R and RStudio

R is a free, open-source software environment for statistical computing and graphics. It runs on a wide variety of UNIX platforms, Windows and Mac.

Download and Install R

Windows:

1. Go to https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/windows/base/
2. Click the “Download R 4.4.2 for Windows” link.
3. When the file finishes downloading, double-click to install. You should be able to just click “Next” to all dialogs to finish the installation.

Mac:

1. Go to https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/macosx/
2. Click either “R-4.4.2-arm64.pkg” or “R-4.4.2-x86_64.pkg” depending on your operating system.
   • Select “R-4.4.2-arm64.pkg” if you’re running macOS 11 (Big Sur) or higher on a M1 or higher Mac.
   • Select “R-4.4.2-x86_64.pkg” if you’re using an older Intel Mac.
   • If you’re not sure which to choose, visit this page to find out what kind of operating system and chip set your Mac has.
3. When the file finishes downloading, double-click to install. You should be able to just click “Next” to all dialogs to finish the installation.

Download and Install RStudio Desktop

1. Go to https://posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop/
2. Click the Blue button under “2: Install RStudio”
3. When the file finishes downloading, do what you would normally do to install a program on your system
4. Start RStudio and ensure it opens with no error messages. You should see something similar to the image below.

NOTE: The current version of RStudio requires macOS 13+. If you are running an older version of macOS, you will need to download an older version of RStudio from https://docs.posit.co/previous-versions/rstudio/. See This post on the RStudio community forum for a list of RStudio releases certified for each version of MacOS when the operating system was supported.

Questions? Email res-consult@virginia.edu.

Last updated: 1/21/25