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https://github.com/rstudio/packrat

Packrat is a dependency management system for R
https://github.com/rstudio/packrat

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Packrat is a dependency management system for R

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README 

        



[![R-CMD-check](https://github.com/rstudio/packrat/workflows/R-CMD-check/badge.svg)](https://github.com/rstudio/packrat/actions)



## NOTE



Packrat has been soft-deprecated and is now superseded by

[renv](https://github.com/rstudio/renv).



While we will continue maintaining Packrat, all new development will focus on

`renv`. If you're interested in switching to `renv`, you can use

`renv::migrate()` to migrate a project from Packrat to `renv`.



---



# packrat



Packrat is a dependency management system for R.



Use packrat to make your R projects more:



* **Isolated:** Installing a new or updated package for one project won't break

  your other projects, and vice versa. That's because packrat gives each

  project its own private package library.

* **Portable:** Easily transport your projects from one computer to another,

  even across different platforms. Packrat makes it easy to install the

  packages your project depends on.

* **Reproducible:** Packrat records the exact package versions you depend on,

  and ensures those exact versions are the ones that get installed wherever you

  go.



See the [project page](https://rstudio.github.io/packrat/) for more information,

or join the discussion on the

[RStudio Community forums](https://community.rstudio.com).



Read the [release

notes](https://github.com/rstudio/packrat/blob/master/NEWS.md) to learn what's

new in Packrat.



# Quick-start Guide



Start by installing Packrat:



    install.packages("packrat")



Then, start a new R session at the base directory of your project and type:



    packrat::init()



This will install Packrat, set up a private library to be used for this

project, and then place you in `packrat mode`. While in packrat mode, calls to

functions like `install.packages` and `remove.packages` will modify the

private project library, rather than the user library.



When you want to manage the state of your private library, you can use the

Packrat functions:



- `packrat::snapshot()`: Save the current state of your library.

- `packrat::restore()`: Restore the library state saved in the most recent

  snapshot.

- `packrat::clean()`: Remove unused packages from your library.



Share a Packrat project with `bundle` and `unbundle`:

- `packrat::bundle()`: Bundle a packrat project, for easy sharing.

- `packrat::unbundle()`: Unbundle a packrat project, generating a project

  directory with libraries restored from the most recent snapshot.



Navigate projects and set/get options with:

- `packrat::on()`, `packrat::off()`: Toggle packrat mode on and off, for

  navigating between projects within a single R session.

- `packrat::get_opts`, `packrat::set_opts`: Get/set project-specific settings.



Manage ad-hoc local repositories (note that these are a separate entity from

CRAN-like repositories):

- `packrat::set_opts(local.repos = ...)` can be used to specify *local

  repositories*; that is, directories containing (unzipped) package sources.

- `packrat::install_local()` installs packages available in a local

  repository.



For example, suppose I have the (unzipped) package sources for

[`digest`](https://cran.r-project.org/package=digest) located

within the folder`~/git/R/digest/`. To install this package, you can use:



    packrat::set_opts(local.repos = "~/git/R")

    packrat::install_local("digest")



There are also utility functions for using and managing packages in the

external / user library, and can be useful for leveraging packages in the user

library that you might not want as project-specific dependencies, e.g.

`devtools`, `knitr`, `roxygen2`:



- `packrat::extlib()`: Load an external package.

- `packrat::with_extlib()`: With an external package, evaluate an expression.

  The external package is loaded only for the duration of the evaluated

  expression, but note that there may be other side effects associated with

  the package's `.onLoad`, `.onAttach` and `.onUnload` calls that we may not

  be able to fully control.



# Workflows



Packrat supports a set of common analytic workflows:



1. `As-you-go`: use `packrat::init()` to initialize packrat with your project,

   and use it to manage your project library while you develop your analysis.

   As you install and remove packages, you can use `packrat::snapshot()` and

   `packrat::restore()` to maintain the R packages in your project. For

   collaboration, you can either use your favourite version control system, or

   use `packrat::bundle()` to generate a bundled version of your project that

   collaborators can use with `packrat::unbundle()`.



2. `When-you're-done`: take an existing or complete analysis (preferably

   collected within one directory), and call `packrat::init()` to immediately

   obtain R package sources for all packages used in your project, and snapshot

   that state so it can hence be preserved across time.



# Setting up your own custom, CRAN-like repositories



Please view the [set-up

guide](https://rstudio.github.io/packrat/custom-repos.html) here for a simple

walkthrough in how you might set up your own, local, custom CRAN repository.