How to Install Package in R Command Line

Installing packages in R via the command line is a crucial skill for any R programmer or data scientist. Below, you’ll find a comprehensive guide on how to install packages in R using the command line efficiently.

First, open your R console or RStudio terminal. To install a package, you can use the install.packages() command. For example, to install the popular ‘ggplot2’ package, you should execute the following command:

install.packages("ggplot2")

This command will download and install the ‘ggplot2’ package from the CRAN repository. It’s essential to have an active internet connection for this to work correctly.

If you want to install a package stored locally on your machine, you can use the following command:

install.packages("path_to_package/package_name.tar.gz", repos = NULL, type = "source")

Remember to replace path_to_package with the actual path to the package on your system and package_name with the name of the package.

Another useful command is install_version(). This allows you to install a specific version of a package. Here’s how you can use it:

library(devtools)
install_version("ggplot2", version = "3.2.1")

This command will install version 3.2.1 of the ‘ggplot2’ package. The devtools package is necessary to use this function, so make sure to install it beforehand.

In conclusion, knowing how to install R packages via the command line is a valuable skill that can save time and streamline your workflow. By following the steps outlined above, you’ll be able to install packages efficiently and effectively for your R projects.