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peacock

peacock helps you quickly set up new R projects with pre-configured directory structures and files. Stop creating the same folders and files manually every time you start a project. Just run a function and get working.

Why peacock?

When starting a new project, you probably find yourself:

  • Creating the same folders over and over (data, scripts, outputs)
  • Setting up Shiny apps with the same basic structure
  • Writing boilerplate code for UI, server, and global files
  • Manually organizing files for reproducible research

peacock automates this. It gives you clean, organized project templates so you can start coding immediately.

Installation

Install from GitHub:

# install.packages("devtools")
devtools::install_github("samuelbharti/peacock")

What can peacock do?

1. Initialize a Shiny app structure

Creates a complete Shiny app with organized folders and starter files.

library(peacock)

# Set up a new Shiny project
init_shiny(path = "my_shiny_app")

This creates: - ui.R, server.R, global.R - Your main Shiny files - modules/ - For modular Shiny components - userInterface/ - UI components organized separately - www/ - Static files (CSS, images, JavaScript) - data/, R/, dev/ - Standard project folders - Dockerfile - Ready for containerization - .gitignore and .Renviron - Project configuration

2. Create a changelog

Track project changes in a structured markdown file.

init_changelog_md(path = "my_project")

Creates a CHANGELOG.md file with a simple format for documenting your work.

3. Use GitHub templates

Pull down complete project templates from GitHub repositories.

# Initialize from a Shiny template
init_template("shiny", path = "my_project")

# Initialize from a CGDS research template
init_template("cgds", path = "research_project")

The CGDS template is part of the UAB CGDS research workflow.

4. Set up tool review projects

Organize projects that compare multiple tools or methods.

tool_review_template(
  tool_name = c("tool1", "tool2", "tool3"),
  tool_url = c("https://tool1.com", "https://tool2.com", "https://tool3.com"),
  path = "tool_comparison"
)

This creates organized folders for data, scripts, outputs, and documentation for each tool.

RStudio Integration

Once installed, peacock adds an RStudio Add-in for quick access: - Find “Peacock: Shiny Template” in the Addins menu - Or create a new project and select “Peacock: Shiny Template” from the templates

Quick start 

library(peacock)

# Create a new Shiny app in the current directory
init_shiny()

# Or specify a path
init_shiny(path = "path/to/new/project", confirm = FALSE)

Set confirm = FALSE to skip the confirmation prompt (useful for scripting).

Learn more

License

GPL-3