Tracking package versions with renv

renv

• renv homepage
• Two date-based alternatives
  • checkpoint
  • groundhog

The problem renv tries to solve

dplyr 0.5.0 introduced a breaking change to distinct() in June 2016. Source: https://datacolada.org/95

renv workflow

1. Initialize renv for a project with renv::init()
2. Track renv.lock in version control
3. renv::snapshot() to update the lockfile
4. renv::restore() to install local copies of the packages to match the lockfile

Example: Reproducing the analysis of Hicks and Lobato (2022)

1. Bring up the paper: https://tinyurl.com/yvccb85z
   (10.3389/fcomm.2022.1017362)
2. Fork and clone the repo: https://github.com/dhicks/transparency
3. Wrong version of R?
   • Install rig
   • [TODO: download R 4.1.2]
4. renv::restore()
5. Open scripts/03_dag.R and run or knit
6. Compare out/03_part_values.png to figure 2 of the paper
7. Compare out/03_bc_tbl.pdf with table 2 in the paper

How R locates packages

.libPaths()

[1] "/Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/4.3-x86_64/Resources/library"

In your EDA

• Check .libPaths()
• renv::init() (and snapshot()?)
• What did this do?
  • .libPaths()
  • git status

References

Hicks, Daniel J., and Emilio Jon Christopher Lobato. 2022. “Values Disclosures and Trust in Science: A Replication Study.” Frontiers in Communication 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2022.1017362.