Installing R and RStudio for the First Time#

This guide covers setting up R on a personal computer for the first time. The process takes about 15 minutes.

Why Two Downloads Are Needed#

Two separate programs are required:

Program

Description

Download Source

R

The programming language itself, which performs the actual computing.

[The R Project][r-project] (via CRAN)

RStudio Desktop

An integrated development environment (IDE) for writing and running R code. It requires R to work.

[Posit’s RStudio download page][rstudio-download]

R is the engine and RStudio is the dashboard. RStudio cannot run any code until R is installed. Both programs are free and open source.

Note

Posit (the company that develops RStudio) has redesigned its website, and the RStudio page no longer links to R. R must now be downloaded separately from the R Project website. Install R first, then RStudio.

Step 1: Install R#

  1. Go to [r-project.org][r-project].

  2. Click download R (or CRAN in the left-hand menu). CRAN (Comprehensive R Archive Network) is the official network of servers that distributes R.

  3. A list of mirrors (copies of the same files hosted around the world) appears. Select 0-Cloud at the top of the list, which automatically uses a nearby server.

  4. Under Download and Install R, select the link for the appropriate operating system and follow the corresponding instructions below.

Tip

Steps 1–3 can be skipped by going directly to [cloud.r-project.org][cran-cloud].

Windows#

  1. Click Download R for Windows.

  2. Click base (or install R for the first time).

  3. Click Download R-4.x.x for Windows (currently R-4.6.1-win.exe).

  4. Open the downloaded .exe file and click through the installer. The default options are appropriate for most users.

R requires Windows 10 or later.

macOS#

  1. Click Download R for macOS.

  2. Choose the installer that matches the Mac’s processor. To check the processor type, open the Apple menu and select About This Mac.

    • Chip: Apple M1, M2, M3, M4, etc. (Apple silicon): download the arm64 file (currently R-4.6.1-arm64.pkg). Requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or newer.

    • Processor: Intel: download the x86_64 file (currently R-4.6.1-x86_64.pkg). Requires macOS 11 (Big Sur) or newer.

  3. Open the downloaded .pkg file and follow the installer. The default options are appropriate for most users.

    • If macOS requests permission for the installer to access the Downloads folder, click Allow.

Note

Some R graphics and packages require [XQuartz][xquartz]. Install it if an error about X11 appears later.

Linux#

Click Download R for Linux and select the appropriate distribution (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora/Red Hat, etc.). Each distribution has its own instructions, which usually involve installing R through the system package manager (for example, apt on Ubuntu). Follow the steps on the CRAN page for the relevant distribution.

Step 2: Install RStudio Desktop#

  1. Go to the [RStudio product page][rstudio-product] and click Download RStudio, or go directly to the [RStudio download list][rstudio-download].

  2. Find the installer for the appropriate operating system:

    Operating System

    File to Download

    Windows 11

    RStudio-2026.xx.x-xxx.exe

    macOS 14+

    RStudio-2026.xx.x-xxx.dmg

    Ubuntu / Debian

    rstudio-2026.xx.x-xxx-amd64.deb

    RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) / Fedora

    rstudio-2026.xx.x-xxx-x86_64.rpm

  3. Install RStudio:

    • Windows: Run the .exe file and accept the defaults.

    • macOS: Open the .dmg file and drag the RStudio icon into the Applications folder. Do not run RStudio directly from the disk image.

    • Linux: Open the .deb or .rpm file with the system software installer, or install it from the terminal.

Note

Only the free RStudio Desktop (open source edition) is needed. The RStudio Desktop Pro and Try Posit AI options are not required for coursework or research.

Step 3: Verify the Installation#

  1. Open RStudio. Opening R separately is not necessary.

  2. RStudio displays a window with several panes. In the Console pane (usually bottom-left), the first lines should read something like the following.

    R version 4.6.1 (2026-06-24) -- "Happy Hop"

  3. Click in the Console next to the > prompt, type the following, and press Enter.

    1 + 1

    The following output should appear.

    [1] 2

  4. Install a package. Packages are add-ons that extend the functionality of R. Type the following.

    install.packages("tidyverse")

    Installation may take a few minutes. When it finishes, load the package.

    library(tidyverse)

    If no error messages appear, R and RStudio are installed and working correctly.

Troubleshooting#

RStudio cannot find R or prompts for an R installation. Either R is not installed or it was installed while RStudio was open. Close RStudio, confirm that Step 1 was completed, and reopen RStudio. On Windows, the R version can be selected under Tools → Global Options → General → R version.

The installer requests an administrator password. Tufts-managed computers may not grant administrator rights. Contact Tufts Technology Services (TTS) for help installing the software.

install.packages() asks whether to use a personal library instead. Answer yes. R saves packages to a folder in the user account, which is normal.

On Windows, a package fails to install with a message about Rtools or compiling from source. Most packages do not require Rtools. If one does, install [Rtools], choosing the version that matches the installed R version (for example, Rtools 4.6 for R 4.6.x).

On macOS, an error mentions X11 or tcltk. Install [XQuartz], then restart the computer. Reinstall XQuartz after every major macOS upgrade.

The wrong macOS version of R (Intel or Apple silicon) was installed. Download and run the correct installer. It replaces the previous installation.

Keeping R and RStudio Up to Date#

  • R releases new versions several times a year. To update, download and install the newest version from [CRAN][cran-cloud] following the same process as Step 1. Reinstall packages afterward, because packages are tied to the major and minor version of R (for example, 4.6).

  • RStudio displays a notification when an update is available. Updates can also be checked manually under Help → Check for Updates.

Additional Resources#