Frequently Asked Questions in Positron Pro

How do I avoid slow R package installation?

You can install R packages using the default configuration, but it’s likely that the process is extremely slow. Since Posit Workbench runs on Linux, but CRAN doesn’t build Linux binaries for R packages, consider using a CRAN-like repository that provides binaries for your Linux architecture, such as Posit Package Manager and set that via options() in R.

The example in this section assumes that your Workbench is installed on Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy). Replace the repository URL with the appropriate URL for the platform that your Workbench is installed on. Use the Set up your environment to install R packages from CRAN tool to find the repository URL from Package Manager.

For example, to set options for the current R session, run the following R code in your Positron Pro session:

options(repos = c(CRAN = "https://packagemanager.posit.co/cran/__linux__/jammy/latest"))

To apply this change to all of your R sessions, add the code from above to the .Rprofile in your home directory on Workbench.

Follow the Provide a way to set the default CRAN repositories issue on Github to learn about our plans for a better solution in the long term.

How do I ensure that my Python installation is discovered?

Refer to the Interpreter Selection topic to learn more about how Positron Pro discovers and selects Python and R interpreters.

How do I allocate sufficient memory for my Positron Pro session?

If your administrator configured resource profiles on Posit Workbench, you should allocate at least 2.5 GB of RAM when starting Positron Pro sessions. However, the optimal memory allocation depends on your workload:

Workload Type Minimum Memory Recommended Memory
Light usage 2 GB 2.5 GB
Standard usage 2.5 GB 4 GB
Heavy usage 4 GB 6+ GB


Understanding your workload

  • Light usage: Single console, minimal extensions, simple scripts, basic app development
  • Standard usage: Runtime switching or multiple consoles, multiple extensions, app development
  • Heavy usage: Multiple extensions including memory-intensive ones that include file watchers (Bookmarks, Code Spell Checker) or Language Servers (C++, Rust, JavaScript), multiple concurrent apps, larger datasets
Memory usage considerations

Our testing shows that a basic Positron Pro session requires approximately 0.9 GB of memory before any user workloads. This baseline is needed for:

  • The Positron IDE (~0.7 GB)
  • System overhead (~0.2 GB)

When allocating memory for your sessions, consider:

  • Extensions: Each VS Code extension you install consumes additional memory:
    • Lightweight extensions: ~50-100 MB each
    • Heavyweight extensions (e.g., file watchers such as Bookmarks, Code Spell Checker; Language Servers such as C++, Rust, JavaScript): ~200-300 MB each
  • Runtime environments:
    • Switching between R and Python can temporarily increase memory usage
  • Multiple consoles
    • Multiple consoles will persistently increase memory usage and care should be taken to clean up unused console sessions.
  • Application development:
    • Running apps consumes additional memory, depending on complexity
    • Package installation operations temporarily increase memory usage by ~0.2-0.4 GB
Signs of insufficient memory

If sessions have insufficient memory, you may experience:

  • Slowness when switching between R and Python runtimes
  • Extensions failing to install or function properly
  • Degraded performance when running apps or installing packages
  • Session crashes during memory-intensive operations
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