Nested Development Packages in R: Example Repo

This repository demonstrates a pattern for managing project-specific development scripts in R by creating a nested development package inside your main application package.

For more background, rationale, and detailed examples, see my blog post: A More Customizable Golem: Nested Development Packages in R

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Getting Started

Example Projects

The repo includes two example projects:

1. Minimal setup -- myapp/myapp.Rproj

2. renv-based setup -- myapp-renv/myapp.Rproj

Minimal Setup

1. Clone the repo and open myapp/myapp.Rproj in RStudio or Positron.

2. On project load, you should see:

ℹ Loading myapp.dev

3. If pkgload is not installed, you'll see a warning. Install it and restart your session.

4. Once loaded, you can call development functions like:

myapp.dev::run()
myapp.dev::deploy()

renv Support

The myapp-renv project shows how to integrate renv with a dev package:

1. Clone the repo and open myapp-renv/myapp.Rproj in RStudio or Positron.

2. Run renv::restore() to synchronize all package versions.

3. Restart your session to have myapp.dev loaded in a controlled environment.

Deployment Notes

• The dev package should not be included in production deployments.

• A common approach: clone a fresh repo, snapshot dependencies excluding dev, and deploy using rsconnect::deployApp(). (See myapp-renv/dev/R/deploy.R for an example)

Final Notes

• Remember to restart your R session after updating the dev package.

• Update the NAMESPACE of your dev package with devtools::document("dev") when changing exports.

• For a full discussion and detailed rationale, see the blog post.