Test drive RStudio and GitHub

Prerequisites

This is the big moment where we bring everything together. We assume the following:

• You’ve already installed Git and (possibly) a Git client.
• You’ve already registered a free GitHub account.
• You’ve already introduced yourself to Git
• You’ve confirmed that you can push to / pull from GitHub from the command line
• You’ve already installed R and RStudio.

Step 1: Make a new repo on GitHub

Do this once per new project.

Go to https://github.com and make sure you are logged in.

Click green “New repository” button. Or, if you are on your own profile page, click on “Repositories”, then click the green “New” button.

Repository name: myrepo (or whatever you wish)
Public
YES Initialize this repository with a README

Click big green button “Create repository.”

Copy the HTTPS clone URL. It’s near the bottom of the right sidebar.

Step 2: Clone the new GitHub repository to your computer via RStudio

In RStudio, start a new Project:

• File > New Project > Version Control > Git. In the “repository URL” paste the URL of your new GitHub repository. It will be something like this https://github.com/jennybc/myrepo.git.
  • Do you NOT see an option to get the Project from Version Control? Go here for tips on how to help RStudio find Git.
• Take charge of – or at least notice! – the local directory for the Project. This will create a new sub-directory, which will be all of these things:
  • a directory on your computer
  • a Git repository, linked to a remote GitHub repository
  • an RStudio Project
• In the absence of other constraints, I suggest that all of your R projects have exactly this set-up.

This should download the README.md file that we created on GitHub in the previous step. Look in RStudio’s file browser pane for the README.md file.

There’s a big advantage to the “Github first, then RStudio” workflow: the remote GitHub repo is now the “upstream” remote for your local repo. This is a technical but important point about Git. The practical implication is that you are now set up to push and pull. No need to fanny around on the command line or in another Git client.

Step 2 plan B: Connect a local RStudio project to a GitHub repo

This workflow is the reverse of the above and cannot be executed from within R/RStudio. But sometimes it’s necessary.

• Create a new RStudio project: File > New Project > New Directory > Empty Project.

• Directory name: myrepo (or whatever you named the GitHub repo)

• Take charge of – or at least notice! – the local directory where this Project will live.

• YES click “Create a git repository”.

  • Do you NOT have a checkbox to request a Git repository? Go here for tips on how to help RStudio find Git.

• Initiate the “upstream” or “tracking” relationship by adding a remote. Go to Tools > shell and do this, substitute the HTTPS URL for your GitHub repo.

  git remote add origin https://github.com/jennybc/myrepo.git

• Download all the files from the online GitHub repository (possibly just README.md, at this point).

  git pull origin master

• Cement the tracking relationship between your GitHub repository and the local repo by pushing and setting the “upstream” remote:

  git push -u origin master

It is possible you will be challenged for username and password here, but that means you should read up on caching your credentials so this stops happening.

Step 3: Make local changes, save, commit

Do this every time you finish a valuable chunk of work, probably many times a day.

From RStudio, modify the README.md file, e.g., by adding the line “This is a line from RStudio”. Save your changes.

Commit these changes to your local repo. How?

From RStudio:

• Click the “Git” tab in upper right pane
• Check “Staged” box for any files whose existence or modifications you want to commit.
  • To see more detail on what’s changed in file since the last commit, click on “Diff” for a Git pop-up
• If you’re not already in the Git pop-up, click “Commit”
• Type a message in “Commit message”
• Click “Commit”

Step 4: Push your local changes online to GitHub

Do this a few times a day, but possibly less often than you commit.

You have new work into your local Git repository, but the changes are not online yet.

This will seem counterintuitive, but first let’s stop and pull from GitHub.

Why? Establish this habit for the future! If you make changes to the repo in the browser or from another machine or (one day) a collaborator has pushed, you will be happier if you pull those changes in before you attempt to push.

Click the blue “Pull” button in the “Git” tab in RStudio. I doubt anything will happen, i.e. you’ll get the message “Already up-to-date.” This is just to establish a habit.

Click the green “Push” button to send you local changes to GitHub. You should see some message along these lines.

[master dc671f0] blah
 3 files changed, 22 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 .gitignore
 create mode 100644 myrepo.Rproj

The end

Now just … repeat. Do work somewhere. Commit it. Push it or pull it depending on where you did it, but get local and remote “synced up”. Repeat.

Go back to the index for the all the Git stuff.