Starting a new project from scratch

Run create_project(path, project). path must be an existing directory. project is the name of the project. create_project() creates the project as a subdirectory of path with name project. It then guides you interactively through the process by asking questions on your preferences on the project. All yes/no question have a sensible default. You can use that default by simply pressing enter. Most other questions are similar to that of create_package(). Please refer to vignette("getting_started", package = "checklist") for more details on those.

Use setup_project() when you want to change the settings later.

• You always get an RStudio project with name project.
• Do you want version control with git? When you answer yes, you get the check_project GitHub Action. This runs check_project() automatically when you (or a contributor) pushed code to GitHub. To add your project to GitHub, follow the instructions below (To do once after activating version control) after creating the project.
  • Do you want a file describing the code of conduct for contributing to your project? This is a template which you may alter to suit your needs.
  • Do you want a file describing guidelines for contributing to your project? This is a template which you may alter to suit your needs.
• Add a template for README.md.
  • Which authors do you want to list?
  • What is the title of the project?
• Do you want to check the file name conventions with check_filename()?
• Do you want to check the coding style with check_lintr()?
• What is the default language of the project?
• Do you want to spell check the markdown content and R function documentation in your project with check_spelling()? This uses the default language you set in the previous question. Note that you can set a different language on specific files. See vignette("spelling", package = "checklist") for more details on that.
• Do you want to check the license file? This compares the LICENSE.md in your project with the LICENSE.md.
• Do you want to update the citation files?

Add or update checklist tools in an existing project

Run setup_project(path_to_your_project). This works on existing projects with or without a previous set-up of checklist. In case of a previous set-up, it will take that into account.

• If you don’t use version control yet, do you want to activate git?
• Add a README.md when missing.
  • Which authors do you want to list?
  • What is the title of the project?
• Do you want to check the file name conventions with check_filename()?
• Do you want to check the coding style with check_lintr()?
• Do you want to add a license file?
  • Do you want to check the license file if set?
• Do you want to check spelling with check_spelling().
• Do you want to update the citation files?

To do once after activating version control

• Make sure you have at least one commit.
• Checkout the main branch.
• Login to https://github.com
• Create a new repository without adding a README, .gitignore and license. checklist will add those files for you.
• Copy the code listed in your newly created repository on GitHub under “…or push an existing repository from the command line” and run it locally in the git terminal in RStudio.
• Go on https://github.com to the “Settings” panel of the repository.
  • General
    • activate “Always suggest updating pull request branches”
    • activate “Automatically delete head branches”
  • Branches
    • Add branch protection rule
      • branch name pattern: main
      • activate “Require a pull request before merging”
        • in case a team works on the project consider to activate “Require approvals”
      • activate “Require status checks to pass before merging”
        • search and select “check project with checklist”
        • activate Require “branches to be up to date before merging”

Failing checks in the GitHub Action

When you push code to GitHub, the check_project GitHub Action runs check_project() on your project. If any of the checks fail, you will see a red cross in the “Actions” tab of your repository on GitHub. Click on the “Actions” tab and then on the failed workflow to see which check(s) failed and what the error message is. You can then fix the issues locally and push the changes to GitHub to run the checks again. Pro tip: you can also run check_project() locally to see which checks fail before pushing to GitHub.

The GitHub Action might fail because of other issues, like problems with installing dependencies. Please have a look at this section in the vignette("getting_started", package = "checklist") for more details on how to troubleshoot failing checks in the GitHub Action.