R Package Development

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha babb6bf12fac · 18 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisherposit-dev GitHub organizationOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderposit-dev/skills/r-lib/r-package-developmentThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdictbabb6bf12facA new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 2 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: R package development with devtools, testthat, and roxygen2. Use when the user is working on an R package, running tests, writing documentation, or building package infrastructure.

---
name: r-package-development
description: R package development with devtools, testthat, and roxygen2. Use when the user is working on an R package, running tests, writing documentation, or building package infrastructure.
metadata:
  author: Simon P. Couch (@simonpcouch)
  version: "1.2"
---

# R package development

## Key commands

```
# Run code in the package
Rscript -e "devtools::load_all(); code"

# Run all tests
Rscript -e "devtools::test()"

# Run all tests for files starting with {name}
Rscript -e "devtools::test(filter = '^{name}')"

# Run all tests for R/{name}.R
Rscript -e "devtools::test_active_file('R/{name}.R')"

# Run a single test "blah" for R/{name}.R
Rscript -e "devtools::test_active_file('R/{name}.R', desc = 'blah')"

# Redocument the package
Rscript -e "devtools::document()"

# Check pkgdown documentation
Rscript -e "pkgdown::check_pkgdown()"

# Check the package with R CMD check
Rscript -e "devtools::check()"

# Format code
air format .
```

## Coding

* Always run `air format .` after generating code.
* Use the base pipe operator (`|>`) not the magrittr pipe (`%>%`).
* Use `\() ...` for single-line anonymous functions. For all other cases, use `function() {...}`.

## Testing

- Tests for `R/{name}.R` go in `tests/testthat/test-{name}.R`.
- All new code should have an accompanying test.
- If there are existing tests, place new tests next to similar existing tests.
- Strive to keep tests minimal with few comments.
- Avoid `expect_true()` and `expect_false()` in favour of a specific expectation which will give a better failure message.
- When testing errors and warnings, don't use `expect_error()` or `expect_warning()`. Instead, use `expect_snapshot(error = TRUE)` for errors and `expect_snapshot()` for warnings because these allow the user to review the full text of the output.

## Documentation

- Every user-facing function should be exported and have roxygen2 documentation.
- Wrap roxygen comments at 80 characters.
- Internal functions should not have roxygen documentation.
- Whenever you add a new (non-internal) documentation topic, also add the topic to `_pkgdown.yml`.
- Always re-document the package after changing a roxygen2 comment.
- Use `pkgdown::check_pkgdown()` to check that all topics are included in the reference index.

## `NEWS.md`

- Every user-facing change should be given a bullet in `NEWS.md`. Do not add bullets for small documentation changes or internal refactorings.
- Each bullet should briefly describe the change to the end user.
- If the change is related to a function, put the name of the function early in the bullet.
- If the bullet is related to a GitHub issue or pull request, reference it by number in parentheses before the final period: `(#123).`.
- Order bullets alphabetically by function name. Put all bullets that don't mention function names at the beginning.

Excerpt, first 2,865 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/posit-dev/skills
git -C skills checkout babb6bf12fac

Works in

1. 2026-10-18
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source babb6bf12fac

Questions about R Package Development

• github.com/posit-dev/skills/tree/main/r-lib/r-package-developmen — the audited source at commit babb6bf12fac and every finding aboveObserved · 18 Oct 2026

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