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https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r

Heroku R Docker Image - Makes deploying R on Heroku easy
https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r

docker docker-images heroku heroku-buildpack heroku-deployment heroku-docker packrat plumber plumber-applications r renv rproject shiny shiny-applications

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Heroku R Docker Image - Makes deploying R on Heroku easy

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README 

        
# Heroku R Docker Image



[![Build & Publish](https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r/actions/workflows/build-publish.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r/actions/workflows/build-publish.yml)



This is the docker image for applications which use [R][rproject] for statistical computing

and [CRAN][cran] for R packages, running on [Heroku][heroku].



This project is compatible with the [heroku-buildpack-r][buildpackr] so that it is possible to

migrate your existing Heroku R applications and deploy them using the new Heroku

[`container`][container_stack] stack, however there are some caveats if multiple buildpacks

were used together with [heroku-buildpack-r][buildpackr].



The new stack alleviates many of the complexities and issues with the R buildpack.



Pre-built docker images are published on [GitHub Container Registry][ghcr], and are based off the

official [Ubuntu][ubuntu] docker images. Previous versions were published to [Docker Hub][dockerhub].



Support has been added for [packrat][packrat] and [renv][renv] package managers.



**NOTE**: Docker *is not required* to be installed on your machine, unless you need to build

and run the images locally. For the most common use cases, you can probably use the default

configuration so it won't be necessary to have docker installed.



## Usage



### Shiny Applications



These steps are for [Shiny][shiny] applications.



In your Shiny application source's root directory:



* Create a `Dockerfile` file and insert the following content.



  ```

  FROM ghcr.io/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r:shiny

  ENV PORT=8080

  CMD ["/usr/bin/R", "--no-save", "--gui-none", "-f", "/app/run.R"]

  ```



* Create a `heroku.yml` file and insert the following content.



  ```yaml

  build:

    docker:

      web: Dockerfile

  ```



* Commit the changes, using `git` as per usual.



  ```bash

  git add Dockerfile heroku.yml

  git commit -m "Using heroku-docker-r FTW"

  ```



* Create the Heroku application with the `container` stack



  ```bash

  heroku create --stack=container

  ```



  Or configure an existing application to use the `container` stack.



  ```bash

  heroku stack:set container

  ```



* Deploy your application to Heroku, replacing `` with your branch. E.g. `master`.



  ```bash

  git push heroku 

  ```



* Scale the web dyno



  ```bash

  heroku scale web=1

  ```



See [heroku-docker-r-shiny-app][shiny_app] for an example application.



### Plumber Applications



These steps are for [Plumber][plumber] applications.



In your Plumber application source's root directory:



* Create a `Dockerfile` file and insert the following content.



  ```

  FROM ghcr.io/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r:plumber

  ENV PORT=8080

  CMD ["/usr/bin/R", "--no-save", "--gui-none", "-f", "/app/app.R"]

  ```



* Create a `heroku.yml` file and insert the following content.



  ```yaml

  build:

    docker:

      web: Dockerfile

  ```



* Commit the changes, using `git` as per usual.



  ```bash

  git add Dockerfile heroku.yml

  git commit -m "Using heroku-docker-r FTW"

  ```



* Create the Heroku application with the `container` stack



  ```bash

  heroku create --stack=container

  ```



  Or configure an existing application to use the `container` stack.



  ```bash

  heroku stack:set container

  ```



* Deploy your application to Heroku, replacing `` with your branch. E.g. `master`.



  ```bash

  git push heroku 

  ```



* Scale the web dyno



  ```bash

  heroku scale web=1

  ```



See [heroku-docker-r-plumber-app][plumber_app] for an example application.



### Other R Applications



These steps are for console and other types of R applications.



In your R application source's root directory:



* Create a `Dockerfile` file and insert the following content.



  ```

  FROM ghcr.io/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r:build

  CMD ["/usr/bin/R", "--no-save", "-f", "/app/"]

  ```



  Change `` to the main R program you want to have executed. E.g. `app.R`.



* Create a `heroku.yml` file and insert the following content.



  ```yaml

  build:

    docker:

      app: Dockerfile

  ```



* Commit the changes, using `git` as per usual.



  ```bash

  git add Dockerfile heroku.yml

  git commit -m "Using heroku-docker-r FTW"

  ```



* Create the Heroku application with the `container` stack



  ```bash

  heroku create --stack=container

  ```



  Or configure an existing application to use the `container` stack.



  ```bash

  heroku stack:set container

  ```



* Deploy your application to Heroku, replacing `` with your branch. E.g. `master`.



  ```bash

  git push heroku 

  ```



* Run the application



  ```bash

  heroku run app

  ```



### Applications with Additional Dependencies



For R applications which have additional dependencies, the `container` stack gives you much

more flexibility with the [`Dockerfile`][builder] than was previously available in the R buildpack;

such as for installing dependencies from other sources, from `deb` files or by compiling

libraries from scratch, or using docker's [multi-stage builds][multistage].

It also provides greater control over the runtime directory layout and execution environment.



To make it easier for project authors to manage dependencies and provide backward compatibility

with the [heroku-buildpack-r][buildpackr] without the need for Docker to be installed, the

following functionality is provided:



In each of the following examples, Docker's [`ONBUILD`][onbuild] method is used to execute

the step when the respective file is detected.



* `init.R`



  Maintaining compatibility with the [heroku-buildpack-r][buildpackr], the `init.R` file is

  still supported and is used to install any R packages or config R as necessary.



  In addition, an R helper function, called `helper.installPackages` is provided to simplify

  installing R packages. The function takes a list of R package names to install.



  During the deployment process, the existence of the `./init.R` file will cause the

  script to be executed in R.



  E.g. This example installs the `gmp` R package.



  ```R

  # install additional packages, using helper function

  helpers.installPackages("gmp")

  ```



* `Aptfile`



  Create a text file, called `Aptfile` in your project's root directory, which contains the

  Ubuntu package names to install.



  During the deployment process, the existence of the `./Aptfile` file will cause the packages

  to be installed using `apt-get install ...`.



  E.g. This example `Aptfile` installs the GNU Multiple Precision Arithmetic library

  and supporting libraries.



  ```

  libgmp10

  libgmp3-dev

  libmpfr4

  libmpfr-dev

  ```



  This is based on the same technique as used by the [heroku-buildpack-apt][buildpack_apt] buildpack.



* `onbuild`



  Create a Bash script file, called `onbuild` in your project's root directory, containing the 

  commands you need to install any dependencies, language runtimes and perform configuration 

  tasks as needed.



  During the deployment process, the existence of the `./onbuild` file will cause it to be 

  executed in Bash.



  E.g. This example `onbuild` file installs Ubuntu packages.



  ```bash

  #!/bin/bash

  set -e # fail fast



  # refresh package index

  apt-get update -q



  # install "packages"

  apt-get install -qy packages-names



  # reduce the image size by removing unnecessary Apt files

  apt-get autoclean

  ```



  NOTE: Change "packages-names" to the list of packages you wish to install.



  See [Java][examples-java], [Python][examples-python] and [Ruby][examples-ruby] for examples 

  of using the `onbuild` Bash script.



* `packrat`



  If you want to install and manage R packages more reliably, you can use `packrat` to manage them.

  Please see the [packrat][packrat] documentation for further details.



  During the deployment process, the existence of the `./packrat/init.R` file will cause Packrat 

  to be bootstraped and the referenced packages installed.



  It is recommended to include a `.dockerignore` file in your project's root directory, in 

  order to exclude unnecessary directories/files being included from the `packrat` subdirectory.



  E.g. Example `.dockerignore`



  ```

  packrat/lib*/

  ```



  NOTE: `packrat` has been soft-deprecated in favour of `renv`.



* `renv`



  If you want to install and manage R packages more reliably, you can use `renv` to manage them. 

  This is the recommended way to manage your R packages. Please see the [renv][renv] 

  documentation for further details.



  During the deployment process, the existence of the `./renv/activate.R` file will cause 

  `renv` to be bootstraped and the referenced packages installed.



  It is recommended to include a `.dockerignore` file in your project's root directory, in 

  order to exclude unnecessary directories/files being included from the `renv` subdirectory.



  E.g. Example `.dockerignore`



  ```

  renv/library/

  renv/python/

  renv/staging/

  ```



### Multi-Language Applications



For applications which use another language, such as Java, Python or Ruby to interface with 

R, the `container` stack gives you much more flexibility and control over the environment, 

however the onus is on the developer to configure the language stack within the docker 

container instead of with mulitple buildpacks.



In each example, the language runtime can be installed via the use of an `onbuild` Bash 

script, which must be in the root of the project directory, and which is invoked during 

the deployment process.



This shell script can run installations such as using `apt-get` for example, or any other 

commands to setup language support and perform configuration as needed.



There are of course many permutations possible, so some [examples][examples] are provided 

to help you get the idea:



* [Java][examples-java]



  The Java example installs the OpenJDK, configures R accordingly and compiles the 

  project's Java source files.



* [Python][examples-python]



  In the Python example, the `onbuild` installs the Python runtime and installs the 

  project dependenecies using `pip`.



* [Ruby][examples-ruby]



  The Ruby example installs the runtime and then installs the project dependencies using `bundler`.



## Existing R Applications



For R applications which use the [heroku-buildpack-r][buildpackr], this project provides 

backward compatibility so that you can continue to enjoy the benefit of using Heroku to 

deploy and run your application, without much change.



The process continues to use your `init.R` file in order to install any packages your 

application requires. Furthermore, the `Aptfile` continues to be supported in order to 

install additional binary dependencies.



It is worth nothing that use of [multiple buildpacks][multibuildpack] is not supported 

_nor needed_ on the `container` stack, so you may have some rework to do if you made 

use of this feature.



Please see the [MIGRATING](MIGRATING.md) guide for details on how to migrate your 

existing R application.



## Speeding Up Deploys



Since the container stack makes use of docker together with a [`Dockerfile`][builder] 

to define the image, it is possible to speed up deployments by pre-building them.



**NOTE:** This requires having docker installed and an account on [Docker Hub][dh] or 

other Heroku accessible container registry.



An example of how this is done can be found in the ["speedy"][examples-speedy] example application.



## Versions



The following versions for [`ghcr.io/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r`][ghcr-tags] are

available on [GitHub Container Registry][ghcr], including:



| Ubuntu Version | R Version | Base Tag      | Build Tag     | Shiny Tag     | Plumber Tag     |

|----------------|-----------|---------------|---------------|---------------|-----------------|

| `22.04`        | `4.4.2`   | `latest`      | `build`       | `shiny`       | `plumber`       |

| `22.04`        | `4.4.2`   |               | `4.4.2-build` | `4.4.2-shiny` | `4.4.2-plumber` |

| `22.04`        | `4.3.3`   |               | `4.3.3-build` | `4.3.3-shiny` | `4.3.3-plumber` |

| `22.04`        | `4.2.3`   |               | `4.2.3-build` | `4.2.3-shiny` | `4.2.3-plumber` |

| `22.04`        | `4.2.2`   |               | `4.2.2-build` | `4.2.2-shiny` | `4.2.2-plumber` |

| `22.04`        | `4.2.1`   |               | `4.2.1-build` | `4.2.1-shiny` | `4.2.1-plumber` |



Previous versions for [`virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r`][tags] are available 

on [Docker Hub][dockerhub], including:



| Ubuntu Version | R Version | Build Tag     | Shiny Tag     | Plumber Tag     |

|----------------|-----------|---------------|---------------|-----------------|

| `20.04`        | `4.1.0`   | `4.1.0-build` | `4.1.0-shiny` | `4.1.0-plumber` |

| `20.04`        | `4.0.5`   | `4.0.5-build` | `4.0.5-shiny` | `4.0.5-plumber` |

| `20.04`        | `4.0.2`   | `4.0.2-build` | `4.0.2-shiny` | `4.0.2-plumber` |

| `20.04`        | `4.0.1`   | `4.0.1-build` | `4.0.1-shiny` | `4.0.1-plumber` |

| `20.04`        | `4.0.0`   | `4.0.0-build` | `4.0.0-shiny` | `4.0.0-plumber` |

| `20.04`        | `3.6.3`   | `3.6.3-build` | `3.6.3-shiny` | `3.6.3-plumber` |

| `20.04`        | `3.6.2`   | `3.6.2-build` | `3.6.2-shiny` |                 |

| `20.04`        | `3.5.2`   | `3.5.2-build` | `3.5.2-shiny` |                 |

| `20.04`        | `3.4.4`   | `3.4.4-build` | `3.4.4-shiny` |                 |



## Examples



The [examples][examples] repository contains various R applications which can be used as templates.



They illustrate usage of the docker image and the configuration necessary to deploy to Heroku.



* [Shiny][examples-shiny] - An example Shiny application

* [Plumber][examples-plumber] - An example Plumber application

* [Packrat][examples-packrat] - Illustrates using packrat

* [Renv][examples-renv] - Illustrates using renv

* [Python][examples-python] - Shows interoperability between Python and R

* [Java][examples-java] - Shows interoperability between Java and R

* [Ruby][examples-ruby] - Shows interoperability between Ruby and R



## Credits



* Original [`heroku-buildpack-r`][buildpackr] for "buildpack" API.

* Snippets from the [`rstudio/r-docker`][r-docker] project.

* Snippets from the [`rstudio/r-builds`][r-builds] project.



## License



MIT License. Copyright (c) 2018 Chris Stefano. See [MIT_LICENSE](MIT_LICENSE) for details.



## Additional Information



R is "GNU S", a freely available language and environment for statistical computing and 

graphics which provides a wide variety of statistical and graphical techniques: linear 

and nonlinear modelling, statistical tests, time series analysis, classification, 

clustering, etc. Please consult the [R project homepage][rproject] for further information.



[CRAN][cran] is a network of FTP and Web Servers around the world that store identical, 

up-to-date, versions of code and documentation for R.



[builder]: https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder

[buildpack_apt]: https://elements.heroku.com/buildpacks/heroku/heroku-buildpack-apt

[buildpackr]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-buildpack-r

[container_stack]: https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/container-registry-and-runtime

[cran]: http://cran.r-project.org

[dh]: https://hub.docker.com

[dockerhub]: https://hub.docker.com/repository/docker/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r

[examples-console]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-examples/tree/master/console

[examples-java]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-examples/tree/master/java

[examples-packrat]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-examples/tree/master/packrat

[examples-plumber]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-examples/tree/master/plumber

[examples-python]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-examples/tree/master/python

[examples-renv]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-examples/tree/master/renv

[examples-ruby]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-examples/tree/master/ruby

[examples-shiny]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-examples/tree/master/shiny

[examples-speedy]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-examples/tree/master/speedy

[examples]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-examples

[ghcr-tags]: https://github.com/users/virtualstaticvoid/packages/container/package/heroku-docker-r

[ghcr]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r/packages

[heroku]: https://heroku.com

[multibuildpack]: https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/using-multiple-buildpacks-for-an-app

[multistage]: https://docs.docker.com/develop/develop-images/multistage-build

[onbuild]: https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#onbuild

[packrat]: http://rstudio.github.io/packrat

[plumber]: https://www.rplumber.io

[plumber_app]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-plumber-app

[r-builds]: https://github.com/rstudio/r-builds

[r-docker]: https://github.com/rstudio/r-docker

[renv]: http://rstudio.github.io/renv

[rproject]: http://www.r-project.org

[shiny]: https://shiny.rstudio.com

[shiny_app]: https://github.com/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r-shiny-app

[tags]: https://hub.docker.com/repository/docker/virtualstaticvoid/heroku-docker-r/tags

[ubuntu]: https://hub.docker.com/repository/ubuntu