revdeprun 1.2.0

Easy reverse dependency checks for R with cloud-ready environment setup
Documentation

revdeprun

crates.io version CI tests License

A command-line tool that automates reverse dependency checking for R packages. Provision R on Ubuntu, install system dependencies, preinstall revdep dependency binaries, configure environment context, and run xfun::rev_check() in a single command. Designed for cloud environments where you need reproducible, isolated test runs without tedious manual setup.

Installation

Prerequisites

Install Rust:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Install C compiler and linker:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y build-essential

Install revdeprun

From crates.io (stable release):

cargo install revdeprun

From GitHub (latest development version):

cargo install --git https://github.com/nanxstats/revdeprun.git

Note: If cargo or revdeprun is not found immediately after installation, restart your shell.

Environment

Currently, this tool is designed for Ubuntu-based systems and requires:

  • Operating system: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, 24.04 LTS, and future LTS releases.
  • Version control: Git on PATH.
  • Network access: To download R, R packages, and repository metadata.
  • Elevated privileges: sudo access for installing R and system requirements.

Security note: Reverse dependency checks execute arbitrary third-party code. Run revdeprun in temporary, isolated environments such as disposable cloud instances or containers.

Usage

Simply point revdeprun at your package:

revdeprun https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPOSITORY.git

Git repository, local directory, or source tarball (.tar.gz) are supported.

Sensible defaults that make this fast and robust:

  • Discover and install the current release version of R for Ubuntu.
  • Pre-install system requirements for all reverse dependencies at once.
  • Pre-install all dependencies required for checking reverse dependencies from the Posit Public Package Manager (P3M) binary repository, into a dedicated library in revdep/library/.
  • Run xfun::rev_check() for parallel reverse dependency checking.
  • Generate summary reports only for any check results with diffs.
  • Use all available CPU cores for parallel installation and checking.

Command-line options

Usage: revdeprun [OPTIONS] <REPOSITORY>

Arguments:
  <REPOSITORY>
          Git URL, local directory, or source package tarball (.tar.gz) for the target R package

Options:
      --r-version <R_VERSION>
          R version to install (e.g., release, 4.3.3, oldrel-1)
          [default: release]

      --num-workers <N>
          Number of parallel workers for xfun::rev_check()
          [default: number of CPU cores]

      --work-dir <WORK_DIR>
          Optional workspace directory where temporary files are created

      --skip-r-install
          Skip installing R and reuse the system-wide installation

  -h, --help
          Print help

  -V, --version
          Print version

Example workflows

Standard check on a remote repository:

revdeprun https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPOSITORY.git

Specify R version and parallelism:

revdeprun --r-version devel --num-workers 48 \
  https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPOSITORY.git

Use a custom workspace and SSH authentication:

revdeprun --work-dir /data/workspace \
  git@github.com:YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPOSITORY.git

Check a local directory:

revdeprun ~/workspace/YOUR-REPOSITORY

Check a local source package tarball:

revdeprun ~/packages/YOURPACKAGE_1.2.3.tar.gz

Use an existing R installation:

revdeprun --skip-r-install https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPOSITORY.git

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.