use_extendr: Set up a package for use with Rust extendr code

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Set up a package for use with Rust extendr code

Description

Create the scaffolding needed to add Rust extendr code to an R package. use_extendr() adds a small Rust library with a single Rust function that returns the string "Hello world!". It also adds wrapper code so this Rust function can be called from R with hello_world().

Usage

use_extendr(
  path = ".",
  crate_name = NULL,
  lib_name = NULL,
  quiet = FALSE,
  overwrite = NULL,
  edition = c("2021", "2018")
)

Arguments

path	File path to the package for which to generate wrapper code.
crate_name	String that is used as the name of the Rust crate, specifically ⁠[package] name⁠ in Cargon.toml. If NULL (default), sanitized R package name is used instead.
lib_name	String that is used as the name of the Rust library, specifically ⁠[lib] name⁠ in Cargo.toml. If NULL (default), sanitized R package name is used instead.
quiet	Logical indicating whether any progress messages should be generated or not.
overwrite	Logical scalar or NULL indicating whether the files in the path should be overwritten. If NULL (default), the function will ask the user whether each file should be overwritten in an interactive session or do nothing in a non-interactive session. If FALSE and each file already exists, the function will do nothing. If TRUE, all files will be overwritten.
edition	String indicating which Rust edition is used; Default "2021".

Details

Generated files

• R/extendr-wrappers.R: auto-generated R wrappers. Do not edit by hand.

• src/entrypoint.c: C entry point forwarding R's routine registration to the Rust library.

• src/Makevars.in / src/Makevars.win.in: Makefile templates compiled and employed at package build time.

• ⁠src/<pkg>-win.def⁠: Windows DLL export definitions.

• src/.gitignore: Ignores compiled artifacts, Cargo directories, and generated Makevars files.

• src/rust/Cargo.toml: Rust package manifest with crate name, edition, extendr-api dependency, and release profile settings.

• src/rust/src/lib.rs: Main Rust library with an example hello_world() function and the ⁠extendr_module!⁠ macro.

• src/rust/document.rs: Rust binary that writes R/extendr-wrappers.R by introspecting exported function metadata at build time.

• tools/msrv.R: Verifies the installed Rust toolchain meets the MSRV in DESCRIPTION.

• tools/config.R: Reads tools/msrv.R, checks DEBUG/NOT_CRAN env vars, and writes the final Makevars file from the .in template.

• configure / configure.win: Shell scripts run before compilation that invoke tools/config.R via Rscript.

• cleanup / cleanup.win: Shell scripts that remove src/Makevars on package uninstall.

Value

A logical value (invisible) indicating whether any package files were generated or not.

rextendr documentation built on April 18, 2026, 5:07 p.m.