| INSTALL {base} | R Documentation |
Utility for installing add-on packages.
R CMD INSTALL [options] [-l lib] pkgspkgs |
A list with the path names of the packages to be installed. |
lib |
the path name of the R library tree to install to. |
options |
a list of options through which in particular the process for building the help files can be controlled. |
If used as R CMD INSTALL pkgs without explicitly specifying
lib, packages are installed into the library tree rooted at the
first directory given in the environment variable R\_LIBS if
this is set and non-null, and to the default library tree (which is
rooted at ‘\$R\_HOME/library’) otherwise.
To install into the library tree lib, use
R CMD INSTALL -l lib pkgs.
Both lib and the elements of pkgs may be absolute or
relative path names. pkgs can also contain name of package
archive files of the form ‘pkg\_version.tar.gz’ as obtained from
CRAN, these are then extracted in a temporary directory.
Some package sources contain a ‘configure’ script that can be
passed arguments or variables via the option --configure-args
and --configure-vars, respectively, if necessary. The latter
is useful in particular if libraries or header files needed for the
package are in non-system directories. In this case, one can use the
configure variables LIBS and CPPFLAGS to specify these
locations (and set these via --configure-vars), see section
‘Configuration variables’ in “R Installation and Administration” for
more information. One can also bypass the configure mechanism using
the option --no-configure.
If --no-docs is given, no help files are built. Options
--no-text, --no-html, and --no-latex suppress
creating the text, HTML, and LaTeX versions, respectively. The
default is to build help files in all three versions.
If the option --save is used, the installation procedure
creates a binary image of the package code, which is then loaded when
the package is attached, rather than evaluating the package source at
that time. Having a file ‘install.R’ in the package directory
makes this the default behavior for the package (option
--no-save overrides). You may need --save if your
package requires other packages to evaluate its own source. If the
file ‘install.R’ is non-empty, it should contain R expressions to
be executed when the package is attached, after loading the saved
image. Options to be passed to R when creating the save image can be
specified via --save=ARGS.
Use R CMD INSTALL --help for more usage information.
Packages that require the methods package, and that use functions such
as setMethod or
setClass, should be installed by creating a
binary image.
The package should require the methods package, both during
installation and when the user attaches the package. A good solution
for most cases is to include the line require("methods") twice,
once at the beginning of the package's R source, and once in the file
‘install.R’ in the package directory (the top-level directory,
not in the ‘R’ directory below that). The
‘install.R’ file causes an image to be saved, and the contents
will ensure that methods are available when the package is attached.
REMOVE,
update.packages for automatic update of packages using
the internet;
the chapter on “Creating R packages” in “Writing R Extensions”
(see the ‘doc/manual’ subdirectory of the R source tree).