R Packages

Chapter 15. Releasing a Package

If you want your package to have significant traction in the R community, you need to submit it to CRAN. Submitting to CRAN is a lot more work than just providing a version on GitHub, but the vast majority of R users do not install packages from GitHub, because CRAN provides discoverability, ease of installation, and a stamp of authenticity. The CRAN submission process can be frustrating, but it’s worthwhile, and this chapter will make it as painless as possible.

To get your package ready to release, follow these steps:

1. Choose a version number.
2. Run and document R CMD check.
3. Check that you’re aligned with CRAN policies.
4. Update README.md and NEWS.md.
5. Submit the package to CRAN.
6. Prepare for the next version by updating version numbers.
7. Publicize the new version.

Version Number

If you’ve been following the advice in “Version”, the version number of your in-development package will have four components, major.minor.patch.dev, where dev is at least 9000. The number 9000 is arbitrary, but provides a strong visual signal there’s something different about this version number. Released packages don’t have a dev component, so now you need to drop that and pick a version number based on the changes you’ve made. For example, if the current version is 0.8.1.9000, will the next CRAN version be 0.8.2, 0.9.0, or 1.0.0? Use this advice to decide:

For a patch, increment patch (e.g., 0.8.2)

A patch is used when you’ve fixed bugs without adding any significant new ...