDI | Free virtual MIDI ports. The installer offers to download it for you. |

No other Stream Deck plugin is needed. The dials, keys and mixer are all part of Reason Remote.

> **Note:** On a Mac, the Reason codec and surfaces install, but the plugin itself is Windows-only, so the deck won't switch pages automatically. This guide covers Windows. Details, and the fact that there is no date, are on [Mac status](https://www.reasonremote.com/guide/mac/).

## 1. Install the plugin

1. Get **[Reason Remote](https://marketplace.elgato.com/product/reason-remote-e601aff3-8dcc-49c8-a978-e3b86b73bb10)** or the free **[Reason Remote Lite](https://marketplace.elgato.com/product/reason-remote-lite-14ff1e75-a9a5-49cf-a7fd-1f77a9946b22)** from the Elgato Marketplace.
2. When Stream Deck asks, **accept the prompt to install the bundled profiles**. They do nothing until Reason tells the plugin which device you selected.

> **Important:** Install one edition, not both. Lite and the full version listen on the same port and fight over the deck. See [Lite vs full](https://www.reasonremote.com/guide/lite-vs-full/).

## 2. Run the installer

Close Reason, open **PowerShell 7** and run:

```powershell
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Automate-Pros/reason-remote-setup/main/install.ps1 | iex
```

The installer:

- installs the Reason Remote codec and maps into Reason's Remote folders
- checks for loopMIDI and offers to install it
- creates `loopMIDI Port 1` to `loopMIDI Port 4`, with Autostart on
- registers both Reason Remote surfaces in Reason's preferences, on the right ports with Easy MIDI off (Reason 13 or later; it backs up your preferences first)

It ends with a summary of what it did and anything left for you to do.

> **Tip:** Want to read the script first? Run the line without `| iex` and it prints instead of running. Or download `reason-remote-setup.zip` from the [latest release](https://github.com/Automate-Pros/reason-remote-setup/releases/latest) and run `install-remote.ps1` from it.

## 3. Restart Reason

**Quit Reason completely and start it again.** Reason only reads Remote maps at startup. Skipping the restart is the most common reason setup seems not to work.

If the installer's summary says you need to add the surfaces yourself (for example on Reason 12), open **Preferences → Control Surfaces → Add Manually** and add both:

| Surface | Manufacturer | Model | Input port | Output port |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-follow | Automate Pros | Stream Deck+ Remote | loopMIDI Port 1 | loopMIDI Port 2 |
| Master | Automate Pros | Stream Deck+ Master | loopMIDI Port 3 | loopMIDI Port 4 |

Turn **Easy MIDI off** for both. Leave **Master Keyboard** ticked on the Stream Deck+ Remote surface, or the piano won't play.

## 4. Lock the Master surface

This is the one step the installer can't do for you, and it's easy to miss. Until it's done, the Master surface follows your selection like any other surface, and the mixer stops working as soon as you click an instrument.

1. In Reason's menu, choose **Options → Remote and Keyboard Control → Surface Locking…**
2. **Surface:** `Automate Pros Stream Deck+ Master`
3. **Lock to Device:** `Master Section (Master Section)`
4. Close the dialog.

Leave `Stream Deck+ Remote` unlocked, because its job is to follow your selection.

> **Tip:** The lock is saved in the song, not in Reason's preferences, so new songs start unlocked. To lock once for good, lock an empty song, save it, and choose it under **Preferences → General → Default Song → Custom**.

## 5. Try it

1. Make sure loopMIDI, Reason and the Stream Deck software are all running.
2. Click a **SubTractor** in the rack. The deck switches to the SubTractor page.
3. Turn a dial. The parameter moves in Reason.
4. Click a **Thor**. The deck follows.
5. **Touch and hold the touch strip.** The deck jumps to the Document page, which has the transport controls. Hold again to go back to Thor.
6. On the Document page, press **Mix** and turn dial 1. The channel 1 fader in Reason's main mixer moves.

If nothing switches, see [Troubleshooting](https://www.reasonremote.com/guide/troubleshooting/). Once it works, read [Getting around](https://www.reasonremote.com/guide/getting-around/). It explains every way to move between pages. [How auto-follow works](https://www.reasonremote.com/guide/how-auto-follow-works/) is the MIDI message behind the switch, if you want it.

## Check that it worked

All of these should pass. If one fails, the link is the usual cause.

- Click a **SubTractor**. The deck shows the SubTractor landing page: Volume, Patch, Pitch, Mod. If it doesn't, start with [the deck never switches](https://www.reasonremote.com/guide/troubleshooting/#the-deck-never-switches).
- Turn a dial. The control moves in Reason. If the page switched but the dial does nothing, see [dials do nothing](https://www.reasonremote.com/guide/troubleshooting/#pages-switch-but-the-dials-do-nothing).
- Move that control with the mouse. The touch strip follows.
- Click another covered device. On Lite, use Europa. On the full version, Thor is the one in step 5. The deck follows.
- Hold the touch strip. The deck opens Document. Hold again and you are back on the instrument.
- On Document, press **Mix** and turn dial 1. Channel 1's fader in the main mixer moves. If the mixer follows your instrument selection instead, Master is not locked. See [step 4](#4-lock-the-master-surface).

## Updating

The Stream Deck app updates the plugin for you. When the release notes say the codec changed, run the installer command from step 2 again, then quit and restart Reason. Your ports and surfaces stay as they are. Layouts survive. The full steps, and how to remove the ports and surfaces, are in [Updating and uninstalling](https://www.reasonremote.com/guide/updating/). What shipped when is the [changelog](https://www.reasonremote.com/guide/changelog/).

Reason Remote 1.4 and Lite 1.3 need this: the codec gained the Combinator and the Patch dials.

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