DataTables v2 for R — modular, lightweight, works with or without Shiny.
DT2 is a modern htmlwidgets binding for
DataTables.net v2 with:
- 1:1 R ↔ JS mapping — configure DataTables using plain R lists
- Modular extensions — load only Buttons, Select, Responsive, etc. when needed
- Auto-detection — DT2 scans your options and loads required extensions
- Bootstrap 5 styling (or plain DataTables CSS)
- Standalone use in R Markdown, Quarto, and the Viewer (no Shiny required)
- Full Shiny integration: proxy, events, inline inputs, server-side processing
DT2 is an R wrapper around the excellent DataTables JavaScript library created by SpryMedia Ltd (Allan Jardine). All table rendering, sorting, searching, pagination, and extensions are powered entirely by the DataTables engine — DT2 simply provides the bridge between R / htmlwidgets and the JavaScript API.
| Component | Author | License |
|---|---|---|
| DataTables core + extensions | SpryMedia Ltd | MIT |
| Bootstrap 5 integration | DataTables / Bootstrap | MIT |
| DT2 R package | André Leite, Hugo Medeiros, Diogo Bezerra | MIT |
This package takes inspiration from the original
DT package by Yihui Xie (RStudio / Posit),
which wraps DataTables v1.x. DT2 was written from scratch to support the
DataTables v2 API, the modern layout system, and new extensions like
ColumnControl.
# From GitHub
remotes::install_github("StrategicProjects/DT2")library(DT2)
# Minimal
dt2(iris)
# With styling
dt2(mtcars,
compact = TRUE, striped = TRUE, hover = TRUE, font_scale = 0.85,
options = list(pageLength = 10))
# With export buttons
dt2(iris, options = list(
pageLength = 10,
buttons = list("copy", "csv", "excel"),
layout = list(topEnd = "buttons")
))
# Save as standalone HTML
htmlwidgets::saveWidget(dt2(iris), "table.html")library(shiny)
library(bslib)
library(DT2)
ui <- page_fillable(
theme = bs_theme(version = 5, bootswatch = "flatly"),
card(
card_header("DT2 in Shiny"),
card_body(dt2_output("tbl"))
)
)
server <- function(input, output, session) {
output$tbl <- render_dt2({
dt2(iris,
compact = TRUE, striped = TRUE, hover = TRUE,
options = list(
pageLength = 10,
buttons = list("copy", "csv", "excel"),
layout = list(topEnd = "buttons")
))
})
}
shinyApp(ui, server)DT2 ships with 15 DataTables extensions. See what's available:
dt2_extensions()
#> name version dir
#> 1 Buttons 3.2.5 buttons
#> 2 ColReorder 2.1.1 colreorder
#> 3 ColumnControl 1.1.0 columncontrol
#> ...Extensions are loaded automatically when DT2 detects them in your options,
or explicitly via the extensions argument:
# Auto-detected (buttons in layout → loads Buttons extension)
dt2(iris, options = list(
layout = list(topEnd = list(buttons = list("copy", "csv")))
))
# Explicit
dt2(iris, extensions = c("Buttons", "Select"))Any example from datatables.net translates directly to R lists:
| JavaScript | R |
|---|---|
{ pageLength: 25 } |
list(pageLength = 25) |
[1, 2, 3] |
c(1, 2, 3) |
{ layout: { topEnd: "buttons" } } |
list(layout = list(topEnd = "buttons")) |
function(d) { ... } |
htmlwidgets::JS("function(d) { ... }") |
See vignette("js-config") for a complete translation guide.
DataTables renders all interface text (pagination labels, search placeholder,
info line, button captions, etc.) from the language option. Override any
term by passing a named list.
dt2(iris, options = list(
language = list(
search = "Buscar:",
lengthMenu = "Mostrar _MENU_ registros",
info = "Mostrando _START_ a _END_ de _TOTAL_",
infoEmpty = "Nenhum registro",
zeroRecords = "Nenhum resultado encontrado",
paginate = list(
first = "«", previous = "‹", `next` = "›", last = "»"
)
)
))Below is a comprehensive Portuguese (Brazil) translation that covers the core table, Buttons extension, and ColumnControl extension:
lang_ptbr <- list(
# ── Core table ──────────────────────────────────────────────
lengthMenu = "Mostrar _MENU_",
search = "Buscar",
info = "Mostrando _START_ a _END_ de _TOTAL_ registros",
infoEmpty = "Mostrando 0 a 0 de 0 registros",
infoFiltered = "(filtrado de _MAX_ registros no total)",
zeroRecords = "Nenhum registro encontrado",
emptyTable = "Nenhum dado disponível",
loadingRecords = "Carregando dados...",
decimal = ",",
thousands = ".",
infoThousands = ".",
paginate = list(
first = "«", previous = "‹", `next` = "›", last = "»"
),
# Rótulos do menu "entries per page"
# (mapeia o valor numérico → texto exibido no select)
lengthLabels = list(
`10` = "10", `25` = "25", `50` = "50", `-1` = "Todas"
),
# ── Buttons extension ──────────────────────────────────────
buttons = list(
copyTitle = "Copiado para a área de transferência",
copyKeys = paste0(
"Pressione <i>Ctrl</i> ou <i>\u2318</i> + <i>C</i> para copiar. ",
"Pressione Esc para cancelar."
),
copySuccess = list(`_` = "%d linhas copiadas", `1` = "1 linha copiada")
),
# ── ColumnControl extension ────────────────────────────────
columnControl = list(
colVis = "Visibilidade da coluna",
colVisDropdown = "Visibilidade da coluna",
dropdown = "Mostrar mais...",
orderAsc = "Ordem crescente",
orderDesc = "Ordem decrescente",
orderClear = "Remover ordenação",
orderRemove = "Remover ordenação",
searchClear = "Limpar pesquisa",
searchDropdown = "Pesquisar",
reorder = "Reordenar",
reorderLeft = "Mover para a esquerda",
reorderRight = "Mover para a direita",
list = list(
all = "Todos", empty = "Vazio", none = "Nenhum",
search = "Pesquisar..."
),
search = list(
text = list(
contains = "Contém", empty = "Vazio", ends = "Termina em",
equal = "Igual a", notContains = "Não contém",
notEmpty = "Não está vazio", notEqual = "Diferente de",
starts = "Começa por"
),
number = list(
empty = "Vazio", equal = "Igual a",
greater = "Maior que", greaterOrEqual = "Maior ou igual a",
less = "Menor que", lessOrEqual = "Menor ou igual a",
notEmpty = "Não está vazio", notEqual = "Diferente de"
),
datetime = list(
empty = "Vazio", equal = "Igual a",
greater = "Posterior a", less = "Anterior a",
notEmpty = "Não está vazio", notEqual = "Diferente de"
)
)
)
)
# Use it
dt2(iris, options = list(pageLength = 10, language = lang_ptbr))DataTables provides ready-made translation files for 70+ languages.
You can load one directly via the language.url option:
dt2(iris, options = list(
language = list(
url = "https://cdn.datatables.net/plug-ins/2.3.3/i18n/pt-BR.json"
)
))Note: the CDN file covers the core table terms. Extension-specific terms (Buttons, ColumnControl) must still be set manually via the
languagelist as shown above.
Browse all available languages at: https://datatables.net/plug-ins/i18n/
All library versions are centralized in tools/get-dt2-libs.sh:
# Edit version variables at the top, then run:
bash tools/get-dt2-libs.sh| Vignette | Description |
|---|---|
vignette("getting-started") |
Standalone usage, themes, layout, pagination, buttons, scroller |
vignette("shiny-integration") |
Proxy, events, server-side processing (11 complete apps) |
vignette("extensions-guide") |
Buttons, Select, Responsive, ColumnControl, etc. |
vignette("formatting") |
Number/date formatting, custom JS renderers |
vignette("js-config") |
Translating DataTables.net JS examples to R |
A complete example app with ColumnControl, flags, custom renderers, and
full pt-BR translation is included at
inst/examples/app_complete.R.
MIT — see LICENSE file.
DT2 bundles DataTables and extensions which are also MIT-licensed. See DataTables license for details.