![How To Install R on Ubuntu 18.04 [Quickstart]](https://www.digitalocean.com/api/static-content/v1/images?src=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fintro-to-cloud.d49bc5f7.jpeg&width=1920 "How To Install R on Ubuntu 18.04 [Quickstart]")
Introduction
R is an open-source programming language that specializes in statistical computing and graphics. In this tutorial, we will install R on an Ubuntu 18.04 server.
For a more detailed version of this tutorial, with better explanations of each step, please refer to How To Install R on Ubuntu 18.04.
Step 1 — Add GPG Key
Logged into your Ubuntu 18.04 server as a sudo non-root user, add the relevant GPG key.
- sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys E298A3A825C0D65DFD57CBB651716619E084DAB9
Step 2 — Add the R Repository
- sudo add-apt-repository 'deb https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/linux/ubuntu bionic-cran40/'
If you’re not using 18.04, find the relevant repository from the R Project Ubuntu list, named for each release.
Step 3 — Update Package Lists
- sudo apt update
Step 4 — Install R
- sudo apt install r-base
If prompted to confirm installation, press y to continue.
Step 5 — Test Install
Start R’s interactive shell as root.
- sudo -i R
You should receive output similar to the following:
Output
R version 4.0.0 (2020-04-24) -- "Arbor Day"
Copyright (C) 2020 The R Foundation for Statistical Computing
Platform: x86_64-pc-linux-gnu (64-bit)
...
Type 'demo()' for some demos, 'help()' for on-line help, or
'help.start()' for an HTML browser interface to help.
Type 'q()' to quit R.
>
This confirms that we’ve successfully installed R and entered its interactive shell.
Related Tutorials
Here are links to more detailed tutorials that are related to this guide:
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About the author
Community and Developer Education expert. Former Senior Manager, Community at DigitalOcean. Focused on topics including Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Python, Django, and more.
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