Does install_github recursively install dependencies?

Question

The R package devtools seems the method of choice for installing R packages directly from their github repository, using the install_github() function.

While doing so, not only the addressed github-package is installed, but also its direct CRAN-dependencies, i.e., the Depends and Imports as defined in the Description/Namespace files of the package.

However, I am wondering if indirectly required packages such as those in turn required by the Depends and Imports packages become automatically installed along, too.

For example, when installing the DT package via install_github("rstudio/DT"), the Imports package htmltools is also installed (set dependencies=TRUE), but not the Rcpp package, on which the former depends (R 3.3.1, Rtools34, Win10, x64). Do such packages need to be installed in another way?

Thanks. Thats my post and its not just unanswered but also (in my opinion) falsly marked as duplicated - thus has remained unanswered. — martin
So are we saying that this post is a duplicate of your older post, or this is different post? — zx8754
for those with a github account, another post indicates a related problem with a current bug in devtools: github.com/krlmlr/r-appveyor/issues/69, culminating in github.com/dgrtwo/widyr/pull/3 — martin

martin martin · Accepted Answer · 2016-07-18T14:48:06

Bug problem solved for devtools >1.12.0, as available on github. Nicely, one can install such a version via install_github("hadley/devtools"), using devtools. Problem seems restricted to R>=3.3.0 for Windows.

Does install_github recursively install dependencies?

1 Answers