Installation#

This section provides the minimum amount of steps required to install RSPM. However, depending on your environment, additional steps may be required to install RSPM. If this is the case, additional information regarding these steps is available in subsequent chapters of this guide.

RStudio Support#

RStudio is happy to provide support for anyone using our product. However, we do not provide support for:

• Installation
• Professional services

We don't provide support for these items because our top priority is to focus on building the best products for our users. We understand that you may require additional assistance. If you require such assistance, then please refer to our certified partners.

RStudio's support is limited to our professional products. If your question is related to R, R code, or specific R packages, then visit the RStudio Community.

If your question is related to RSPM, then open a support ticket by following the steps listed on our Support Page. Our Support Agreement also provides important details about the support that RStudio provides.

Installation#

Download and Install RSPM#

Run the installation instructions for your Linux distribution:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install gdebi-core
wget https://cdn.rstudio.com/package-manager/ubuntu/amd64/rstudio-pm_2021.09.0-1_amd64.deb
sudo gdebi rstudio-pm_2021.09.0-1_amd64.deb

sudo apt update
sudo apt install gdebi-core
wget https://cdn.rstudio.com/package-manager/ubuntu20/amd64/rstudio-pm_2021.09.0-1_amd64.deb
sudo gdebi rstudio-pm_2021.09.0-1_amd64.deb

wget https://cdn.rstudio.com/package-manager/centos/x86_64/rstudio-pm-2021.09.0-1.x86_64.rpm
sudo yum install rstudio-pm-2021.09.0-1.x86_64.rpm

wget https://cdn.rstudio.com/package-manager/centos8/x86_64/rstudio-pm-2021.09.0-1.x86_64.rpm
sudo yum install rstudio-pm-2021.09.0-1.x86_64.rpm

sudo zypper refresh
wget https://cdn.rstudio.com/package-manager/opensuse/x86_64/rstudio-pm-2021.09.0-1.x86_64.rpm
sudo zypper install rstudio-pm-2021.09.0-1.x86_64.rpm

sudo zypper refresh
wget https://cdn.rstudio.com/package-manager/opensuse15/x86_64/rstudio-pm-2021.09.0-1.x86_64.rpm
sudo zypper install rstudio-pm-2021.09.0-1.x86_64.rpm

These commands will install the product into /opt/rstudio-pm.

Signed RSPM Build#

The RSPM installer is signed with a key belonging to RStudio. If you'd like to know more about the benefits of using signed builds, see the RStudio Signed Builds page.

If you wish to verify this signature, then do one of the following:

• Obtain the public key from our website and save it into a file (e.g., rstudio-code-signing.key).
• Obtain the key from a GnuPG keyserver using the following commands:

gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --recv-keys 3F32EE77E331692F

gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --recv-keys 3F32EE77E331692F
gpg --armor --export 3F32EE77E331692F > rstudio-code-signing.key

# Import the key into the set of keys RPM uses to validate package signatures
rpm --import rstudio-code-signing.key

After obtaining the GnuPG key, validate the RSPM installer executing the following commands:

dpkg-sig --verify rstudio-pm_2021.09.0-1_amd64.deb

rpm -K rstudio-pm-2021.09.0-1.x86_64.rpm

Initial Configuration#

By default, the RSPM settings are controlled by a configuration file located at /etc/rstudio-pm/rstudio-pm.gcfg. At a minimum, complete the Address property within the Server section.

Do this by specifying the URL used to access RSPM:

; /etc/rstudio-pm/rstudio-pm.gcfg
[Server]
Address = http://r-packages.example.com

Replace http://r-packages.example.com with the value appropriate for your organization.

There are many other options that you may want to configure now or at a later point, such as:

• The on-disk location where data will be stored, default: /var/lib/rstudio-pm
• The database where essential metadata should be stored, default: built-in SQLite.
• Important security settings settings such as HTTPS certificates and ports; the default is HTTP on port 4242.
• High Availability and Load Balancing options.

Licensing#

To verify the status of your license:

Terminal

/opt/rstudio-pm/bin/license-manager status

If you have a license key, then activate the license by replacing LICENSE_KEY with the value of your license key:

Terminal

/opt/rstudio-pm/bin/license-manager activate LICENSE_KEY

See the Licensing section for full details and information about offline activation.

Restart RStudio Package Manager#

After updating the configuration file settings, it is required that you restart the RSPM service.

To restart the RSPM service, run the following commands:

Terminal

sudo systemctl stop rstudio-pm
sudo systemctl start rstudio-pm

RSPM supports the HUP signal when:

• You are making licensing changes.
• Activating a new license.

View the RStudio Package Manager Web User Interface#

As a user, you can view RSPM in a web browser, which provides you a user-friendly interface for viewing information about packages, package READMEs, metrics, etc.

To view RSPM in a web browser:

1. Open a web browser.
2. Navigate to RSPM by following https://r-packages.example.com:<port> (the default port is 4242).

Once you navigate to the link, the RSPM Welcome page displays. For any administrative changes, use the CLI.

The Admin Command-line Interface#

RSPM is administered through a command-line interface (CLI) which administrators can use to create:

• Create repositories and sources
• Setup sync schedules for CRAN sources

To invoke the Admin CLI, run: /opt/rstudio-pm/bin/rspm list

If you aren't able to access the Admin CLI, then verify that your user is a member of the rstudio-pm group by doing the following:

1. Run the following to add USER to the rstudio-pm group (replace <USER> with your username):

   sudo usermod -aG rstudio-pm <USER>
   

2. Close the terminal or SSH session.

3. Start a new session and run the groups command. This enumerates the groups that the current user is a member of.
4. Confirm that rstudio-pm is listed.
5. Re-run the command:

   /opt/rstudio-pm/bin/rspm list