Setup & Installation

Before diving into R, let’s set up your development environment. By the end of this chapter, you’ll have R, RStudio, and Quarto installed and ready to go.

If you run into any difficulties with installation, see Posit Cloud (Online Alternative) for a browser-based alternative that requires no installation.

Install R

R is the programming language we’ll use throughout this book.

Please go to the CRAN (Comprehensive R Archive Network) website to download R:

https://cloud.r-project.org/

Click “Download R for Windows”
Click “base”
Click the download link for the latest version (e.g., “Download R-4.x.x for Windows”)
Run the installer with default settings

Click “Download R for macOS”
Choose the correct installer for your Mac:
- Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4): download the arm64 version
- Intel Mac: download the x86_64 version
Open the .pkg file and follow the installer

Click “Download R for Linux”
Follow the instructions for your distribution (Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, etc.)

Which version of R?

As of this writing, R 4.x is the current major version.

Install RStudio Desktop

RStudio is an integrated development environment (IDE) for R — it’s where you’ll write and run your R code. Take car analogy as en example: R is the engine, and RStudio is the dashboard.

Download RStudio Desktop (free) from:

https://posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop/

Go to the link above
Download the RStudio Desktop installer for your operating system
Run the installer with default settings
Open RStudio — it should automatically detect your R installation

Install R first, then RStudio

RStudio needs R to work. Always install R (the previous step) before installing RStudio.

Install Quarto CLI (Optional)

Quarto is a publishing system that lets you create reports, documents, presentations, and websites from R code and text. We’ll use Quarto in ?sec-quarto to create reproducible reports.

Download Quarto from:

https://quarto.org/docs/get-started/

Go to the link above
Download the Quarto CLI installer for your operating system
Run the installer with default settings

Quarto may already be bundled with RStudio

Recent versions of RStudio (2022.07+) include Quarto. You may already have it. To check, open a terminal and run:

quarto --version

We still recommend installing the latest Quarto CLI separately to ensure you have the newest features.

Install Required R Packages

R packages are add-ons that give R new abilities — think of them as apps for your phone. We’ll use several packages throughout this book.

Open RStudio and copy the following code in the Console pane (bottom-left), then hit “Enter”:

install.packages("tidyverse")

Example Screenshot:

This may take a few minutes

Package installation downloads files from the internet and compiles code. Be patient — this is a one-time process. You may see lots of messages scrolling by; that’s normal.

Errors during installation?

If you see an error about a package not being available, check your internet connection and try again. If a specific package fails, you can skip it for now and install it later when the relevant chapter requires it.

Verify Your Installation

Let’s run a quick test to confirm everything is working. Create a new R script in RStudio (File > New File > R Script) and run the following code:

# Test 1: R is working
print("Hello, R!")

# Test 2: Tidyverse loads successfully
library(tidyverse)

Expected Output:

> # Test 1: R is working
> print("Hello, R!")
[1] "Hello, R!"

> # Test 2: Tidyverse loads successfully
> library(tidyverse)

If you see the following output in the Console (see The Four Panes) with no erors, your setup is complete!

How to run code in RStudio

Place your cursor on a line of code and press Cmd + Enter (macOS) or Ctrl + Enter (Windows/Linux) to run it. You can also select multiple lines and run them all at once.

Posit Cloud (Online Alternative)

If you encounter installation difficulties or want to get started immediately without installing anything, you can use Posit Cloud — a browser-based version of RStudio.

Go to https://posit.cloud/
Create a free account
Click “New Project” > “New RStudio Project”
You’ll get a full RStudio environment in your browser

Note

Posit Cloud is great for getting started quickly, but the free tier has limited computing hours per month. We recommend installing R and RStudio on your computer for long-term use.

Summary

You now have a complete R development environment:

R — the programming language
RStudio — the IDE where you write and run code
Quarto (Optional) — the tool for creating reproducible reports
R packages — the add-ons we’ll use throughout this book

In the next chapter, we’ll take a guided tour of RStudio so you know your way around before we start coding.

# Setup & Installation {.unnumbered} Before diving into R, let's set up your development environment. By the end of this chapter, you'll have **R**, **RStudio**, and **Quarto** installed and ready to go. If you run into any difficulties with installation, see @sec-posit-cloud for a browser-based alternative that requires no installation. ## Install R R is the programming language we'll use throughout this book. Please go to the CRAN (Comprehensive R Archive Network) website to download R: <https://cloud.r-project.org/> \ ![Download R](../../images/install/cran-download-r.png){#fig-cran-download-r width="100%"} ::: {.panel-tabset} ### Windows 1. Click **"Download R for Windows"** 2. Click **"base"** 3. Click the download link for the latest version (e.g., "Download R-4.x.x for Windows") 4. Run the installer with default settings ![Download R for Windows](../../images/install/download-r-win.png){#fig-download-r-win width="80%"} ### macOS 1. Click **"Download R for macOS"** 2. Choose the correct installer for your Mac: - **Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4):** download the `arm64` version - **Intel Mac:** download the `x86_64` version 3. Open the `.pkg` file and follow the installer ![Download R for macOS](../../images/install/download-r-macos.png){#fig-download-r-macos width="60%"} ### Linux 1. Click **"Download R for Linux"** 2. Follow the instructions for your distribution (Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, etc.) ::: ::: {.callout-note} ## Which version of R? As of this writing, R 4.x is the current major version. ::: ## Install RStudio Desktop RStudio is an **integrated development environment (IDE)** for R --- it's where you'll write and run your R code. Take car analogy as en example: **R** is the *engine*, and **RStudio** is the *dashboard*. Download RStudio Desktop (free) from: <https://posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop/> 1. Go to the link above 2. Download the **RStudio Desktop** installer for your operating system 3. Run the installer with default settings 4. Open RStudio --- it should automatically detect your R installation ![RStudio download page](../../images/install/download-r-studio.png){#fig-download-r-studio width="60%"} ::: {.callout-warning} ## Install R first, then RStudio RStudio needs R to work. Always install R (the previous step) before installing RStudio. ::: ## Install Quarto CLI (Optional) Quarto is a publishing system that lets you create reports, documents, presentations, and websites from R code and text. We'll use Quarto in @sec-quarto to create reproducible reports.  Download Quarto from: <https://quarto.org/docs/get-started/> 1. Go to the link above 2. Download the Quarto CLI installer for your operating system 3. Run the installer with default settings ::: {.callout-note} ## Quarto may already be bundled with RStudio Recent versions of RStudio (2022.07+) include Quarto. You may already have it. To check, open a terminal and run: ```{bash} #| eval: false quarto --version ``` We still recommend installing the latest Quarto CLI separately to ensure you have the newest features. ::: ## Install Required R Packages R packages are **add-ons** that give R new abilities --- think of them as apps for your phone. We'll use several packages throughout this book. Open RStudio and copy the following code in the **Console** pane (bottom-left), then hit "Enter": ```{r} #| eval: false install.packages("tidyverse") ``` Example Screenshot: ![Install `tidyverse` R package](../../images/install/install-pkg-tidyverse.png){#fig-install-pkg-tidyverse width="100%"} ::: {.callout-tip} ## This may take a few minutes Package installation downloads files from the internet and compiles code. Be patient --- this is a one-time process. You may see lots of messages scrolling by; that's normal. ::: ::: {.callout-warning} ## Errors during installation? If you see an error about a package not being available, check your internet connection and try again. If a specific package fails, you can skip it for now and install it later when the relevant chapter requires it. ::: ## Verify Your Installation Let's run a quick test to confirm everything is working. Create a new R script in RStudio (**File > New File > R Script**) and run the following code: ```{r} #| eval: false # Test 1: R is working print("Hello, R!") # Test 2: Tidyverse loads successfully library(tidyverse) ``` Expected Output: ``` > # Test 1: R is working > print("Hello, R!") [1] "Hello, R!" > # Test 2: Tidyverse loads successfully > library(tidyverse) ``` If you see the following output in the Console (see @sec-rstudio-panes) with no erors, your setup is complete! ::: {.callout-tip} ## How to run code in RStudio Place your cursor on a line of code and press **Cmd + Enter** (macOS) or **Ctrl + Enter** (Windows/Linux) to run it. You can also select multiple lines and run them all at once. ::: ## Posit Cloud (Online Alternative) {#sec-posit-cloud} If you encounter installation difficulties or want to get started immediately without installing anything, you can use **Posit Cloud** --- a browser-based version of RStudio. 1. Go to <https://posit.cloud/> 2. Create a free account 3. Click **"New Project"** > **"New RStudio Project"** 4. You'll get a full RStudio environment in your browser  ::: {.callout-note} Posit Cloud is great for getting started quickly, but the free tier has limited computing hours per month. We recommend installing R and RStudio on your computer for long-term use. ::: ## Summary You now have a complete R development environment: - [x] **R** --- the programming language - [x] **RStudio** --- the IDE where you write and run code - [x] **Quarto** (Optional) --- the tool for creating reproducible reports - [x] **R packages** --- the add-ons we'll use throughout this book In the next chapter, we'll take a guided tour of RStudio so you know your way around before we start coding.