r-package-development

RPkgAgent

R Package Development Agent -- 7 specialized agents, 6 workflow commands, and 12 methodology skills for building production-quality R packages

A Claude Code plugin that guides you through the entire R package lifecycle -- from usethis::create_package() to devtools::submit_cran(). Built on best practices from R Packages (2e) by Hadley Wickham & Jenny Bryan.

Quick Start

1. Install the Plugin

/plugin marketplace add choxos/RPkgAgent
/plugin install r-package-development

2. Create a Package

/create-package

The agent will ask for your package name, purpose, author info, license, and dependencies, then scaffold the entire structure.

3. Add Functions, Tests, and Docs

/add-function
/run-check
/setup-website
/prepare-release

---

What It Does

Stage	What the Agent Handles
Scaffold	DESCRIPTION, NAMESPACE, LICENSE, .Rbuildignore, .gitignore, test infrastructure
Code	R/ functions with roxygen2 docs, pkg::fun() imports, state management, ASCII-only source
Test	testthat 3e suites with fixtures, edge cases, error conditions, snapshots, skip patterns
Document	README with badges, vignettes (html_vignette), pkgdown site (Bootstrap 5), hex logo, NEWS.md, CITATION
Check	Systematic diagnosis and fix of all R CMD check errors, warnings, and notes toward 0/0/0
Release	Version bumping, cran-comments.md, multi-platform checks (win-builder, R-hub, GHA), CRAN/Bioconductor submission

---

Commands

Command	Description	Agents Involved
/create-package	Full package creation workflow: gather requirements, scaffold structure, add code, tests, docs, and run check	package-architect, scaffold-engineer, code-engineer, test-engineer, docs-engineer, check-doctor
/add-function	Add a new exported or internal function with roxygen2 documentation, testthat tests, and working examples	code-engineer, test-engineer
/add-data	Bundle a dataset: create data-raw/ preparation script, generate .rda file, write R/data.R documentation	code-engineer, docs-engineer
/setup-website	Configure pkgdown with _pkgdown.yml (Bootstrap 5, light/dark toggle, organized reference), hex logo, and GitHub Actions deployment workflow	docs-engineer
/run-check	Run devtools::check(), categorize issues (errors > warnings > notes), apply targeted fixes, re-check until 0/0/0	check-doctor
/prepare-release	Pre-submission checklist, version bump, NEWS.md update, cran-comments.md, multi-platform validation, submission guidance	release-manager

---

Agents

package-architect (haiku) -- Router

Entry point for all tasks. Gathers requirements through structured questions (package name, purpose, author info, license, dependencies, target repository) and delegates to the right specialist. Coordinates multi-step workflows across agents.

scaffold-engineer (sonnet) -- Package Skeleton

Creates the complete package structure from scratch:

• DESCRIPTION with proper Authors@R (person()), Title Case title, formatted Description
• LICENSE + LICENSE.md (MIT, GPL-3, Apache-2.0, CC0)
• R/pkgname-package.R with "_PACKAGE" documentation and globalVariables()
• .Rbuildignore, .gitignore with standard patterns
• tests/testthat.R + tests/testthat/helper-data.R
• Git initialization

code-engineer (sonnet) -- R Code

Writes R functions following strict package rules:

• No library(), require(), source(), :::, T/F, non-ASCII, setwd()
• pkg::fun() for Imports, requireNamespace() for Suggests
• Complete roxygen2: @param for every argument, @returns, @export, @examples
• State management with withr::local_*() or on.exit()
• utils::globalVariables() for data.table/ggplot2 NSE

test-engineer (sonnet) -- Testing

Creates testthat 3rd edition test suites:

• test-*.R files mirroring R/ structure
• Happy path, edge cases (empty, single, large, all-NA), error conditions
• expect_equal(), expect_error(), expect_snapshot(), expect_s3_class()
• skip_if_not_installed(), skip_on_cran() for conditional tests
• Shared fixtures in helper-data.R

docs-engineer (sonnet) -- Documentation

Produces all package documentation: