catr_set_cache_dir: Set your 'CatastRo' cache directory

In CatastRo: Interface to the Spanish 'Catastro' Web Services

Set your CatastRo cache directory

Description

Configure the cache directory used by CatastRo. Use Sys.getenv("CATASTROESP_CACHE_DIR") or catr_detect_cache_dir() to inspect the current path.

Usage

catr_set_cache_dir(
  cache_dir = NULL,
  overwrite = FALSE,
  install = FALSE,
  verbose = TRUE
)

catr_detect_cache_dir()

Arguments

cache_dir	Path to a cache directory. If NULL or FALSE, the function stores cached files in a temporary directory. See base::tempdir().
overwrite	Logical. Whether to overwrite an existing CATASTROESP_CACHE_DIR value already present on your machine.
install	Logical. Whether to store the path locally for use in future sessions. Defaults to FALSE.
verbose	Logical. Whether to display informational messages.

Details

By default, when no cache_dir is set, CatastRo uses a directory inside base::tempdir(), so files are temporary and are removed when the R session ends. To persist a cache across R sessions, use catr_set_cache_dir(cache_dir, install = TRUE), which writes the chosen path to a small configuration file under tools::R_user_dir("CatastRo", "config").

Value

catr_set_cache_dir() returns a character string containing the cache directory path, invisibly. This function is called for its side effects.

catr_detect_cache_dir() returns a character string containing the cache directory path used in this session.

Caching strategies

Source files are cached after download. CatastRo implements the following caching options:

• For occasional use, rely on the default tempdir()-based cache without installing it.

• Modify the cache for a single session by setting catr_set_cache_dir(cache_dir = "a/path/here").

• For reproducible workflows, install a persistent cache with catr_set_cache_dir(cache_dir = "a/path/here", install = TRUE). This cache is kept across R sessions.

• For caching specific files, use the cache_dir argument in the corresponding function.

Cached files can occasionally become corrupt. In that case, try downloading the data by setting update_cache = TRUE in the corresponding function.

If a download fails, try another download method and save the file in cache_dir. Use verbose = TRUE to inspect the API query and catr_detect_cache_dir() to identify your cache path.

Note

In CatastRo >= 1.0.0, the location of the configuration file has moved from rappdirs::user_config_dir("CatastRo", "R") to tools::R_user_dir("CatastRo", "config"). A migration function moves previous configuration files to the new location and displays a message. This message appears only once.

See Also

tools::R_user_dir() defines platform-specific user directories.

Manage the local cache: catr_clear_cache()

Examples

# Caution! This modifies your current state
## Not run: 
my_cache <- catr_detect_cache_dir()

# Set an example cache
ex <- file.path(tempdir(), "example", "cachenew")
catr_set_cache_dir(ex)

catr_detect_cache_dir()

# Restore initial cache
catr_set_cache_dir(my_cache)
identical(my_cache, catr_detect_cache_dir())

## End(Not run)

catr_detect_cache_dir()

CatastRo documentation built on Oct. 5, 2026, 5:07 p.m.