Multiple R sessions and package development linking

[bdbmax]

Thank you for the development of Positron! I just started using it, and relly enjoy it.

First, I appreciate being able to have multiple folders opened in the workspace. With Positron, I no longer need two separate RStudio sessions: one for a package I'm developing and another for a project that uses the package. In R Studio, the current workflow involves running devtools::install() in the package session, then switching to the project session, restarting the session, and now having access to the newly local installed version of my package.

Now with Positron, I can open two folders in the same workspace! Which is great, but I still only have access to one active R console/session at a time. I need to change which directory is active in the console using the "Working Directory in Active Console" setting. This is an improvement over having two separate RStudio sessions, but I still have to install the package locally, switch the active console (losing the current environment variables and workspace objects), and then load the package in the project.

I believe having multiple R sessions open simultaneously within the same Positron workspace would be a valuable IDE feature for package developers (who use their packages in other local projects). This seems directly related to IDE functionality, similar to how multiple terminals can be opened with different working directories.

Now, and not entirely sure how this relates to IDE development specifically, I'm also curious about whether implementing a package linking mechanism for local development might be possible. This would create a development-time dependency that points directly to the local package source, eliminating the need for repeated installation operations and R session restarts. In npm terms, this is similar to the functionality provided by npm link; in Python, I think it's comparable to installing a package in development mode with pip install -e. I wanted to mention this in case there's a possibility it could be implemented within Positron, even if it might involve deeper integration with R's package system.

Thank you again for this great new IDE!

[juliasilge]

Thank you so much for the kind words! 🙌

For multiple R sessions, I am happy to share that we currently have work in flight; you may be interested in following along at #5990 and being an early user when this becomes available in a release build. We would appreciate your feedback if you are willing to try it out!

We don't currently have plans for a linking mechanism like you describe, but that's an interesting idea for us to consider for future work.

[jennybc]

Just hearing about your workflow @bdbmax, regardless of what IDE you're using, are you aware of devtools::load_all()? It sounds like it could remove a lot of pain in your iterative workflow where you are tweaking package code and seeing how it plays out over in the project. I imagine you'd point the working directory of the R console at the project (or some subdirectory thereof) and periodically do load_all("path/to/the/package"), possibly accelerated by some affordance of your IDE, since it's a gesture you'll be doing often.

[bdbmax]

I didn't know we could use devtools::load_all("path") outside the package session, I wish I had known this years ago! Coupled with the possibility of having multiple R sessions/consoles within the same Positron workspace, this will absolutely increase productivity in my package development / project workflow.
I can still see value in a potential feature where there's a more direct connection between the package and project environments - something like development mode installation that would allow changes in package code to be immediately available in the project environment without manual reloading (similar to npm link or pip install -e), but that probably is a suggestion for the devtools package. And using periodic load_all("path") calls with multiple R sessions in the same Positron workspace is a reasonable workflow that will address most of my needs. Thank you for this helpful suggestion!