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<h4>  
Authors: <i>Brian Schilder, Alan Murphy, Hiranyamaya (Hiru) Dash, Nathan
Skene</i>  
</h4>
<h4>  
README updated: <i>May-05-2026</i>  
</h4>

[![CRAN
checks](https://badges.cranchecks.info/worst/rworkflows.svg)](https://cran.r-project.org/web/checks/check_results_rworkflows.html)

## Citation

If you use `rworkflows`, please cite:

<!-- Modify this by editing the file: inst/CITATION  -->

> Schilder, B.M., Murphy, A.E. & Skene, N.G. rworkflows: automating
> reproducible practices for the R community. Nat Commun 15, 149 (2024).
> <https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44484-5>

## Intro

`rworkflows` is a suite of tools to make it easy for R developers to
implement reproducible best practices on GitHub.

It includes three main components:  
1. [**`templateR`
template**](https://github.com/neurogenomics/templateR): a
`CRAN`/`Bioc`-compatible R package template that automatically generates
essential documentation using package metadata.  
2. [**`rworkflows` R
package**](https://github.com/neurogenomics/rworkflows/blob/master/DESCRIPTION):
a lightweight `CRAN` package to automatically set up short, customisable
workflows that trigger the `rworkflows` action.  
3. [**`rworkflows`
action**](https://github.com/neurogenomics/rworkflows/blob/master/action.yml):
an open-source action available on the [GitHub Actions
Marketplace](https://github.com/marketplace/actions/rworkflows).

### `rworkflows` action steps

[**GitHub Actions**](https://docs.github.com/en/actions) are a powerful
way to automatically launch workflows every time you push changes to a
GitHub repository. This is a form of [**Continuous
Integration/Deployment
(CI/CD)**](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/automating-builds-and-tests/about-continuous-integration),
which helps ensure that your code is always working as expected (without
having to manually check each time).

Here, we have designed a robust, reusable, and flexible **action**
specifically for the development of R packages. We also provide an R
function to automatically generate a **workflow file** that calls the
`rworkflows` composite action:

Currently, `rworkflows` **action** can perform the following tasks (with
options to enable/disable/modify each step):

1.  🐳 Builds a Docker container to run subsequent steps within.
2.  🐍 Builds and/or activates a custom `conda` environment.
3.  🛠️ Installs system dependencies
4.  🛠️ Installs LaTeX dependencies.
5.  🛠 Installs R dependencies.
6.  ✅ Builds and checks your R package (with
    [**CRAN**](https://cran.r-project.org/) and/or
    [**Bioconductor**](https://bioconductor.org/) checks).  
7.  📋 Runs [unit tests](https://testthat.r-lib.org/).  
8.  📋 Runs [code coverage tests](https://covr.r-lib.org/) and uploads
    the results to [**Codecov**](https://about.codecov.io/).  
9.  🚀 (Re)builds and launches a documentation website for your R
    package.  
10. 🐳 Pushes a [**Docker**](https://www.docker.com/) container (with
    [**Rstudio**](https://posit.co/) and all dependencies pre-installed)
    to your choice of container registry (e.g. [**GitHub Container
    Registry**](https://docs.github.com/en/packages/working-with-a-github-packages-registry/working-with-the-container-registry),
    [**DockerHub**](https://hub.docker.com/)).
11. 🔭 Generates [workflow
    telemetry](https://github.com/catchpoint/workflow-telemetry-action)
    report.  
12. 🎖 Updates relevant badges added to your README with
    `rworkflows::use_badges()`.

Importantly, this **workflow** is designed to work with any R package
out-of-the-box. This means you won’t have to manually edit any yaml
files, just run the `rworkflows::use_workflow()` function and you’re
ready to go within seconds!

> **Note**: `rworkflows` uses, was inspired by, and benefits from the
> work of many other projects, especially:  
> [`biocthis`](https://github.com/lcolladotor/biocthis),
> [`usethis`](https://github.com/r-lib/usethis),
> [`actions/`](https://github.com/actions),
> [`r-lib/actions`](https://github.com/r-lib/actions),
> [`bioc-actions`](https://github.com/grimbough/bioc-actions),
> [`JamesIves/github-pages-deploy-action`](https://github.com/JamesIves/github-pages-deploy-action),
> [`docker/build-push-action`](https://github.com/docker/build-push-action),
> [`bioconductor_docker`](https://github.com/Bioconductor/bioconductor_docker).
> For more details on how these projects relate to `rworkflows`, please
> see [below](#acknowledgments).

## Quickstart

Install and create the workflow in your R package’s project folder.

``` r
## in R

#### Install rworkflows R package ####
### For the stable CRAN release
if(!require("rworkflows")) install.packages("rworkflows")

### Or, for the latest development version
# if(!require("rworkflows")) remotes::install_github("neurogenomics/rworkflows")

### Create workflow file
path <- rworkflows::use_workflow()
```

Push to GitHub, and let everything else run automatically! You can check
the status of your workflow by clicking on the *Actions* tab in your
GitHub repo.

``` bash
## in the Terminal
git add .
git commit -m "Added rworkflows"
git push
```

**Note**: If you want to skip running **GitHub Actions** on a particular
push, simply add “\[skip ci\]” somewhere in the commit message, e.g.:
`git commit -m "Update README [skip ci]"`

## Documentation

### [Vignettes](https://neurogenomics.github.io/rworkflows/articles/)

#### [Get started](https://neurogenomics.github.io/rworkflows/articles/rworkflows.html)

Introductory vignette for using `rworkflows`.

#### [Docker/Singularity](https://neurogenomics.github.io/rworkflows/articles/docker)

Copy-and-paste instructions for creating a **Docker** or **Singularity**
container with the `rworkflows` R package pre-installed.

#### [Dependency graph](https://neurogenomics.github.io/rworkflows/articles/depgraph).

Interactive graph showing all the GitHub repos that currently use the
`rworkflows` action.

### [Videos](https://www.youtube.com/@NeurogenomicsLab)

#### [rworkflows: taming the Wild West of R packages](https://youtu.be/nLIG2prEmCg)

Talk on the background, motivation, and utility of `rworkflows`.

#### [Getting into the flow with rworkflows: an introductory tutorial](https://youtu.be/vcpMsil3EAU)

Step-by-step tutorial showing how to use `rworkflows` in an R package.

### GitHub Secrets

To use certain features of `rworkflows`, you may need to set up one or
more [GitHub
Secrets](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/security-guides/encrypted-secrets):

- `PAT_GITHUB` \[Optional\]: Can grant access to private repos on GitHub
  Actions. You can generate your very own Personal Authentication Token
  with `usethis::create_github_token()`. See the [GitHub
  docs](https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/creating-a-personal-access-token)
  for details.  
- `DOCKER_TOKEN` \[Optional\]: Allows GitHub Actions to push to a
  [DockerHub](https://hub.docker.com) account.  
- `CODECOV_TOKEN` \[Optional\]: Codecov repository token to upload
  coverage reports. Providing this token helps prevent report upload
  failures by bypassing Codecov’s GitHub API rate limits. See the
  [Codecov
  documentation](https://docs.codecov.com/docs/adding-the-codecov-token)
  for details.

## Acknowledgments

`rworkflows` builds upon the work of many others, especially the
following:

### [`biocthis`](https://github.com/lcolladotor/biocthis)

This workflow is largely inspired by the workflow generated by the
[`use_bioc_github_action()`](https://lcolladotor.github.io/biocthis/articles/biocthis.html)
function within the
[`biothis`](https://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/biocthis.html)
package, developed by @lcolladotor.

#### Key changes in `rworkflows`

- Uses dynamic variables to specify R/Bioconductor versions
  (e.g. `r: "latest"`) and the name of your R package, as opposed to
  static names that are likely to become outdated (e.g. `r: "4.0.1"`).  
- Additional error handling and dependencies checks.  
- Re-renders `README.Rmd` before rebuilding the documentation website.

### [`usethis`](https://github.com/r-lib/usethis)

`biocthis` was in turn inspired by `usethis`.

### [`actions/`](https://github.com/actions)

A general set of **GitHub Actions** maintained by the core GitHub team.

### [`r-lib/actions`](https://github.com/r-lib/actions)

A set of **GitHub Actions** for R development maintained by the
Rstudio/Posit team.

### [`bioc-actions`](https://github.com/grimbough/bioc-actions)

[Bioconductor](https://www.bioconductor.org/)-oriented **GitHub
Actions** created by @grimbough.

### [`JamesIves/github-pages-deploy-action`](https://github.com/JamesIves/github-pages-deploy-action)

Builds and deploys the **GitHub Pages** documentation website in the
`rworkflows` GHA workflows.

### [`docker/build-push-action`](https://github.com/docker/build-push-action)

A set of **GitHub Actions** for building/pushing **Docker** containers.

### [`bioconductor_docker`](https://github.com/Bioconductor/bioconductor_docker)

Uses the official
[`bioconductor/bioconductor_docker`](https://github.com/Bioconductor/bioconductor_docker)
**Docker** container.

**NOTE**: Whenever a new version of Bioconductor is released, the
`bioconductor/bioconductor_docker` container will often lag behind the
actual Bioconductor releases for up to several days, due to the time it
takes to update the container. This means that sometimes “devel” in
`Bioconductor/bioconductor_docker` is actually referring to the current
“release” version of Bioconductor (i.e. the previous Bioc version’s
“devel”). For further details, see this
[Issue](https://github.com/Bioconductor/bioconductor_docker/issues/37),
and the [Bioconductor release
schedule](https://www.bioconductor.org/about/release-announcements/).

### [`scFlow`](https://github.com/combiz/scFlow)

This Dockerfile was partly adapted from the [scFlow
Dockerfile](https://github.com/combiz/scFlow/blob/master/Dockerfile).
Unlike other Dockerfiles, this one **does not require any manual editing
when applying to different R packages**. This means that users who are
unfamiliar with **Docker** do not have to troubleshoot making this file
correctly. It also means that it will continue to work even if your R
package dependencies change.

### [`act`](https://github.com/nektos/act)

A very useful command line tool for testing **GitHub Actions** locally.

### [`actions/runner-images`](https://github.com/actions/runner-images)

Runner images for each OS provided by GitHub.

### [`actions/setup-miniconda`](https://github.com/marketplace/actions/setup-miniconda)

GitHub Action to setup Miniconda and conda environments.

# Session Info

<details>

``` r
utils::sessionInfo()
```

    ## R version 4.6.0 (2026-04-24)
    ## Platform: aarch64-apple-darwin23
    ## Running under: macOS Tahoe 26.4.1
    ## 
    ## Matrix products: default
    ## BLAS:   /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/4.6/Resources/lib/libRblas.0.dylib 
    ## LAPACK: /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/4.6/Resources/lib/libRlapack.dylib;  LAPACK version 3.12.1
    ## 
    ## locale:
    ## [1] en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8/C/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8
    ## 
    ## time zone: Europe/London
    ## tzcode source: internal
    ## 
    ## attached base packages:
    ## [1] stats     graphics  grDevices utils     datasets  methods   base     
    ## 
    ## loaded via a namespace (and not attached):
    ##  [1] gtable_0.3.6        jsonlite_2.0.0      renv_1.2.2         
    ##  [4] dplyr_1.2.1         compiler_4.6.0      BiocManager_1.30.27
    ##  [7] tidyselect_1.2.1    rvcheck_0.2.1       scales_1.4.0       
    ## [10] yaml_2.3.12         fastmap_1.2.0       here_1.0.2         
    ## [13] ggplot2_4.0.3       R6_2.6.1            generics_0.1.4     
    ## [16] knitr_1.51          yulab.utils_0.2.4   tibble_3.3.1       
    ## [19] desc_1.4.3          dlstats_0.1.7       rprojroot_2.1.1    
    ## [22] pillar_1.11.1       RColorBrewer_1.1-3  rlang_1.2.0        
    ## [25] badger_0.2.5        xfun_0.57           fs_2.1.0           
    ## [28] S7_0.2.2            otel_0.2.0          cli_3.6.6          
    ## [31] magrittr_2.0.5      rworkflows_1.0.12   digest_0.6.39      
    ## [34] grid_4.6.0          rstudioapi_0.18.0   rappdirs_0.3.4     
    ## [37] lifecycle_1.0.5     vctrs_0.7.3         data.table_1.18.2.1
    ## [40] evaluate_1.0.5      glue_1.8.1          farver_2.1.2       
    ## [43] rmarkdown_2.31      tools_4.6.0         pkgconfig_2.0.3    
    ## [46] htmltools_0.5.9

</details>
