usethis

Set up commonly used 📦 components

usethis is a workflow automation package for R that handles repetitive setup and development tasks for both R packages and non-package projects. It provides a collection of use_*() functions that operate on your active project directory to streamline common development workflows.

The package automates tasks like creating project structure, setting up version control, adding licenses, configuring testing frameworks, managing dependencies, and creating documentation files. It reduces manual configuration work by handling file creation, updating DESCRIPTION files, modifying .gitignore, and setting up standard R package components. The package provides interactive feedback showing what it has completed and what actions you still need to take.

Contributors#

Resources featuring usethis#

Using R package structure for data science projects | Kylie Ainslie | Data Science Lab

The Data Science Lab is a live weekly call. Register at pos.it/dslab! Discord invites go out each week on lives calls. We'd love to have you! The Lab is an open, messy space for learning and asking questions. Think of it like pair coding with a friend or two. Learn something new, and share what you know to help others grow. On this call, Libby Heeren is joined by Kylie Ainslie who walks through how structuring data science projects as R packages provides a consistent framework that integrates documentation for you and facilitates collaboration with others by organizing things really well. Kylie says, "I stumbled on using an R package structure to organize my projects a number of years ago and it has changed how I work in such a positive way that I want to share it with others! In a world where our attention is constantly being pulled in many directions, efficiency is crucial. Structuring projects as R packages is how I work more efficiently." Hosting crew from Posit: Libby Heeren, Isabella Velasquez Kylie's Bluesky: @kylieainslie.bsky.social Kylie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylieainslie/ Kylie's Website: https://kylieainslie.github.io/ Kylie's GitHub: https://github.com/kylieainslie Resources from the hosts and chat: posit::conf(2026) call for talks: https://posit.co/blog/posit-conf-2026-call-for-talks/ Kylie's posit::conf(2025) talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzIiWg4rySA {usethis} package: https://usethis.r-lib.org/ R Packages (2e) book: https://r-pkgs.org/ Paquetes de R (R Packages in Spanish): https://davidrsch.github.io/rpkgs-es/ {box} package: https://github.com/klmr/box extdata docs in Writing R Extensions: https://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/R-exts.html#Data-in-packages-1 Tan Ho's talk on NFL data: https://tanho.ca/talks/rsconf2022-github/ {rv} package: https://a2-ai.github.io/rv-docs/ Whether to Import or Depend: https://r-pkgs.org/dependencies-mindset-background.html#sec-dependencies-imports-vs-depends {pkgdown} package: https://pkgdown.r-lib.org/ Edgar Ruiz's {pkgsite} package: https://github.com/edgararuiz/pkgsite Attendees shared examples of data packages in the chat! Here they are: https://kjhealy.github.io/nycdogs/ https://kjhealy.github.io/gssr/ https://github.com/deepshamenghani/richmondway https://github.com/kyleGrealis/nascaR.data https://github.com/ivelasq/leaidr ► Subscribe to Our Channel Here: https://bit.ly/2TzgcOu Follow Us Here: Website: https://www.posit.co The Lab: https://pos.it/dslab Hangout: https://pos.it/dsh LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/posit-software Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/posit.co Thanks for learning with us! Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 06:17 Reviewing the disorganized project example 10:01 Creating the package structure using create_package 17:50 Organizing external data and scripts in the inst folder 22:55 Adding a README and License 29:06 "What are the advantages to packaging a project?" 33:35 Writing Roxygen2 documentation 36:06 "Do you type return at the end of your functions?" 41:55 Handling dependencies with use_package 43:53 "Can you just use require(dplyr) at the top?" 47:45 Setting up a pkgdown site 50:11 Creating vignettes 52:22 "What is the role of the usethis package?" 54:18 Loading the package with devtools::load_all

Edgar Ruiz

posit::conf(2023) Workshop: Fundamentals of Package Development

Register now: http://pos.it/conf Instructor: Andy Teucher Workshop Duration: 1-Day Workshop This workshop is for you if: • You have written several R scripts and find yourself wondering how to reuse or share the code you’ve written • You know how to write functions in R • You are looking for a way to take the next step in your R programming journey We will be demonstrating some workflows using Git and GitHub. Knowledge of these tools is not required, and you will absolutely be able to complete the workshop without them, but some of the lessons will be more rewarding to you if you are prepared to try them out. If you are looking to get started with Git and GitHub, we recommend you register for the “What they forgot to teach you about R” workshop on Day 1, and join us for this workshop on Day 2. We are often faced with the need to share our code with others, or find ourselves writing similar code over and over again across different projects. In R, the fundamental unit of reusable code is a package, containing helpful functions, documentation, and sometimes sample data. This workshop will teach you the fundamentals of package development in R, using tools and principles developed and used extensively by the tidyverse team - specifically the ‘devtools’ family of packages including usethis, testthat, and roxygen2. These packages and workflows help you focus on the contents of your package rather than the minutiae of package structure. You will learn the structure of a package, how to organize your code, and workflows to help you develop your package iteratively. You will learn how to write good documentation so that users can learn how to use your package, and how to use automated testing to ensure it is functioning the way you expect it to, now and into the future. You will also learn how to check your package for common problems, and how to distribute your package for others to use. This will be an interactive 1-day workshop, and we will be using the RStudio IDE to work through the materials, as it has been designed to work well with the development practices we will be featuring

Ellis Hughes | Approaches to Assay Processing Package Validation | RStudio (2020)

In this talk I will discuss the steps that have been created for validating internally generated R packages at SCHARP (Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Prevention) and the lessons learned while creating packages as a team. Housed within Fred Hutch, SCHARP is an instrumental partner in the research and clinical trials surrounding HIV prevention and vaccine development. Part of SCHARP’s work involves analyzing experimental biomarkers and endpoints which change as the experimental question, analysis methods, antigens measured, and assays evolve. Maintaining a validated code base that is rigid in its output format, but flexible enough to cater a variety of inputs with minimal custom coding has proven to be important for reproducibility and scalability. SCHARP has developed several key steps in the creation, validation, and documentation of R packages that take advantage of R’s packaging functionality. First, the programming team works with leadership to define specifications and lay out a roadmap of the package at the functional level. Next, statistical programmers work together to develop the package, taking advantage of the rich R ecosystem of packages for development such as roxygen2, devtools, usethis, and testthat. Once the code has been developed, the package is validated to ensure it passes all specifications using a combination of testthat and rmarkdown. Finally, the package is made available for use across the team on live data. These procedures set up a framework for validating assay processing packages that furthers the ability of Fred Hutch to provide world-class support for our clinical trials

usethis

Contributors#

Jenny Bryan

Hadley Wickham

Winston Chang

Lionel Henry

Davis Vaughan

Christophe Dervieux

Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel

Gábor Csárdi

Jeroen Ooms

Emil Hvitfeldt

Thomas Lin Pedersen

Garrick Aden-Buie

Julia Silge

Max Kuhn

Charlotte Wickham

Carson Sievert

Barret Schloerke

Jeroen Janssens

JJ Allaire

Edgar Ruiz

Resources featuring usethis#

Package Development

Using R package structure for data science projects | Kylie Ainslie | Data Science Lab

Teaching Data Sharing through R Data Packages (Kelly McConville, Bucknell) | posit::conf(2025)

posit::conf(2023) Workshop: Fundamentals of Package Development

Building R packages with devtools and usethis | RStudio

Malcolm Barrett | You're Already Ready: Zen and the Art of R Package Development | RStudio

Ellis Hughes | Approaches to Assay Processing Package Validation | RStudio (2020)