running R from windows command prompt

Question

I have a R program in a txt file say "functions.txt".
I load the "functions.txt" file the R using source("function.txt") and then call functions f1(), f2() etc. which are declared and defined within "function.txt" file.
I also need to load a couple of R libraries using library() before I can use f1(), f2() etc.

My question is can I acheive all this (i.e. calling function f1() and f2()) from the windows prompt without opening the R environment ?

So essentially I want to

load the R libraries I need to run f1(), f2() etc.
load the function.txt file
run the individual functions f1() etc.
record the result

all from from the command promt of windows c:\>

I have windows version of R installed in my computers.
It would be very kind of anyone to give a detailed answer as I am not very computer savvy.

Regards

Rscript.exe is your friend. stackoverflow.com/questions/3412911/… — Roman Luštrik
– Roman Luštrik, Commented Apr 19, 2011 at 17:56

Dirk is no longer here · Accepted Answer · 2011-04-19 18:31:54Z

24

Bart's post is correct, but this can be done simpler. If the code

f1 <- function() {
  print("A")
}

f2 <- function() {
  print("B")
}

f1()
f2()

is in a file 'myRcode.R'; then

Rscript myRcode.R

will load and execute it, including the two function calls.

Rscript.exe is in the same directory as R.exe -- which one may have to add to the $PATH.

answered Apr 19, 2011 at 18:31

Dirk is no longer here

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Bart Kiers · Accepted Answer · 2011-04-19 18:10:52Z

9

The following "works on my machine" (not Windows though, but it should...):

If your functions.txt looks like:

f1 <- function()
{
  print("A")
}

f2 <- function()
{
  print("B")
}

the command:

Rscript -e "source('functions.txt');f1();f2()" > out.txt

should create the file out.txt containing:

[1] "A"
[1] "B"

answered Apr 19, 2011 at 18:10

Bart Kiers

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2 Comments

babu Over a year ago

Thanks very much for the answer. A couple of more things 1> where do I find Rscript ? when I tried in my computer I got the message --'Rscript' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. and also how do i load the libraries ?

Bart Kiers Over a year ago

Look in the installation directory of R (probably somewhere in C:\program Files\...). If you want to be able to run this Rscript executable from anywhere on your computer, you should add the directory it is in to your systems PATH variable (see: computerhope.com/issues/ch000549.htm).

Frederic Close · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-12 17:36:22Z

6

Here's a command line script, based on code above:

d:\misc2\bin\Rscript.exe    d:\r_code\mycode.r

Using Windows 7, I ran it as a .bat file. Works fine. Thanks for the tip. (of course, these are just my particular subdirectories)

edited May 12, 2014 at 17:36

Frederic Close

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answered May 12, 2014 at 17:18

Bill Yarberry

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Comments

Ali Nehme · Accepted Answer · 2022-11-30 19:24:14Z

0

Add the R bin directory to PATH (windows Enviromwntal variables)

This PC > Properties > Advanced system settings > Enviromental Variables > select Path > Edit > Add the path to R bin > save

Run command prompt, then you can use either the "R" command to start a new R session in cmd, or "Rscript" to run a script (file)

answered Nov 30, 2022 at 19:24

Ali Nehme

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