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---+ Renv

Renv (pronounced "arr env") is a tool for installing multiple versions of R alongside each other.

%TOC%

---++ Why it exists

A new version of R is released every few months, and with each release comes new changes. These changes can make code and packages break or not work in the same way. For ongoing projects, it's a good idea to update your code to work with the new versions, but sometimes you either don't want to or can't do that.

Renv is a tool that helps freeze your R version to alleviate this problem. This tool works with your terminal shell to switch R versions automatically.

---++ How to install it

<ol>
<li>
*Download Renv*

The best way to install Renv is to use git. Git is version control software that will let you download new versions of Renv easily.
<verbatim>
git clone https://github.com/viking/Renv.git ~/.Renv
</verbatim>

If you don't want to use git, you can [[https://github.com/viking/Renv/archive/Renv.zip][download a zip of Renv]] instead. Unzip it in your home folder and rename the Renv directory (called =Renv-Renv=) to =.Renv=.

</li>
<li>
*Configure your terminal to use Renv*

Look in your home directory and edit the =.bashrc= file (for Linux) or the =.bash_profile= file (for Mac) and add the following to the end:
<verbatim>
export PATH="$HOME/.Renv/bin:$PATH"
eval "$(Renv init -)"
</verbatim>

Or you can run one of these commands to do it for you:

Linux:
<verbatim>
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.Renv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'eval "$(Renv init -)"' >> ~/.bashrc
</verbatim>

Mac:
<verbatim>
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.Renv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'eval "$(Renv init -)"' >> ~/.bash_profile
</verbatim>

%ICON{info}% You'll need to *restart your terminal* after doing this.

</li>
<li>
*Install R*

Renv works by having multiple versions of R installed. To install R for Renv, there is an additional tool called [[https://github.com/viking/R-build][R-build]] to make it easier.

If you're using git, execute the following commands to install the R-build plugin:
<verbatim>
mkdir -p ~/.Renv/plugins
git clone git://github.com/viking/R-build.git ~/.Renv/plugins/R-build
</verbatim>

If you're not using git, first create the =plugins= folder inside the =.Renv= folder. [[https://github.com/viking/R-build/archive/R-build.zip][Download the R-build zipfile]] and unzip it in the =.Renv/plugins= folder. Then rename the R-build directory (called =R-build-R-build=) to =R-build=.

Next, you can install a version of R by running:
<verbatim>
Renv install 2.15.2
</verbatim>

This will take a while.

After it's done run this command to refresh Renv:
<verbatim>
Renv rehash
</verbatim>

%ICON{info}% You may need to install some additional packages to build R. If you're on Ubuntu, run this command: =sudo apt-get build-dep r-base=

%ICON{info}% If you want to use Renv in combination with RStudio, you need to build R a little differently, like so:

<verbatim>
CONFIGURE_OPTS="--enable-R-shlib" Renv install 2.15.2
</verbatim>

Notice the additional =CONFIGURE_OPTS= bit. RStudio needs the R shared library in order to work.
</verbatim>
</li>
</ol>

---++ How to use it

By default, Renv uses whatever version of R is installed globally on your system. There are a few ways to use a "frozen" version of R.

---+++ Globally

If you want to use a specific version of R by default, you can use the *Renv global* command like this:
<verbatim>
Renv global 2.15.2
</verbatim>

This will set the default version of R. You can undo this by running: =Renv global system=

---+++ Project-specific

If you want to use a specific version of R for a project, you can use the *Renv local* command while you're in the project directory:
<verbatim>
Renv local 2.15.2
</verbatim>

While you are in the project directory, the R version used will be the one you just specified. This overrides the global setting. You can undo this by running: =Renv local --unset=

---+++ Current session

If you want to use a specific version of R only for your current terminal session, you can use the *Renv shell* command:
<verbatim>
Renv shell 2.15.2
</verbatim>

After running this command, whenever you use R during the current terminal session, it will be the version you just specified. This overrides both the global and local settings. You can undo this by running: =Renv shell --unset=

---+++ Other helpful commands

   * *Renv versions* - list what versions of R are installed
   * *Renv version* - show the currently activated version of R
   * *Renv help* - get help on Renv commands

---++ Managing packages

Renv does not manage packages, but the [[https://github.com/hadley/devtools][devtools]] package has some functions to help you do this. In particular, the =install_version= function will let you install a specific version of a CRAN package, even if that package has been pulled from CRAN.

Additionally, you can use the =.Rprofile= file to set a local library path by calling the =.libPaths= function. After doing this, R will install and load packages from a directory you specify. This way you can freeze package versions in your project directory.

---++ Additional information

Renv is an altered version of [[https://github.com/sstephenson/rbenv][rbenv]], which is a tool for managing Ruby versions.

Links:
   * [[https://github.com/viking/Renv][Renv on Github]]
   * [[https://github.com/viking/R-build][R-build on Github]]

-- Main.JeremyStephens - 12 Nov 2012

Topic attachments
I	Attachment	Action	Size	Date	Who	Comment
odp	increasing-reproducibility.odp	manage	492.3 K	16 Nov 2012 - 13:21	JeremyStephens	Open document presentation
pdf	increasing-reproducibility.pdf	manage	430.6 K	16 Nov 2012 - 13:21	JeremyStephens	PDF presentation

Topic revision: r4 - 16 Nov 2012, JeremyStephens

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