Creating a Clean R Environment Using renv

These are instructions to create blank-slate programming environment for reproducibility packages in R using renv.

The tool: renv

renv is a package management tool designed for R, aiding in creating reproducible environments by capturing the state of all packages used in a R project. This is essential in R programming, where package updates can significantly change code behavior, and user-written packages are frequently updated.

Step 1: Initialize Your Project

• New Project: Create a new R project in RStudio (“File” > “New Project” > “New Directory”), and select the renv option.
• Existing Project: Integrate renv into your existing R project. If the project already has an R project file, skip this step. If not, create a new R project (“File” > “New Project” > “Existing Directory”), go to the directory, and create and open the R project file.

Step 2: Activate renv

• Initiate renv in your R project with renv::init().
• This generates important files like renv/library and renv.lock, tracking your R project’s status.

Step 3: Install Packages

• Use renv::install() for package installations, managing package versions effectively and designed to work seamlessly with renv.
• In cases where renv::install() fails, install.packages() can be used as an alternative.

Step 4: Snapshot Your Environment

• After installing packages and ensuring your code works correctly, use renv::snapshot().
• This updates renv.lock with the current status of your R project, crucial for replicating the environment.

Step 5: Restore Environment

• To replicate an environment already working with renv, use renv::restore().
• It relies on renv.lock to ensure consistency.

Step 6: Update Packages

• renv helps maintain package versions but may prevent benefiting from bug fixes or improvements.
• Update packages semi-annually with renv::update(), follow the instructions, test your code, then record changes with renv::snapshot().

Step 7: Clean Up

• Remove unused packages from lengthy projects with renv::clean().

Caveats and Considerations

• Version Control: renv automatically creates a .gitignore file, which will include in your commit only necessary files for environment replication.
• R Version: renv stores but does not manage R versions; it’s focused on package management.
• OS Dependency: renv does not manage operating system dependencies.
• Deactivating renv: If renv doesn’t suit your needs, deactivate with renv::deactivate(). For complete removal, use renv::deactivate(clean = TRUE).

Additional Resources

• For more information and advanced usage of renv, refer to the official renv documentation.