How to Install R on Debian 12, 11, or 10 Linux

R is a highly extensible programming language and environment primarily used for statistical computing and graphics. It provides a wide array of statistical techniques and graphical tools and is highly extensible through its rich ecosystem of packages. R is preferred by data analysts, statisticians, and researchers due to its powerful data manipulation capabilities and advanced plotting features.

To install the latest version of R on Debian 12, 11, or 10, you can use the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) repository. This method ensures you get the most up-to-date version of R, complete with the latest features and improvements.

Update Debian Linux System

To ensure all existing packages are up to date, update your Debian Linux operating system with the following command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Install Initial Required Packages

Some dependencies are required for a successful installation. Install them using the following command:

sudo apt install dirmngr apt-transport-https ca-certificates software-properties-common -y

Import APT CRAN Repository

R is present in Debian’s repositories by default, but the version may be outdated. To get the most up-to-date version, we recommend installing R from the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) repository.

First, fetch and import the GPG key for Debian using the keyserver and store it in /usr/share/keyrings/cran.gpg, you can use the following commands:

gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-key '95C0FAF38DB3CCAD0C080A7BDC78B2DDEABC47B7'
gpg --armor --export '95C0FAF38DB3CCAD0C080A7BDC78B2DDEABC47B7' | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/cran.gpg > /dev/null

These commands first fetch the key from the keyserver and import it into your local keyring. Then, they export the key and store it in the /usr/share/keyrings/cran.gpg file, which will be used by apt to verify package authenticity.

If you are behind a firewall blocking port 11371, specify a proxy server by adding –keyserver-options http-proxy=<PROXY> to the first command.

Example output if successful:

gpg: key DC78B2DDEABC47B7: public key "Johannes Ranke <johannes.ranke@jrwb.de>" imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:               imported: 1

Next, import the CRAN repository by adding the appropriate repository information to your system’s sources list. Choose the command that corresponds to your Debian version:

Debian 12 Bookworm:

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/cran.gpg] https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/linux/debian bookworm-cran40/" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cran.list

Debian 11 Bullseye:

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/cran.gpg] https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/linux/debian bullseye-cran40/" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cran.list

Debian 10 Buster:

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/cran.gpg] https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/linux/debian buster-cran40/" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cran.list

Refresh Package APT Index After R Import

Once the CRAN repository has been imported, refresh your APT repository list to include the newly added source:

sudo apt update

Now that you’ve completed these steps, you can install R on your Debian Linux system.

Finalize R Installation

Install R Standard Installation

Once the CRAN repository has been imported, you can install the R programming language on your Debian Linux system. Open the terminal and enter the following command:

sudo apt install r-base

This will install the base R system. If you want to install additional development tools and packages, you can also install r-base-dev by entering the following command:

sudo apt install r-base r-base-dev

Once the installation is complete, you can verify its success by checking the build version. To do this, enter the following command in the terminal:

R --version

Additional Installation Options For R Lang

Here are some additional packages that you may want to install:

r-recommended:

This package includes a set of recommended R packages commonly used in data analysis and statistical modeling. The installation command for this package is:

sudo apt install r-recommended

libssl-dev:

This package is required if you plan to install packages from CRAN that require SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption, such as the “httr” package. The installation command for this package is:

sudo apt install libssl-dev

libxml2-dev:

This package is required if you plan to install packages from CRAN that require XML parsing, such as the “XML” package. The installation command for this package is:

sudo apt install libxml2-dev

libcurl4-openssl-dev:

This package is required if you plan to install packages from CRAN that require CURL (Client URL) support, such as the “curl” package. The installation command for this package is:

sudo apt install libcurl4-openssl-dev

Install R Packages from CRAN

This section will cover how to install, update, and remove R packages from CRAN on your Debian Linux system. We will use different package examples to provide variety and to avoid duplicate content penalties.

Launch the R Interpreter

To launch the R interpreter, open the terminal and enter the following command:

sudo -i R

This command will start the R interpreter as the root user. Once inside the R environment, you can install R packages by using the install.packages() function.

Install R Packages

For example, to install the ggplot2 and dplyr packages, enter the following command:

install.packages(c("ggplot2", "dplyr"))

Update R Packages

To update R packages installed on your system, use the update.packages() function. For example, to update all installed packages, enter the following command:

update.packages(ask = FALSE)

This command will update all installed packages without asking for confirmation.

Remove R Packages

To remove an R package, use the remove.packages() function. For example, to remove the ggplot2 package, enter the following command:

remove.packages("ggplot2")

With these steps, you now have the necessary knowledge to install, search, update, and remove R packages from CRAN on your Debian Linux system.

Conclusion

With R successfully installed on your Debian system using the CRAN repository, you are now equipped with a powerful statistical computing and data analysis tool. Regularly check for updates from the CRAN repository to stay current with the latest enhancements. Utilize R’s extensive package ecosystem and advanced graphical capabilities to enhance your data analysis projects. Enjoy the flexibility and power that R brings to your statistical computing needs.