Manage dependencies from GitHub Enterprise

[hector-ps]

Dependencies from GitHub can be managed by including Remotes: [remote::]repo_spec in the DESCRIPTION file. Downloading packages from GitHub Enterprise requires the argument host on install_github, that cannot be defined in the DESCRIPTION file. While I understand that the general approach for packaging and sharing R code is using public repositories, company policies usually forces the developer to use private GitHub Enterprise. Are you considering to add a way for indicating inside the DESCRIPTION file the host to use?

[cderv]

@ijlyttle How wonder how you do that with remotes and your 📦 ghentr ?
Is this possible for you ?

[ijlyttle]

The package maintainers can speak on this with infinitely-greater authority than I can: I think that extensibility mechanisms are something they are thinking about across r-lib, e.g. usethis, remotes, etc.

To address @cderv's point, the I can't get the ghentr idea to work with remotes, which let me to ask about a way forward and workarounds. I can summarize the workaround they have suggested to me, which work for me while the larger issues are worked out.

The central idea is to use a url:: remote. For example, the standard GitHub remote:

r-lib/usethis

Can be expressed, roughly equivalently, as:

url::https://github.com/r-lib/usethis/archive/master.zip

Using a URL means that I don't have access to specific branches or releases, but I can point it at a repository on GitHub Enterprise. Update: I'm wrong - you can access specific branches or releases, see @jimhester's comment 👇

Hope this helps!

[cderv]

The central idea is to use a url:: remote. For example, the standard GitHub remote:

This is what I thought. I got the same idea. I use that for gitlab on my side. Not the best way.

It would be nice to have an option to tell remotes : « now we mean for github this url not github.com ». I guess it means a way to change globally the default host used in ˋinstall_github` and implicitly in ˋgithub_remoteˋ when parsing DESCRIPTION.

Thanks @ijlyttle for you thoughts.

[hector-ps]

Thanks @ijlyttle and @cderv for this workaround. I will use the url:: remote until an option to tell remotes : « now we mean for github this url not github.com ». is developed. This is a really useful approach.

[jimhester]

Just a small clarification, you can access releases and branches, e.g.

A specific release

https://github.com/r-lib/remotes/archive/v2.1.0.zip

A branch

https://github.com/r-lib/remotes/archive/always-install-uninstalled.zip

[hector-ps]

Sorry for the inconvenience, Guys.

When I point the url:: remote to the zip url I get the following error:

Downloading package from url: https://github.example.com/organization/repo/archive/branch.zip
Error: Failed to install '******' from GitHub:
  Failed to install 'unknown package' from URL:
  zip file 'example_temp_zip_path.zip' cannot be opened
In addition: Warning message:
In utils::unzip(src, exdir = target) : error 1 in extracting from zip file

If I use install_url I get the same result, while install_github (passing the conveniend host) works as expected. How is install_url authenticating on the GitHub Enterprise? Do you think this authentication could be the source of the error?

[ijlyttle]

@hector-ps: I can think of a couple of possibilities:

• Is this a private repository?
• Perhaps something in the URL is mispelled? My go-to to get things working the first time is to "Copy Link Address":

[hector-ps]

Hi, @ijlyttle.

It's public inside my company, but my Enterprise instance of GitHub is not public. To install the repositories using install_github I pass a personal token in the auth_token argument.

[ijlyttle]

Hi @hector-ps,

If it is public inside your company, you should be able to use the "Copy Link Address" value
with install_url() - that works for me...

[pawelru]

Hi @hector-ps

I managed to do it for my package on Github Enterprise. For the installation please use:

Sys.setenv("GITHUB_PAT" = "<your PAT>")
remotes::install_github("<user>/<repo>", host = "https://github.<company>.com/api/v3")
Sys.unsetenv("GITHUB_PAT")

Then for the dependency I can confirm that url:: type of remote is working. My entries in the DESCRIPTION file are as follows: url::https://github.<company>.com/<user>/<repo>/archive/<version>.zip.

Please note that it's a link to a zip file for a given released version (in particular: it's not a git zip file for a branch that is presented above). In my case that's a significant limitation because I really want to use branch names, PR and also *release thing in specifying dependency. Basically it's not possible to use e.g. development version of a package (because it's not tagged and thus not zipped).

@jimhester Is there any plans for adding github:: type of dependency for packages on Github Enterprise?

[wligtenberg]

I am also looking into making remotes work from Github Enterprise.

So far, we have been using mostly SSH keys and works using the normal git protocol.
I just need to specify this first:
options("remotes.git_credentials" = git2r::cred_ssh_key())

However, the normal git protocol does not support branches or tags.
I tried to use:
git@github.<company>.com:<username>/<repo>.git#v2 or git@github.<company>.com:<username>/<repo>.git@v2

git2r then complains that the url is wrong, which is technically correct.

I then tried to use the url protocol, but that fails with the following message:

Error: Failed to install 'unknown package' from URL:
   length(file_list) > 0 is not TRUE

I tried downloading the file with download.file and I seem to be getting some login page html. :(

So, now I have found this thread. And using the code snippet from @pawelru it works, also for branches and tags.
However, how can I then use this in a DESCRIPTION file?

Maybe we could have something like this:
github::https://github..com//@tag

Or what would work for me as well is:
git::git@github..com:/.git@tag

I am not sure which one is easiest to implement.