Managing RStudio addins using the rsam package

R
RStudio
addins
Author

Zac Dempsey and Dr Matt Cooper

Published

April 14, 2025

library(thekidsbiostats) # install with remotes::install_github("The-Kids-Biostats/thekidsbiostats", build_vignettes = TRUE)

Overview

RStudio addins are a useful (and likely underutilised) feature that allow users to execute various pre-set R commands with a simple click from a drop down menu. They can take many forms—allowing users to run a function, automate repetitive tasks, insert a snippet of text or code, or launch an interactive GUI (e.g., Shiny application). Addins are a component of packages (from a development and installation perspective); any package may have any number of addins.

As the number of packages you have installed grows, so too does the number of addins in your drop down menu, especially since addins are available even when their corresponding package is not loaded. Inevitably, the number of addins we are unlikely to use regularly (if at all!) grows, leading to unnecessary scrolling to find the ones we want.

Addins within RStudio

Addins are accessed in the top toolbar in RStudio. Figure 1 shows the (long) list of addins offered by various packages—most of which, we suspect, will not regularly (or ever) be used by the average user.

Figure 1: Existing RStudio addins.

The usecase for rsam

Despite this, RStudio offers no in-built functionalities to manage this list. That is where the rsam package comes in handy—a relatively old and little-known package enabling users to curate their addins list, meaning you can trim the drop down menu to include only those addins you intend to use. In doing so, addins will become more readily available (easier to find) meaning they can be more efficiently incorporated into your workflow.

For the Biostatistics team at The Kids Research Institute Australia, we have a number of addins in our package to automate routine elements of our workflows. Therefore, we preference having these addins readily accessible.

This post will walk through:

  1. Installation of the package, and
  2. Managing addins using the rsam interface.

Step 1: rsam installation and setup

rsam is hosted only on Github and can be installed easily using the remotes package.

The package code hasn’t actually changed or been updated for 8 years, at the time of writing.

remotes::install_github(repo = "yonicd/rsam")

Loading the Package

Now we can load the package:

library(rsam)

Upon loading, we must explicitly allow the package to write to disk. We feel you can safely accept both of these request, acknowledging this is a personal choice to be made.

Figure 2: Allowing package permissions.

These numeric values (and labels) swap around each time the package is loaded. This stops the user from simply parsing over the permissions each time without actively reading them!

While the dropdown menu shows us a list of the available addins, we can use the fetch_addins function from rsam to view these in a table format alongside some additional information about their functionality.

fetch_addins() %>%
  thekids_table()

Package

Name

Description

Binding

Interactive

Key

libpath

Shortcut

clipr

Value to clipboard

Copies the results of a selected expression to the system clipboard

clipr_result

false

clipr::clipr_result

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/clipr/rstudio/_addins.dcf

clipr

Output to clipboard

Copies the console output of a selected expression to the system clipboard

clipr_output

false

clipr::clipr_output

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/clipr/rstudio/_addins.dcf

devtools

Run a test file

Run the current test file, using `devtools::test_active_file()`.

test_active_file

true

devtools::test_active_file

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/devtools/rstudio/_addins.dcf

devtools

Report test coverage for a file

Calculate and report test coverage for the current test file, using `devtools::test_coverage_active_file()`.

test_coverage_active_file

true

devtools::test_coverage_active_file

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/devtools/rstudio/_addins.dcf

devtools

Report test coverage for a package

Calculate and report the test coverage for the current package, using `devtools::test_coverage()`.

test_coverage

true

devtools::test_coverage

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/devtools/rstudio/_addins.dcf

devtools

Document a package

A wrapper for `roxygen`'s `roxygen2::roxygenize()`

document

true

devtools::document

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/devtools/rstudio/_addins.dcf

devtools

Run examples

Runs R code in examples using `devtools::run_examples()`

run_examples

true

devtools::run_examples

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/devtools/rstudio/_addins.dcf

pkgdown

Build full site

Build website for current package

build_site

true

pkgdown::build_site

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/pkgdown/rstudio/_addins.dcf

ProjectTemplate

Load Project

Load data and packages in the project.

loadproject_addin

false

ProjectTemplate::loadproject_addin

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/ProjectTemplate/rstudio/_addins.dcf

ProjectTemplate

Reload Project

Clear the global environment and reload the project.

reloadproject_addin

false

ProjectTemplate::reloadproject_addin

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/ProjectTemplate/rstudio/_addins.dcf

Rdpack

Reprompt

Updates Rd file based on editor contents

RStudio_reprompt

false

Rdpack::RStudio_reprompt

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/Rdpack/rstudio/_addins.dcf

reprex

Render reprex...

Run `reprex::reprex()` to prepare a reproducible example for sharing.

reprex_addin

true

reprex::reprex_addin

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/reprex/rstudio/_addins.dcf

reprex

Reprex selection

Prepare reprex from current selection

reprex_selection

false

reprex::reprex_selection

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/reprex/rstudio/_addins.dcf

rhandsontable

Edit a Data Frame

Interactively edit a data frame.

editAddin

true

rhandsontable::editAddin

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/rhandsontable/rstudio/_addins.dcf

rsam

lla1

Wrap any global objects in rsam_fn_1() and use this addin to run them.

lla1

true

rsam::lla1

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/rsam/rstudio/_addins.dcf

rsam

lla2

Wrap any global objects in rsam_fn_2() and use this addin to run them.

lla2

true

rsam::lla2

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/rsam/rstudio/_addins.dcf

rsam

lla3

Wrap any global objects in rsam_fn_3() and use this addin to run them.

lla3

true

rsam::lla3

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/rsam/rstudio/_addins.dcf

targets

Edit _targets.R

Open the file _targets.R for editing. Requires the usethis package.

tar_edit

false

targets::tar_edit

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/targets/rstudio/_addins.dcf

targets

Run a targets pipeline in the foreground

Calls tar_make() in the current R process. Requires a _targets.R configuration file.

tar_make

false

targets::tar_make

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/targets/rstudio/_addins.dcf

targets

Run a targets pipeline in the background

Calls tar_make() in a background process. Requires a _targets.R configuration file.

rstudio_addin_tar_make_bg

false

targets::rstudio_addin_tar_make_bg

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/targets/rstudio/_addins.dcf

targets

Launch app to watch progress

Calls tar_watch(). Requires a _targets.R file and packages bslib, pingr, shiny, and visNetwork.

tar_watch

false

targets::tar_watch

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/targets/rstudio/_addins.dcf

targets

Visualize a targets pipeline

Calls tar_visnetwork(). Requires a _targets.R configuration file and the visNetwork package.

rstudio_addin_tar_visnetwork

false

targets::rstudio_addin_tar_visnetwork

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/targets/rstudio/_addins.dcf

targets

Glimpse a targets pipeline

Calls tar_glimpse(). Requires a _targets.R configuration file and the visNetwork package.

rstudio_addin_tar_glimpse

false

targets::rstudio_addin_tar_glimpse

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/targets/rstudio/_addins.dcf

targets

See outdated targets

Calls tar_outdated(). Requries a _targets.R configuration file

rstudio_addin_tar_outdated

false

targets::rstudio_addin_tar_outdated

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/targets/rstudio/_addins.dcf

targets

Print recent progress

Run tar_progress() and print the tail() of the result.

rstudio_addin_tar_progress

false

targets::rstudio_addin_tar_progress

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/targets/rstudio/_addins.dcf

targets

Load target at cursor

Load the target identified by the symbol at the cursor position from the _targets data store.

rstudio_addin_tar_load

false

targets::rstudio_addin_tar_load

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/targets/rstudio/_addins.dcf

targets

Read target at cursor

Read the target identified by the symbol at the cursor position from the _targets data store.

rstudio_addin_tar_read

false

targets::rstudio_addin_tar_read

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/targets/rstudio/_addins.dcf

targets

Write target at cursor

Write tar_target() at the cursor position.

rstudio_addin_tar_target

false

targets::rstudio_addin_tar_target

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/targets/rstudio/_addins.dcf

thekidsbiostats

Insert Callout

Inserts a Quarto callout at the current cursor position.

insert_callout

true

thekidsbiostats::insert_callout

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/thekidsbiostats/rstudio/_addins.dcf

thekidsbiostats

Insert Margin Comment

Inserts a Quarto margin comment at the current cursor position.

insert_margin

true

thekidsbiostats::insert_margin

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/thekidsbiostats/rstudio/_addins.dcf

thekidsbiostats

Create Project (Shiny)

Launch a Shiny app to create a new project with a structured directory.

create_project_addin

true

thekidsbiostats::create_project_addin

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/thekidsbiostats/rstudio/_addins.dcf

thekidsbiostats

Insert Model Panel Tabset

Insert Quarto tabset for model output with optional explanations

insert_model_tabset

true

thekidsbiostats::insert_model_tabset

C:/Users/zdempsey/AppData/Local/R/win-library/4.4/thekidsbiostats/rstudio/_addins.dcf

Step 2: Managing your addins

Now, we call rsam(). This opens a Shiny app in the Viewer pane, where we can simply “tick” the addins we wish to preserve, and then click “Update”.

rsam()
Figure 3: Select addins to preserve
Important

We must restart our RStudio IDE for these changes to take effect.

Result

Now, back in the addins toolbar in RStudio, we can see only the ones we selected (I chose to preserve only the targets and thekidsbiostats addins).

Figure 4: Trimmed down list of addins

Closing comments

Using the rsam package, we can manage and personalise the addins we see in RStudio—preferencing those we routinely use and masking those we do not. In doing so, we can have the addins we want at our fingertips to more easily and efficiently incorporate those addins into our everyday workflows.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Wesley Billingham, Dr Robin Cook and Dr Elizabeth McKinnon for providing feedback on and reviewing this post.

Reproducibility Information

To access the .qmd (Quarto markdown) files as well as any R scripts or data that was used in this post, please visit our GitHub:

https://github.com/The-Kids-Biostats/The-Kids-Biostats.github.io/tree/main/posts/

The session information can also be seen below.

Code 
sessionInfo()
R version 4.4.1 (2024-06-14 ucrt)
Platform: x86_64-w64-mingw32/x64
Running under: Windows 10 x64 (build 19045)

Matrix products: default


locale:
[1] LC_COLLATE=English_Australia.utf8  LC_CTYPE=English_Australia.utf8   
[3] LC_MONETARY=English_Australia.utf8 LC_NUMERIC=C                      
[5] LC_TIME=English_Australia.utf8    

time zone: Australia/Sydney
tzcode source: internal

attached base packages:
[1] stats     graphics  grDevices utils     datasets  methods   base     

other attached packages:
 [1] thekidsbiostats_0.0.2 flextable_0.9.7       gtsummary_2.1.0      
 [4] lubridate_1.9.4       forcats_1.0.0         stringr_1.5.1        
 [7] dplyr_1.1.4           purrr_1.0.4           readr_2.1.5          
[10] tidyr_1.3.1           tibble_3.2.1          ggplot2_3.5.2        
[13] tidyverse_2.0.0       extrafont_0.19       

loaded via a namespace (and not attached):
 [1] gtable_0.3.6            xfun_0.52               htmlwidgets_1.6.4      
 [4] tzdb_0.5.0              vctrs_0.6.5             tools_4.4.1            
 [7] generics_0.1.3          pkgconfig_2.0.3         data.table_1.17.0      
[10] uuid_1.2-1              lifecycle_1.0.4         farver_2.1.2           
[13] compiler_4.4.1          textshaping_1.0.0       munsell_0.5.1          
[16] janitor_2.2.1           snakecase_0.11.1        httpuv_1.6.15          
[19] fontquiver_0.2.1        fontLiberation_0.1.0    htmltools_0.5.8.1      
[22] yaml_2.3.10             Rttf2pt1_1.3.12         pillar_1.10.2          
[25] later_1.4.2             extrafontdb_1.0         openssl_2.3.2          
[28] mime_0.13               fontBitstreamVera_0.1.1 tidyselect_1.2.1       
[31] zip_2.3.2               digest_0.6.37           stringi_1.8.7          
[34] labelled_2.14.0         fastmap_1.2.0           grid_4.4.1             
[37] colorspace_2.1-1        cli_3.6.4               magrittr_2.0.3         
[40] patchwork_1.3.0         withr_3.0.2             gdtools_0.4.2          
[43] scales_1.3.0            promises_1.3.2          timechange_0.3.0       
[46] rmarkdown_2.29          officer_0.6.8           askpass_1.2.1          
[49] ragg_1.3.3              hms_1.1.3               shiny_1.10.0           
[52] evaluate_1.0.3          haven_2.5.4             knitr_1.50             
[55] rlang_1.1.5             Rcpp_1.0.14             xtable_1.8-4           
[58] glue_1.8.0              xml2_1.3.8              rstudioapi_0.17.1      
[61] jsonlite_2.0.0          R6_2.6.1                systemfonts_1.2.2      
[64] fs_1.6.5                shinyFiles_0.9.3