Tutorial API Methods

Methods are asynchronous and do not directly return a result.

If Report Result is true below then that API will attempt to invoke a success or error callback when it completes, but this is never guaranteed.

Methods which report a result take an optional final string parameter callerID which will be returned in both success and error callbacks. This can be used to correlate calls and responses.

The RStudio object supports the following methods:

Method	Description	Reports Result
`isReady()`	Is the RStudio API available yet? (has the IDE loaded)	No
`consoleInput(code)`	Type input in the R console and execute it.	No
`consoleClear()`	Clear all previous input and output from the console.	No
`consoleMaximize()`	Maximize the console so it occupies the full height of the IDE.	No
`executeR(code)`	Execute arbitrary R code within the global environment.	No
`openFile(file, location)`	Open the specified source file and (optionally) navigate it to a specific location. The `location` parameter can either be a line number (e.g. `42`) or a regular expression delimited by `/` (e.g. `/foo/`).	No
`helpTopic(topic)`	Navigate the help pane to a topic. The topic should be a namespace qualified reference to package documentation (e.g. `graphics::plot`). Note that help topics defined within the base package do not need qualification.	No
`helpDoc(doc)`	Show a markdown (.md) or R Markdown (.Rmd) document within the help pane.	No
`saveAllSourceDocs()`	Save all unsaved source documents.	No
`quitSession()`	Quit session. User cannot cancel but is prompted to save files and workspace if needed.	No
`createProjFromGit(repoUrl, projDir, parentDir, [callerID])`	Clone a project from Git and open it.	Yes
`createNewProj(projDir, parentDir, createRepo, [callerID])`	Create and open a new project.	Yes
`openProj(projFile, [callerID])`	Open an existing project, can specify existing .Rproj, or just the folder.	Yes
`getState([callerID])`	Request info on current RStudio IDE state.	Yes

Example calls

Here are some sample JavaScript calls, followed by the response JSON.

Clone project from github and open it (with callerID = ‘abcd’)

createProjFromGit('https://github.com/rstudio/rstudioapi', 'rstudioapi', '~/R', 'abcd');

{
  "message":"success",
  "api":"createProjFromGit",
  "result":"",
  "callerID":"abcd"
}

Create an new project but don’t create a git repo (no callerID)

createNewProj('myproj', '~/R', false);

{
  "message":"success",
  "api":"createNewProj",
  "result":""
}

Try to open a project that doesn’t exist

openProj('~/myproj', 'abcd');

{
  "message":"error",
  "api":"openProj",
  "result":"Unable to find .Rproj file in [~/myproj]",
  "callerID":"abcd"
}