Setting up a git project in RStudio

RStudio provides an interface for version control using git. We’ll look at setting up and managing a version controlled project through RStudio.

Create a new project in RStudio as follows:

File -> New Project -> New Directory

In the Project Type screen, click on Empty Project.

In the Create New Project screen, give your project a name and ensure that Create a git repository is checked. Click on Create Project.

RStudio will create a new folder containing an empty project and set R’s working directory to within it.

Two files are created in the otherwise empty project:

• .gitignore – Specifies files that should be ignored by the version control system.
• data_analysis.Rproj – Configuration information for the RStudio project.

There is no need to worry about the contents of either of these for the purposes of this tutorial.

Next: Getting started with version control