Rambling

so posit just dropped rig v0.11 which apparently is a big deal because rig now managnes not jsut r verison but also r packages and projects; this makes it a super versitile tool that didnt exsitnig i th epost ecosytem befroe and relaly only esiting as a commutniy uvr package
they dropped a thre part blog post aout this
intiail impressio si that is fundamentall cahgesna lot of how R systmes are manged and a serioius contender to replace UVR
This is new thing that willinfomr my opition on R system amnagement that was coverd in previous psots
- https://ranli.dev/tidbits/2026-10-12-r-package-and-env-management-renv.html
- https://ranli.dev/tidbits/2026-10-21-uvr-test-drive/
some queions
- does this repalce uvr
- i get R installs and packages but what are R projects in rig (wahts hte utilty ? is r rpeojcts manged in uvr as well or not?)
- how epxirement is the uspport of pack/proj (is it epxeirmental lable is it stable)
  - to inform if its owrht swithcing now or jsut wait for a more GA lable for htese fetures
Approach
- you know this is really one of those times where i am not sure how to approach this
- should i raw dog it and feed it to an agent and ask quesitons like i suueally do - untill i have good understanidng
- or sohuld i jsut read the blogs
- how about lets do a hyrbid have the agent read it provide me bulletpoints to review then then i do my usualy question to learn type thing
Notes from reading the summaryes
- Part 1 - R installation
  - User mode (without admin rights is super useful) - this is a feature i want to track? like does the uvr does it?
  - does uvr manage rtools?
  - sets up rstdio and positron automatically - what does tha tmena like do the intergrations?
  - P3M is waht???
- Par 2 - R apckages
  - installs packages like page (tihouht starting R)
  - labeled as experiemntal… so when will it not be experimental?
- part 3 - R projects
  - rproj.toml is the project toml then a rporoj.lock. - so these are the key artifacts
  - proejct shared packge file on disc (global packge )
  - laled as epxiemrental …. so whne willit not be expeirmental.

Understanding

rig now indeed has package/proj managmenet making on feature parity with uvr
It seems to be more ergonomic than uvr as its maintaind by posit and thus tighter seams with posit tools. highlights include
- rtools management
- IDE (Rstudio and POsitorn) auto-integration
These are two very big feature additions that make it a no-brainer not to adopt
However currently rig pck/proj features ar elabled as expeirmental. so lets hold off on this untel they become GA
Looking forward to it!!

References

1. Agent Bullet Points (make a toggle colabspoible later)

Part 1: R installations

User mode: installs R without admin rights
Portable Linux builds run on any glibc/musl distro
rig rtools installs and manages Rtools on Windows
Sets up RStudio and Positron automatically
P3M is now the default; new repos add and status
User mode is less tested than admin mode

Part 2: R packages (rig pkg)

Installs packages like pak, without starting R
Sources: CRAN, GitHub, git, URLs, local paths
Version constraints: @==, ^, ~
Dependency solver, parallel downloads, shared cache
doctor finds broken or missing dependencies
info, deps, tree, search look up packages
Installs system deps automatically on major Linux distros
The rig website labels it experimental

Part 3: R projects (rig proj)

Works like uv or cargo: rproj.toml plus rproj.lock
One lockfile covers several platforms and R versions
Locked versions stay put until you --upgrade
sync builds .rvenv and installs R if missing
Projects share package files on disk, so libraries are cheap
rig run runs project code or inline-dependency scripts
Imports a project from DESCRIPTION or renv.lock
devtools and similar tools live in a shared tools library
The rig website labels it experimental

2. Feature parity: uvr vs rig

Feature	rig v0.11.1	uvr
Install R without admin rights	✅ user mode (admin is still the default)	✅ always
Rtools management	✅	❌
Default R in RStudio/Positron	✅ set system-wide	⚠️ per-project Positron settings only
Packages outside a project	✅ `rig pkg`	❌
CRAN/Bioc/GitHub/git/URL/local sources	✅	✅
Multi-platform lockfile	✅	✅
Linux system deps	✅ installs them when run as root	✅ installs with a flag
Inline-dependency scripts	✅	✅
Import from renv	✅ also from DESCRIPTION	✅ renv only
Search/info commands	✅	❌
Resolution strategies, overrides	❌	✅
Stability	`pkg`/`proj` labeled experimental	no label; pre-1.0 (v0.4.x)

No roadmap exists: no milestones or issues, and no date for dropping the label
What the label means: commands, rproj.toml, and rproj.lock formats may change
Risk is similar for both: uvr is unlabeled but still pre-1.0
Recommendation: try rig now, but expect lockfile churn; asking in rig’s GitHub Discussions is the only way to get an ETA