How To Install R and RStudio on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install R and RStudio on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. R is a powerful, open-source programming language widely used for statistical computing, data analysis, and graphical representation of data. Its flexibility and robustness make it a favorite among data scientists, statisticians, and researchers. RStudio, an integrated development environment (IDE) for R, significantly enhances the user experience with features such as a script editor, debugging tools, version control integration, and more.

If you are running Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, installing R and RStudio can help you orchestrate data analysis projects efficiently. By following the steps in this guide, you will set up a solid environment for your data-driven projects. We’ll walk through each part of the installation process in detail—covering prerequisites, repository configurations, step-by-step instructions, troubleshooting tips, and recommended best practices.

The instructions below are designed to share knowledge in a neutral yet confident tone. You will learn not just how to install the software, but also how to optimize and maintain it. Whether you are a data enthusiast, a student, or a professional aiming to deploy data analysis workflows, this guide provides comprehensive insights to get R and RStudio up and running on your Ubuntu 24.04 LTS system.

1. Prerequisites

Before diving into the installation details, you should confirm that your system meets the following conditions:

1.1 System Requirements

Operating System: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or a compatible Linux distribution.
User Privileges: A user account with sudo privileges for installing packages and dependencies.
Hardware Requirements: At least 2 GB of RAM and a few gigabytes of disk space to store packages. For heavier data analysis workloads, more RAM and storage are advisable.
Internet Connection: Required to download software packages and dependencies from official repositories.

Ensuring that you have the necessary system requirements upfront saves time and prevents potential errors during the setup process. Keep your system’s package repository lists up to date to avoid missing recent or stable versions of crucial software.

2. Preparing Your Ubuntu System

A healthy Ubuntu 24.04 LTS system is crucial for a smooth installation of R and RStudio. Make sure your repositories are updated so that you can access the latest versions of required packages and libraries.

Update Available Packages: To start, open a terminal window and run:
```
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
```
This ensures that all existing packages on your system are up to date.
Install Essential Tools: It is a good practice to install utilities that might be needed for building packages from source:
```
sudo apt install build-essential libcurl4-gnutls-dev libxml2-dev libssl-dev
```
These packages help manage compilation and linking of R packages that can sometimes require system libraries.

Once these steps are complete, you have laid a solid foundation for installing the R programming environment. Keeping your system well-maintained allows for fewer conflicts when adding new software.

3. Installing the R Programming Language

R is available in Ubuntu’s default repositories under the r-base package. However, to access the most recent features and updates, you can use the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) repository, which often provides newer builds of R for Ubuntu systems.

3.1 Adding the CRAN Repository

The official Ubuntu repository might not always contain the latest R version. To ensure that you get timely updates and features, add the CRAN repository for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. At the time of writing, Ubuntu 24.04 is relatively new, and CRAN typically maintains a repository for each Ubuntu release:

Import the GPG Key: Ensure that the CRAN repository is trusted by importing its GPG key. Run:
```
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 51716619E084DAB9
```
If you encounter a different key in the official CRAN instructions for Ubuntu 24.04, replace the key ID accordingly.
Add the CRAN Entry: Use a text editor like nano or vim to edit the sources list:
```
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
```
Then, append a line matching your Ubuntu version. It might look like this:
```
deb https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/linux/ubuntu jammy-cran40/
```
For Ubuntu 24.04, replace “jammy-cran40” with the appropriate name if it’s available. Save and exit the file when done.
Update Repository Listings: Once the new repository is added, refresh your package list:
```
sudo apt update
```

3.2 Installing R Base

Install the R Base Package: Most of what you need for R is in the r-base package, which includes essential binaries, libraries, and the command-line interface (CLI):
```
sudo apt install r-base
```
Verify R Installation: Once the installation concludes, confirm that R is correctly set up:
```
R --version
```
You should see your installed version of R in the output.

Congratulations! You have installed the core of the R environment. Keep in mind that you can always install supplementary R packages like r-base-dev for development tools critical to compiling additional libraries.

4. Installing RStudio IDE

RStudio is a leading integrated development environment for R. It offers a substantial advantage over working solely in the R CLI. This section will guide you through securing and installing RStudio on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

4.1 Downloading RStudio

The easiest way to acquire RStudio is to download the .deb package directly from the official RStudio website. Since RStudio frequently updates, you’ll typically find the latest stable release under their “Downloads” page:

Fetch the .deb File:
```
wget https://download1.rstudio.org/desktop/bionic/amd64/rstudio-2023.06.1-amd64.deb
```
Replace the URL with the latest version suitable for Ubuntu 24.04 once it’s available. The above example is only illustrative. Always check the RStudio official site for the correct and current link.
Check the File: Confirm that the downloaded file is intact:
```
ls -lh rstudio-2023.06.1-amd64.deb
```
Ensure that the file size aligns with what is stated on the RStudio download page.

4.2 Installing RStudio

Once the RStudio .deb package is on your system, you can install it using your preferred package manager. Here, we’ll use the gdebi tool because it automatically handles most dependency issues.

Install gdebi: If you haven’t installed gdebi yet, do so now:
```
sudo apt install gdebi-core
```
Use gdebi to Install RStudio:
```
sudo gdebi rstudio-2023.06.1-amd64.deb
```
Confirm Installation: After gdebi completes installation without errors, check your application menu or run:
```
rstudio
```
RStudio should launch smoothly if everything went correctly.

This process typically completes without difficulty. However, if you encounter errors, ensure that you have the needed dependencies or verify that you downloaded the correct architecture build for your system (usually 64-bit).

5. Post-Installation Setup and Verification

Once the base software is installed, take a few moments to walk through initial configuration options. Properly setting up RStudio after installation helps ensure you can quickly start analyzing data and writing code without delay.

5.1 Launching RStudio

You can launch RStudio from the application menu or by running rstudio in the terminal. Upon first opening RStudio, it will prompt you for some basic user preferences, such as default working directory and syntax highlighting themes. Adjust these to optimize your workflow.

Install R and RStudio on Ubuntu 24.04

5.2 Setting a Global Library Path (Optional)

By default, R packages install into standard directories. If you want a custom library location for your user or team environment, you can create one and configure R to use it by default. For instance:

mkdir -p ~/R/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-library/4.3

Then edit your .Renviron file in your home directory to include:

R_LIBS_USER="~/R/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-library/4.3"

Restart R or RStudio for changes to take effect.

5.3 Verifying Functionality

Within RStudio, evaluate a simple expression in the console or install a package to test connectivity and ensure everything is configured properly. For example, install the popular “ggplot2” library:

install.packages("ggplot2")

Try loading it:

library(ggplot2)

If it loads without throwing errors, your environment is set up correctly.

6. Working with R and RStudio

By combining R’s powerful language capabilities with RStudio’s user-friendly interface, you can engage in statistical computations, data manipulations, and rich graphical analyses. Below are some best practices for making the most of your new setup.

6.1 Navigating the R Console

If you prefer a more traditional approach or need to script tasks, you can run R in the terminal. Simply type:

This will enter the R interactive console, where you can execute commands line by line, load libraries, and perform computations. Press Ctrl + D to exit.

6.2 Using the RStudio Environment

RStudio integrates multiple panels: a console, a source editor for scripts, an environment pane to track variables, and a file/plots/help section. You can also seamlessly manage projects, which group files, data, and settings into one directory. This is particularly useful in large data analysis projects where reproducibility and organization are paramount.

6.3 Package Management and Installation

While the command install.packages("PackageName") is the fundamental way to add libraries, RStudio’s “Packages” pane offers a straightforward point-and-click method. This is especially helpful if you’re new to R or manage many packages. You can also leverage advanced functionality like renv (for reproducible environments) or packrat to maintain stable library versions across different projects.

7. Best Practices and Tips for Maintenance

Maintaining a robust environment for statistical analysis involves more than simply installing R and RStudio. It’s about keeping your environment optimized, secure, and well-organized so that you can focus on insights rather than on hiccups with the software.

Regular Updates: Check for updates in both the Ubuntu repositories and CRAN to keep your R environment up to date. Regular updates ensure that bug fixes, performance enhancements, and security patches are in place.
Security Considerations: R can run scripts and code from various sources—be mindful of where your scripts come from. If you manage a multi-user setup, establish policies for installing packages.
Version Control: Data and code often evolve quickly. Consider using Git or other version control systems integrated with RStudio to track changes to your scripts and data analysis workflows.
Archived Packages: CRAN keeps multiple versions of packages. If an update breaks functionality in your workflow, you can revert to an older package version. Tools like packrat or renv automate this process.
Hardware Scaling: If you plan on performing computationally heavy tasks, ensure your server or workstation has enough memory, CPU power, or leverage GPU capabilities for specific tasks that benefit from parallel processing.

8. Troubleshooting Common Issues

Even well-prepared installations can encounter hitches. Below are potential issues and tips on how to address them:

Missing Dependencies: If installation fails or certain packages do not work, check if system libraries (like libssl-dev or libxml2-dev) are installed properly. Revisit the prerequisites and install needed libraries.
Repository Key Errors: Adding the CRAN repository sometimes leads to GPG key issues. Ensure you have the correct key ID from the official CRAN instructions. Use sudo apt-key del followed by re-importing if necessary.
Version Compatibility: RStudio might lag behind newly released R versions. If you face errors launching RStudio after upgrading R, consider updating RStudio or rolling back R until a compatible RStudio build is released.
Conflicting R Versions: Make sure older R installations are removed or updated. You can face conflicts if two versions of R are on the same system. Identify these by running:
```
which R
```
and checking for multiple entries.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed RStudio. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing R and RStudio on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official R and RStudio website.

VPS Manage Service Offer

If you don’t have time to do all of this stuff, or if this is not your area of expertise, we offer a service to do “VPS Manage Service Offer”, starting from $10 (Paypal payment). Please contact us to get the best deal!