[R] customizing library locations for R in ubuntu

[Ivan Krylov]

В Thu, 8 May 2025 19:39:40 +0000 (UTC)
ravi via R-help <r-help using r-project.org> пишет:

> In windows, I add the following line:
> .libPaths(c(“C:/Rownlib”,”C:/R/R-4.5.0/library”))
>       in the file C:/R/R-4.5.0/etc/Rprofile.site
> 
> I have my own list of packages in the Rownlib folder and the packages
> that come with the R installation for the latest version in the
> second folder. When upgrading to a new R version, I just change the
> 2nd library location to that for the updated R version.

This is not guaranteed to work, especially for (but not limited to)
packages that compile source code and link to various interfaces inside
R: https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-help/2025-April/480832.html

This problem is more visible on Ubuntu than on Windows. On GNU/Linux
systems, R packages will link to the third-party libraries you install
from the GNU/Linux repositories. When you update your Ubuntu
installation, the installed packages may stop working.

> I noticed then that ubuntu has another file  ~ etc/Renviron (this
> seems to be absent on windows). This perhaps has priority over what
> is in Rprofile.site. I see the following in Renviron:
> R_LIBS_USER=${R_LIBS_USER:-'%U'}

Don't edit the system-wide configuration files to change settings that
are valid for your user only. Instead, set

R_LIBS_USER=/home/rvi/Rownlib

in /home/rvi/.Renviron and make sure that the directory exists. In
addition to "R Installation and Administration" (section 6.2), these
settings are documented in help(Startup) and help(.libPaths).

-- 
Best regards,
Ivan