2 Search for packages
You can search for packages viahttps://r-universe.dev/search/ using keywords or author names.
You can use theAPI to do the same search.
To search for an exact phrase like “weather data”, that can include spaces or other characters, usedouble quotes instead of single quotes.
The search bar includes a drop-down button for accessing advanced search fields:
- Package
- Owner
- Author
- Contributor
- Topic
- Needs
- Exports
- Data
To use a logical OR, add a space between search terms.Example.
To use a logical AND, use double quotes for each search term.Example.
To use a logical NOT: prefix search terms with -.Example.
2.1 How is the package-rank score calculated?
The rank of a package in search results is based on itsmatch with the search queries, and on its popularity/quality.
The exact algorithm for calculating popularity/quality is a work-in-progress and will change. At the time of writing it includes:
- Number of dependents (that is to say, recursive reverse dependencies);
- Number of stars on Github;
- Number of unique contributors;
- Commit activity over the last year;
- Downloads per month from CRAN or Bioconductor mirrors;
- Number of files on GitHub that mention ‘library(pkgname)’.
You can browsescores and metrics for all packages.
We plan to keep updating the algorithm as R-universe matures and better data becomes available.
As a package maintainer, you canoptimize your package’s metadata and work onimproving its rank.
2.2 Why is a package sometimes listed twice?
If a source package fails to build (which means something is very wrong) then you see a red “build failure” message. If there was a previous successful build, it is kept there as well for users to install. You can explorescores and metrics for all packages.
The algorithm will evolve as R-universe matures and better data becomes available.
2.3 Which packages get included in search?
In R-universe, a given R package can appear in multiple registries. To avoid duplicates, search results only display packages from the upstream GitHub owner’s universe, excluding third-party copies.
Specifically, search results include:
- Packages where the GitHub owner matches the universe name (e.g., packages under
https://jeroen.r-universe.devfromhttps://github.com/jeroen/). This includes all CRAN packages. - Packages where the universe name differs from the GitHub owner, but the DESCRIPTION file includes the full
user.r-universe.devURL in theURLfield (e.g.,https://jeroen.r-universe.devorhttps://jeroen.r-universe.dev/mypkg).
2.4 Why is a package sometimes listed twice?
If a source package fails to build (indicating a critical issue), a red “build failure” message is displayed.
If a previous build succeeded, it remains available for users to install.