6 Creating an R Package

In this chapter, we’ll learn how to create a new R package using the usethis package in R. Creating an R package allows you to organize your functions, data, and documentation for easy distribution and use by others.

6.1 Prerequisites

First, ensure you have the necessary prerequisites for naming your package:

  • Package name: Must start with a letter and can contain letters, numbers, and periods (“.”).
  • Forbidden characters: No special characters such as hyphens (“-”), underscores (“_”), or spaces.
  • Descriptive name: Choose a name that broadly represents the functionality of your package since it may contain several functions and example data frames.
  • Directory Path: Decide on a directory where you want to create your package.

6.2 create_package()

To create a new R package, we’ll use the create_package() function from the usethis package. This function automates the process of setting up the basic structure of an R package.

Here’s how you can create a new package:

usethis::create_package("~/yourpath/yourpackagename")

Replace “~/yourpath/yourpackagename” with the desired directory path and package name. This command will create a new directory with the specified package name and set up the necessary files and folders for your package.

After running the command, you’ll see a new directory with the following structure:



Here’s a brief description of each file and directory:

  • .gitignore: Used by Git to determine which files and directories to ignore in your project.
  • .Rbuildignore: Used by R to determine which files and directories to exclude from the package build process.
  • DESCRIPTION: Contains important metadata about your package such as the package name, version, author, and dependencies.
  • myPackage.Rproj: The RStudio project file that allows you to open the project in RStudio.
  • NAMESPACE: Controls the functions that are exported from your package and made available to users.
  • R/: This directory is where you’ll store all your R scripts that define the functions in your package.



In the animated example seen below, I will create a package called “myPackage” using the usethis::create_package() function.





In the following chapter, we will initialize a local Git repository, add and commit the files of our package to the repository, and push our package to GitHub.




Creating R Packages: A Step-by-Step Guide by Ville Langén is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0