create_package: Create a package or project

In usethis: Automate Package and Project Setup

Create a package or project

Description

These functions create an R project:

• create_package() creates an R package.

• create_project() creates a non-package project, i.e. a data analysis project.

• create_quarto_project() creates a Quarto project. It is a simplified convenience wrapper around quarto::quarto_create_project(), which you should call directly for more advanced usage.

These functions work best when creating a project de novo, but create_package() and create_project() can be called on an existing project; you will be asked before any existing files are changed.

Usage

create_package(
  path,
  fields = list(),
  rstudio = rstudioapi::isAvailable(),
  roxygen = TRUE,
  check_name = TRUE,
  open = rlang::is_interactive()
)

create_project(
  path,
  rstudio = rstudioapi::isAvailable(),
  open = rlang::is_interactive()
)

create_quarto_project(
  path,
  type = "default",
  rstudio = rstudioapi::isAvailable(),
  open = rlang::is_interactive()
)

Arguments

path	A path. If it exists, it is used. If it does not exist, it is created, provided that the parent path exists.
fields	A named list of fields to add to DESCRIPTION, potentially overriding default values. See use_description() for how you can set personalized defaults using package options.
rstudio	If TRUE, calls use_rstudio() to make the new package or project into an RStudio Project. If FALSE, the goal is to ensure that the directory can be recognized as a project by, for example, the here package. If the project is neither an R package nor a Quarto project, a sentinel .here file is placed to mark the project root.
roxygen	Do you plan to use roxygen2 to document your package?
check_name	Whether to check if the name is valid for CRAN and throw an error if not.
open	If TRUE, activates the new project: If using RStudio or Positron, the new project is opened in a new session, window, or browser tab, depending on the product (RStudio or Positron) and context (desktop or server). Otherwise, the working directory and active project of the current R session are changed to the new project.
type	The type of Quarto project to create. See ?quarto::quarto_create_project for the most up-to-date list, but "website", "blog", "book", and "manuscript" are common choices.

Value

Path to the newly created project or package, invisibly.

See Also

create_tidy_package() is a convenience function that extends create_package() by immediately applying as many of the tidyverse development conventions as possible.

usethis documentation built on Sept. 9, 2025, 5:25 p.m.