Setting up checklist for a project

Go to vignette("getting_started", package = "checklist") when you want to use checklist on an R package.

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 in the terminal.
• 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”