faq: Frequently Asked Questions
In pak: Another Approach to Package Installation
FAQ R Documentation
Frequently Asked Questions
Description
Please take a look at this list before asking questions.
Package installation
How do I reinstall a package?
pak does not reinstall a package, if the same version is already installed.
Sometimes you still want a reinstall, e.g. to fix a broken installation.
In this case you can delete the package and then install it, or use the
?reinstall parameter:
pak::pkg_install("tibble")
#>
#> → Will install 13 packages.
#> → All 13 packages (7.68 MB) are cached.
#> + cli 3.3.0
#> + crayon 1.5.1
#> + ellipsis 0.3.2
#> + fansi 1.0.3
#> + glue 1.6.2
#> + lifecycle 1.0.1
#> + magrittr 2.0.3
#> + pillar 1.7.0
#> + pkgconfig 2.0.3
#> + rlang 1.0.2
#> + tibble 3.1.7
#> + utf8 1.2.2
#> + vctrs 0.4.1
#> i No downloads are needed, 13 pkgs (7.68 MB) are cached
#> v Got utf8 1.2.2 (aarch64-apple-darwin20) (209.24 kB)
#> v Installed cli 3.3.0 (76ms)
#> v Installed crayon 1.5.1 (87ms)
#> v Installed ellipsis 0.3.2 (97ms)
#> v Installed fansi 1.0.3 (103ms)
#> v Installed glue 1.6.2 (111ms)
#> v Installed lifecycle 1.0.1 (153ms)
#> v Installed magrittr 2.0.3 (158ms)
#> v Installed pillar 1.7.0 (162ms)
#> v Installed pkgconfig 2.0.3 (87ms)
#> v Installed rlang 1.0.2 (39ms)
#> v Installed tibble 3.1.7 (41ms)
#> v Installed utf8 1.2.2 (39ms)
#> v Installed vctrs 0.4.1 (32ms)
#> v 1 pkg + 12 deps: added 13, dld 1 (209.24 kB) [1.8s]
pak::pkg_install("tibble?reinstall")
#>
#> → Will install 1 package.
#> → The package (724.32 kB) is cached.
#> + tibble 3.1.7
#> i No downloads are needed, 1 pkg (724.32 kB) is cached
#> v Installed tibble 3.1.7 (42ms)
#> v 1 pkg + 12 deps: kept 11, added 1 [343ms]
How do I install a dependency from a binary package
Sometimes it is sufficient to install the binary package of an older
version of a dependency, instead of the newer source package that
potentially needs compilers, system tools or libraries.
pkg_install() and lockfile_create() default to upgrade = FALSE, which
always chooses binaries over source packages, so if you use pkg_install()
you don't need to do anything extra.
The local_install_* functions default to upgrade = TRUE, as does pak()
with pkg = NULL, so for these you need to explicitly use upgrade = FALSE.
How do I install a package from source?
To force the installation of a source package (instead of a binary
package), use the ?source parameter:
pak::pkg_install("tibble?source")
#>
#> → Will install 1 package.
#> → The package (672.34 kB) is cached.
#> + tibble 3.1.7 👷🏼♀️🔧
#> i No downloads are needed, 1 pkg (672.34 kB) is cached
#> i Building tibble 3.1.7
#> v Built tibble 3.1.7 (3.1s)
#> v Installed tibble 3.1.7 (35ms)
#> v 1 pkg + 12 deps: kept 11, added 1 [4.1s]
How do I install the latest version of a dependency?
If you want to always install a dependency from source, because you want
the latest version or some other reason, you can use the source
parameter with the <package>= form: <package>=?source.
For example to install tibble, with its cli dependency installed from
source you could write:
pak::pkg_install(c("tibble", "cli=?source"))
#>
#> → Will install 1 package.
#> → The package (540.04 kB) is cached.
#> + cli 3.3.0 👷🏽🔧
#> i No downloads are needed, 1 pkg (540.04 kB) is cached
#> i Building cli 3.3.0
#> v Built cli 3.3.0 (4.5s)
#> v Installed cli 3.3.0 (68ms)
#> v 1 pkg + 12 deps: kept 11, added 1 [4.9s]
How do I ignore an optional dependency?
pak::pkg_install(
c("tibble", "DiagrammeR=?ignore", "formattable=?ignore"),
dependencies = TRUE
)
#>
#> i No downloads are needed
#> v 1 pkg + 12 deps: kept 12 [583ms]
The syntax is
<packagename>=?ignore
Note that you can only ignore optional dependencies, i.e. packages in
Suggests and Enhances.
Others
How can I use pak with renv?
Since version 1.0.0 renv has official support for using pak. This needs to be
enabled with the renv.config.pak.enabled option or the RENV_CONFIG_PAK_ENABLED environment variable set to TRUE. For more information see the renv
documentation.
pak documentation built on June 8, 2025, 11:42 a.m.
R Package Documentation
Browse R Packages
We want your feedback!
Note that we can't provide technical support on individual packages. You should contact the package authors for that.
| FAQ | R Documentation |
Frequently Asked Questions
Description
Please take a look at this list before asking questions.
Package installation
How do I reinstall a package?
pak does not reinstall a package, if the same version is already installed.
Sometimes you still want a reinstall, e.g. to fix a broken installation.
In this case you can delete the package and then install it, or use the
?reinstall parameter:
pak::pkg_install("tibble")
#> #> → Will install 13 packages. #> → All 13 packages (7.68 MB) are cached. #> + cli 3.3.0 #> + crayon 1.5.1 #> + ellipsis 0.3.2 #> + fansi 1.0.3 #> + glue 1.6.2 #> + lifecycle 1.0.1 #> + magrittr 2.0.3 #> + pillar 1.7.0 #> + pkgconfig 2.0.3 #> + rlang 1.0.2 #> + tibble 3.1.7 #> + utf8 1.2.2 #> + vctrs 0.4.1 #> i No downloads are needed, 13 pkgs (7.68 MB) are cached #> v Got utf8 1.2.2 (aarch64-apple-darwin20) (209.24 kB) #> v Installed cli 3.3.0 (76ms) #> v Installed crayon 1.5.1 (87ms) #> v Installed ellipsis 0.3.2 (97ms) #> v Installed fansi 1.0.3 (103ms) #> v Installed glue 1.6.2 (111ms) #> v Installed lifecycle 1.0.1 (153ms) #> v Installed magrittr 2.0.3 (158ms) #> v Installed pillar 1.7.0 (162ms) #> v Installed pkgconfig 2.0.3 (87ms) #> v Installed rlang 1.0.2 (39ms) #> v Installed tibble 3.1.7 (41ms) #> v Installed utf8 1.2.2 (39ms) #> v Installed vctrs 0.4.1 (32ms) #> v 1 pkg + 12 deps: added 13, dld 1 (209.24 kB) [1.8s]
pak::pkg_install("tibble?reinstall")
#> #> → Will install 1 package. #> → The package (724.32 kB) is cached. #> + tibble 3.1.7 #> i No downloads are needed, 1 pkg (724.32 kB) is cached #> v Installed tibble 3.1.7 (42ms) #> v 1 pkg + 12 deps: kept 11, added 1 [343ms]
How do I install a dependency from a binary package
Sometimes it is sufficient to install the binary package of an older version of a dependency, instead of the newer source package that potentially needs compilers, system tools or libraries.
pkg_install() and lockfile_create() default to upgrade = FALSE, which
always chooses binaries over source packages, so if you use pkg_install()
you don't need to do anything extra.
The local_install_* functions default to upgrade = TRUE, as does pak()
with pkg = NULL, so for these you need to explicitly use upgrade = FALSE.
How do I install a package from source?
To force the installation of a source package (instead of a binary
package), use the ?source parameter:
pak::pkg_install("tibble?source")
#> #> → Will install 1 package. #> → The package (672.34 kB) is cached. #> + tibble 3.1.7 👷🏼♀️🔧 #> i No downloads are needed, 1 pkg (672.34 kB) is cached #> i Building tibble 3.1.7 #> v Built tibble 3.1.7 (3.1s) #> v Installed tibble 3.1.7 (35ms) #> v 1 pkg + 12 deps: kept 11, added 1 [4.1s]
How do I install the latest version of a dependency?
If you want to always install a dependency from source, because you want
the latest version or some other reason, you can use the source
parameter with the <package>= form: <package>=?source.
For example to install tibble, with its cli dependency installed from
source you could write:
pak::pkg_install(c("tibble", "cli=?source"))
#> #> → Will install 1 package. #> → The package (540.04 kB) is cached. #> + cli 3.3.0 👷🏽🔧 #> i No downloads are needed, 1 pkg (540.04 kB) is cached #> i Building cli 3.3.0 #> v Built cli 3.3.0 (4.5s) #> v Installed cli 3.3.0 (68ms) #> v 1 pkg + 12 deps: kept 11, added 1 [4.9s]
How do I ignore an optional dependency?
pak::pkg_install(
c("tibble", "DiagrammeR=?ignore", "formattable=?ignore"),
dependencies = TRUE
)
#> #> i No downloads are needed #> v 1 pkg + 12 deps: kept 12 [583ms]
The syntax is
<packagename>=?ignore
Note that you can only ignore optional dependencies, i.e. packages in
Suggests and Enhances.
Others
How can I use pak with renv?
Since version 1.0.0 renv has official support for using pak. This needs to be
enabled with the renv.config.pak.enabled option or the RENV_CONFIG_PAK_ENABLED environment variable set to TRUE. For more information see the renv
documentation.
R Package Documentation
Browse R Packages
We want your feedback!
Note that we can't provide technical support on individual packages. You should contact the package authors for that.
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