How to install (and update!) R and RStudio (2024)

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One of the first steps to learning R is to have it downloaded and installed on your computer. In this post I’ll show you how to do that and how to download and install RStudio—a key tool for using R, and how I do all my work and tutorials.

If you want to follow along with a video tutorial, you can click on the image below where you can watch the first lesson in my full course on the Basics of R (for ecologists).

How to install (and update!) R and RStudio (1)

For starters, R is a free open-source programming language used for organizing, analyzing, and visualizing data. Its versatility is highlighted by the large number of user-created packages that it comes with, which provide useful functions and guides that anyone can use (e.g., found on CRAN). So R is the programming language itself, and it comes with an environment or console that can read and execute your code. You could code in R without using RStudio, as you can see in the image below. That’s what the plain R console looks like; I just loaded up some data, viewed the first few rows, and renamed the columns.

How to install (and update!) R and RStudio (2)

By comparison, RStudio is a more versatile IDE, or Integrated Development Environment. Most people who use R also use RStudio because it provides a clean point-and-click dashboard of tools where you can type your code, view your figures, organize your data, variables, and files, as well as viewing the help window. In comparison to RStudio, the basic R IDE/console is extremely basic and doesn’t provide as many accessible tools as RStudio does.

Here I’ve set the editor color theme in RStudio to Solarized Dark, which is easier on the eyes when spending a lot of time coding in R. To change the theme, just go to RStudio –> Preferences (on a Mac) or Tools –> Options (on a Windows) and then click the Appearance tab where you can modify the Editor theme. Also check out this tutorial where I show you how to do that plus a few other useful tweaks for setting up RStudio.

How to install (and update!) R and RStudio (3)

If you are installing R and RStudio for the first time:

To download R, go here. Choose the download link that corresponds to your computer. I have a Mac, so I clicked that link.

How to install (and update!) R and RStudio (4)

You can download RStudio here, and you want to choose “RStudio Desktop”.

The important thing when installing R and RStudio is that you need to install R before you install RStudio. If you do it in the reverse order, you will likely run into errors. All you’ll need to do is open the files you downloaded for R and RStudio, and the installation process should begin on its own.

For Mac users, there’s also something called XQuartz, which you might not need for basic coding in R, but which might be helpful down the line for running certain packages. You can download XQuartz here. Similarly, if you just open the downloaded file, XQuartz should install on its own.

If you want to update R and RStudio:

There are a few ways you can check your version of R and see whether or not it needs to be updated. One way is to run the actual R program. There, you can go to the “R” menu and click “Check for R Updates” (see image below). If you do that, R will tell you the current version you’re on, and whether or not there is a more updated version that you can download (circled in blue).

Alternatively, if you’re in RStudio, you can type and run “sessionInfo()” in the R Console. The first line that the console returns is the version of R that you’re using. You can then download and install the latest version of R here for Mac, and here for Windows.

If you’re using a Windows computer, you may need to uninstall R to update it. You can find a quick guide for that here. Another great option for Windows users is to use a package called installr (unfortunately only available for Windows, @Mac users). All you need to do is install “installr”, load up the library, and run the code “updateR()”. This function will check for newer versions and will guide you through the update process.

How to install (and update!) R and RStudio (5)

If you want to update to the latest version of RStudio, hover over “Help” on the top menu bar of your Mac, and click “Check for Updates”. Then, quit the RStudio program, go to the RStudio website, and download and install the latest version.How to install (and update!) R and RStudio (6)Now you should have the latest versions of R and RStudio on your computer. I hope this tutorial was helpful!

As a quick note: my “Basics of R” course uses R version 4.0.2 and RStudio version 1.3.959. There shouldn’t be any incompatibility issues if you’re running a slightly different version, but it is usually best to stay up to date with your software!


If you liked this post and want to learn more, then check out my online course on the complete basics of R for ecology:

Also be sure to check out R-bloggers for other great tutorials on learning R

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How to install (and update!) R and RStudio (2024)

FAQs

How to install (and update!) R and RStudio? ›

From within RStudio, go to Help… Check for Updates to install newer version of RStudio (if available, optional). To update packages, go to Tools… Check for Package Updates.

How do I install and update R and RStudio? ›

From within RStudio, go to Help… Check for Updates to install newer version of RStudio (if available, optional). To update packages, go to Tools… Check for Package Updates.

How do I change the version of R in RStudio? ›

Switching R versions in Windows
  1. In RStudio, goto "Tools" then "Global Options"
  2. Click "Change" next to the "R version" drop down menu and a window will pop out, allowing you to change the R version.
  3. For Mac users, download rswitch to change R version used https://rud.is/rswitch/.

Do we need to install both R and RStudio? ›

Even if you use RStudio, you'll still need to download R to your computer. RStudio helps you use the version of R that lives on your computer, but it doesn't come with a version of R on its own.

How do I upgrade a specific version of R? ›

All you need to do is install “installr”, load up the library, and run the code “updateR()”. This function will check for newer versions and will guide you through the update process.

How to install R and RStudio on Windows? ›

Install R and RStudio for Windows
  1. To install R, go to cran.r-project.org. ...
  2. Click Download R for Windows.
  3. Install R Click on install R for the first time.
  4. Click Download R for Windows. ...
  5. Select the language you would like to use during the installation. ...
  6. Click Next.
  7. Select where you would like R to be installed.
Dec 14, 2023

How do I update all packages in R studio? ›

To update multiple packages, or indeed all packages, RStudio provides helpful tools. Click Tools - Check for Package Updates . A dialogue box will appear and you can select the packages you wish to update.

How do I update R without losing my packages? ›

How to Upgrade R Without Losing Your Packages
  1. Before you upgrade, build a temp file with all of your old packages. tmp <- installed. packages() ...
  2. Install the new version of R and let it do it's thing.
  3. Once you've got the new version up and running, reload the saved packages and re-install them from CRAN.
Jun 19, 2015

How to install multiple versions of R in RStudio? ›

You can select different versions of R by selecting it from the drop down list at the top of the browser window. The drop down menu will allow you to select the version of R you want to use. When you switch versions, the system will ask if you want to save your workspace before restarting your session.

What is the latest version of R? ›

The latest release (2024-06-14, Race for Your Life) R-4.4. 1.

Should I download R or RStudio first? ›

We need to install two things onto your computer. The first is R, this is the programming language we will use. After that we need to install RStudio, this is a front end program that lets you write R code, view plots, and do many other useful things.

How to check if R is installed? ›

How to check if R is installed on a Windows PC
  1. Check if there is an “R” icon on the desktop of the computer that you are using. If so, double-click on the “R” icon to start R. ...
  2. Click on the “Start” menu at the bottom left of your Windows desktop, and then move your mouse over “All Programs” in the menu that pops up.

What's the difference between R and RStudio? ›

R the application is installed on your computer and uses your personal computer resources to process R programming language. RStudio integrates with R as an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) to provide further functionality. RStudio combines a source code editor, build automation tools and a debugger.

How do I update R in RStudio? ›

In RStudio, Go to "Tools" in the top menu and select "Global Options". In the "Global Options" dialog box, click on "General" on the left panel. Look for the "R version" section on the right panel. Click on the "Change" button next to "R version".

How do I check my R version in RStudio? ›

Verifying your version of R

When you start RStudio, it starts R and displays the information of your R installation. In the screen shot image above, R version 3.3. 0 is the installed version. The R Project team also assigns a, usually humorous, name to each version of R.

Do I have to redownload R to update? ›

When you update a major version of R, your personal library of packages will no longer work, and you will need to reinstall all of your packages. There are a few tools you can use to do this like {installr} for Windows machines, and {updateR}. This work to stay up-to-date happens fairly infrequently.

Do I need to uninstall R before installing a new version? ›

To Upgrade your R Environment

Uninstall the old version of R. Uninstalling R removes files from the initial installation, but not packages that have been installed or updated. See the third-party R documentation for steps to uninstall R for your machine configuration. Install the new version of R from CRAN.

How do I install R and RStudio on my Mac? ›

Install R and RStudio for Mac
  1. To install R, go to cran.r-project.org. ...
  2. Click Download R for (Mac) OS X.
  3. Check the Latest release: section for the appropriate version and follow the directions for download.
  4. Once the file download is complete, click to open the installer. ...
  5. Once the R installer has finished, click Close.
Dec 14, 2023

How do I download and install R software? ›

Installing R on Windows OS
  1. Go to the CRAN website.
  2. Click on "Download R for Windows".
  3. Click on "install R for the first time" link to download the R executable (.exe) file.
  4. Run the R executable file to start installation, and allow the app to make changes to your device.
  5. Select the installation language.
Feb 7, 2022

How to update R without losing packages? ›

How to Upgrade R Without Losing Your Packages
  1. Before you upgrade, build a temp file with all of your old packages. tmp <- installed. packages() ...
  2. Install the new version of R and let it do it's thing.
  3. Once you've got the new version up and running, reload the saved packages and re-install them from CRAN.
Jun 19, 2015

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