usethis 3.0.0

Transition to cli package for UI

• The ui_*() functions have been marked as
  superseded.
  External users of these functions are encouraged to use the
  cli package instead.
  The cli package did not have the required functionality when the
  usethis::ui_*() functions were first created, but it does now and it's the
  superior option.
  There is a cli vignette about how to make this transition:
  vignette("usethis-ui", package = "cli").
  usethis no longer uses the ui_*() functions internally, in favor of new
  cli-based helpers that are not exported.

Deprecated function and argument removal

We are removing functions and arguments that were deprecated as of usethis
v2.0.0, which was released in December 2020.

These changes have been in place for a long time now:

• Switch from git2r to gert (+ credentials).
• Use of git config and the gh package to infer, e.g., the target repo spec.
• Pivot towards GitHub Actions and away from Travis and AppVeyor.

Functions that are removed and, where applicable, what to use instead:

• git_credentials()
• use_git_credentials()
• browse_github_token() (do create_github_token())
• browse_github_pat() (do create_github_token())
• github_token() (do gh_token_help() or gh::gh_token())
• pr_pull_upstream() (do pr_merge_main())
• pr_sync() (do pr_merge_main(); pr_push())
• use_appveyor()
• use_appveyor_badge()
• use_travis()
• use_travis_badge()
• browse_travis()
• use_pkgdown_travis()
• use_tidy_ci() deprecated in v2.1.0 (do use_tidy_github_actions())
• use_tidy_labels() deprecated in v2.1.0 (do use_tidy_github_labels())

Function arguments that are removed:

• create_from_github(auth_token =, credentials =)
• use_github(auth_token =, credentials =)
• use_github_labels(repo_spec =, host =, auth_token =)
• use_github_links(auth_token =, host =)
• use_github_release(host =, auth_token =)

Other changes

• use_zip() and use_course() are equipped to handle a ZIP where the parent
  folder is implicit (@burnsal, #1961).

• use_test_helper() is a new function to create a test helper file
  (@olivroy, #1822).

• use_cpp11() makes it easier to update NAMESPACE (@pachadotdev, #1921).

• pr_merge_main() now offers the choice to not open the files with merge
  conflicts (@olivroy, #1720).

• edit_rstudio_snippets() now accepts yaml snippets (@olivroy, #1941).

• use_standalone() inserts an improved header that includes the code needed to
  update the standalone file (@krlmlr, #1903).

• use_release_issue() and use_upkeep() behave better when the user has a
  fork. The user is asked just once to choose between origin and upstream as
  the target repo (#2023).

• The README templates now recommend pak instead of
  devtools for package installation (@olivroy, #1723).

• use_github() now knows that you can reuse the name of an earlier repo that
  has since been renamed (@ateucher, #1893).

• use_git() no longer asks if you want to restart RStudio when using Positron.

• use_test() and use_r() now work when you are in
  tests/testthat/_snaps/{foo}.md (@olivroy, #1988).

• The URLs baked into the badge generated by use_coverage(type = "codecov")
  are updated and no longer specify a branch(#2008).

• usethis::use_version() now tolerates empty lines preceding the
  first section title in the package NEWS file. (#1976)

usethis 2.2.3

• Patch release with changes to .Rd files requested by CRAN.

usethis 2.2.2

• Implicit usage of numeric_version() via comparison now always provides
  character input. This is in response to a request from CRAN to anticipate
  future solutions to https://bugs.r-project.org/show_bug.cgi?id=18548.

usethis 2.2.1

• Internal helper cran_version(), used in functions such as
  use_release_checklist() and use_news_md(), is more resilient to situations
  where no CRAN mirror has been set (#1857).

• Internal usage of numeric_version() now always provides character input,
  rather than relying on implicit as.character() coercion. This is in response
  to a request from CRAN to anticipate future solutions to
  https://bugs.r-project.org/show_bug.cgi?id=18548 (#1869).

usethis 2.2.0

New functions

• use_author() is a new function to introduce a new person into the
  Authors@R field of DESCRIPTION (@avalcarcel9, #833).

• use_rstudio_preferences() lets you set RStudio preferences programmatically
  (#1518)

• use_standalone() is a new function that makes it easier to use standalone
  files provided by various low-level tidyverse packages, like rlang (#1654).

• use_upkeep_issue() is a new function to facilitate regular maintenance of
  your package. Similar to use_release_issue(), it opens an issue in your repo
  with a checklist of maintenance tasks. It will include additional bullets
  if your package includes an upkeep_bullets() function that returns a
  character vector (#1794).

Package development

• Although nested projects are discouraged, they can be useful in development
  contexts. create_package() now sets the correct package name and returns
  the correct package path for a package nested inside a project (#1647).

• use_article() no longer adds the rmarkdown package to Suggests. Instead,
  if rmarkdown is not already a dependency, it's added to
  Config/Needs/website. This means that a package that only uses articles
  (vs. vignettes) won't gain an unnecessary dependency on rmarkdown (#1700).

• use_data() now sets the appropriate minimal R version in DESCRIPTION,
  depending on which serialization format version you choose (@dpprdan, #1672).

• use_github_links() by default now appends the GitHub url to existing urls in
  in the URL field of DESCRIPTION, rather than replacing existing urls (#1805).

• use_latest_dependencies() no longer affects Suggests since those
  dependencies are not enforced (#1749).

• use_news_md() now places "(development version)" in the header of NEWS.md
  if there is a development version number in DESCRIPTION. It also sets the
  first bullet to "Initial CRAN submission" when it looks like a "new" package
  (#1708).

• use_coverage() no longer adds covr to Suggests, since the test-coverage
  GitHub Actions workflow takes care of installing covr (@Bisaloo, #1851).

Package release

• use_release_issue() will now remind you to run use_github_links() if
  necessary (@Bisaloo, #1754)

• use_release_issue() now encourages the creation of NEWS.md prior to
  submission, instead of after (#1755).

• use_github_release() now automatically pushes to GitHub (if safe) and
  automatically publishes the release, rather than requiring you to edit and
  publish the draft (#1385).

• use_github_release() no longer fails in the absence of NEWS.md (#1755).

• use_release_issue() will now remind you to check/close the milestone
  corresponding to the release, if it exists (#1642).

• use_version() and use_dev_version() gain a push argument to optionally
  push the result after committing. This is used to eliminate a manual step from
  the use_release_issue() checklist (#1385).

• use_revdep() no longer places an email template, because these days we are
  more likely to communicate with other maintainers about breaking changes via
  GitHub issues and pull requests (#1769).

Package file management

• rename_files() now also affects files in src/ (#1585).

• use_r() and use_test() now work with all active files in R/, src/,
  and tests/testthat/ (#1566).

• use_r() and use_test() now work with files containing . (#1690).

• use_rcpp(), use_c() and friends now work the same way as use_r() and
  use_test(): they'll take the default file name from the file you currently
  have open in RStudio (#1730).

Git and GitHub

• create_from_github() will now use an existing .Rproj file if it exists
  anywhere in the repo, not just the root directory. This is useful if you're
  working with repos that contain tools for multiple languages (#1680).

• git_sitrep() gains two arguments: tool and scope, which enables
  you to limit the report to, for example, tool = "git" or scope = "user".
  The default remains to provide a full report. Also, provides more
  feedback if git user's information is not set, and checks global git-email
  against user-level GitHub PAT (@ijlyttle, #1732, #1714, #1706).

• git_vaccinated() now treats a path configured as core.excludesFile like
  other user-supplied paths; in particular, any use of the ~/ home directory
  shortcut is expanded via
  fs::path_expand()
  (@dpprdan, #1560).

• use_github_action() now suggests possible actions when called without
  arguments (#1724).

• use_github_actions(), use_github_action_check_standard(),
  use_github_action_check_release(), and use_github_action_pr_commands()
  have been deprecated in favour of the new interactive powers of
  use_github_action() (#1724).

Minor improvements and fixes

• Links to the R Packages book have been updated to the second edition of
  the book (#1689).

• The SVG badges placed by use_lifecycle() have improved accessibility
  features, i.e. they advertise the lifecycle stage via the aria-label
  attribute (#1554, r-lib/lifecycle#117).

• use_rscloud_badge() has been deprecated in favour of
  use_posit_cloud_badge(), and both functions now accept the updated url
  format of Posit Cloud projects (#1670).

• use_rstudio() gains a reformat argument which omits .Rproj settings
  that enforce file formatting conventions, e.g. around whitespace.
  create_from_github() uses this option when it introduces an .Rproj to a
  project that lacks one, making it easier to follow the project's existing
  conventions (#1679).

• write_over() and use_github_file() gain an overwrite argument (#1748).

Tidyverse-related

• use_release_issue() now uses internal release_extra_revdeps() to
  add extra revdep sources. Currently only use for internal Posit tooling,
  but we hope to extend to all users in the future (#1610).

• use_tidy_logo() is a new function that calls use_logo() on the appropriate
  hex sticker PNG file at https://github.com/rstudio/hex-stickers (#1871).

Defunct functions

• use_tidy_eval() is now defunct because it imports and re-exports a large
  number of functions that are no longer needed in order to do tidy
  evaluation (#1656).

• use_travis(), use_pkgdown_travis(), browse_travis(), and use_appveyor()
  are now defunct because we no longer recommend Travis or Appveyor. We
  recommend GitHub actions instead (#1517).

usethis 2.1.6

GitHub-related

use_github_action() and friends gain a ref argument, which defaults to the tag of the latest release in https://github.com/r-lib/actions (#1541).

use_github_actions_badge() now uses the same URLs as GitHub does via the "Create status badge" helper in the browser (#1525). This changes the significance of the name argument; now it really must be the name of the workflow configuration file.

All functions error more clearly when the requested operation is not supported for the "theirs" remote configuration (#1588).

Other changes

use_roxygen_md() gains an overwrite argument (#1599).

use_rscloud_badge() is a new function that creates a README badge indicating the repository can be launched in an RStudio Cloud project (@gvelasq, #1584).

use_data() gains an ascii argument, which is passed along to save() (@JosiahParry, #1625).

use_code_of_conduct() has been updated to version 2.1 of the Contributor Covenant (@batpigandme, #1591).

usethis 2.1.5

pkgdown-related functions no longer automatically strip a trailing slash from the pkgdown site URL, in order to play more nicely with CRAN's URL checks (#1526).

edit_pkgdown_config() is a new function that opens the pkgdown YAML configuration file for the current Project, if such a file exists.

The error thrown when reporting an unsupported GitHub configuration has been fixed for forward compatibility with a future version of rlang, i.e. what is anticipated to be rlang v1.0.0.

Version 2.1.4 was never released. Version was advanced from 2.1.4 to 2.1.5 strictly for CRAN (re-)submission purposes.

usethis 2.1.3

Modified a test to ensure that intermittent GitHub rate limiting does not lead to ungraceful failure on CRAN.

usethis 2.1.2

git_default_branch_rename() no longer errors on repos where README exists, but has no badge block.

git_default_branch_rediscover() prunes the defunct remote ref to the old default branch, e.g. origin/master.

Version 2.1.1 was never released. Version was advanced from 2.1.1 to 2.1.2 strictly for CRAN (re-)submission purposes.

usethis 2.1.0

Git default branch support

usethis has a more sophisticated understanding of the default branch and gains several functions to support default branch renaming.

• git_branch_default() has been renamed to git_default_branch(), to place
  it logically in the new family of functions. The old name still works, but
  that won't be true forever.
• git_default_branch() is much more diligent about figuring out the default
  branch. Instead of only consulting the local repo, now we integrate local info
  with the default branch reported by the upstream or origin remote, if
  applicable.
  • This is intended to surface the case where a project has renamed its default
    branch and the local repo needs sync up with that.
• git_default_branch_rediscover() is a new function that helps contributors
  update their local repo (and personal fork, if applicable) when a project/repo
  renames its default branch.
• git_default_branch_rename() is a new function that helps a repo owner
  rename the default branch (both on GitHub and locally).
• git_default_branch_configure() is a new function to set the new Git
  configuration option init.defaultBranch, which controls the name of the
  initial branch of new local repos.
• git_sitrep() exposes init.defaultBranch and surfaces the more
  sophisticated analysis of git_default_branch().

Other GitHub-related changes

• git_sitrep() and gh_token_help() try even harder to help people get on the
  happy path with respect to their GitHub PAT (#1400, #1413, #1488, #1489,
  #1497).

• The minimum version of gh has been bumped to help / force more people to
  upgrade to the gh version that supports current GitHub PAT formats
  (@ijlyttle, #1454).

• use_github_file() is a new function related to use_template(). Instead of
  starting from a local file, use_github_file() grabs the contents of an
  arbitrary file on GitHub that the user has permission to read. It supports
  targeting a specific branch, tag, or commit and can follow a symlink (#1407).
  use_github_file() now powers use_github_action() and friends.

• use_github_release() is much more diligent about using any information left
  behind by devtools::submit_cran() or devtools::release(). Specifically,
  this applies to determining which SHA is to be tagged in the release. And this
  SHA, in turn, determines the consulted versions of DESCRIPTION (for package
  version) and NEWS.md (for release notes) (#1380).

• use_release_issue() also takes bullets from release_questions(),
  for compatibility with devtools::release().

• git_vaccinate(), edit_git_ignore(), and git_sitrep() are more careful to
  consult, reveal, and set the core.excludesFile setting in user's Git
  configuration (#1461).

• use_github_action_check_full() has been removed. It's overkill for the
  majority of R packages, which are better off with use_github_actions() or
  use_github_action_check_standard() (#1490).

• use_github_pages() and use_pkgdown_github_pages() use a new method for
  creating an empty, orphan gh-pages branch. This is necessary due to new
  GitHub behaviour, where it has become essentially impossible to refer to the
  empty tree (#1472).

• use_github() can create repositories with "internal" visibility, a feature
  that exists within GitHub Enterprise products (#1505).

Package development

• use_readme_[r]?md() no longer includes CRAN installation instructions in the
  initial template; instead, we only include GitHub-based install instructions
  or otherwise prompt the user to update instructions (#1507).

• use_import_from() is a new function that puts @importFrom pkg fun
  directives into a package in a consistent location (@malcolmbarrett, #1377).

• DESCRIPTION files generated by usethis no longer include LazyData by
  default, as per new CRAN checks; instead, LazyData is now added the first
  time you use use_data() (@malcolmbarrett, #1404).

• use_tidy_eval() has been updated to reflect current recommendations for
  using (and therefore exposing) tidy eval in other packages (@lionel-, #1445).

• use_pkgdown() automatically uses Bootstrap 5 if the pkgdown version supports
  it (anticipated for pkgdown 2.0.0).

• use_lifecycle() now imports lifecycle::deprecated() (#1419).

• use_code_of_conduct() now requires a contact argument to supply contact
  details for reporting CoC violations (#1269).

• use_package() no longer guides the user on how to use a dependency when no
  change was made (@malcolmbarrett, #1384).

Aimed at the tidyverse team

These functions are exported for anyone to use, but are aimed primarily at the maintainers of tidyverse, r-lib, and tidymodels packages.

• use_tidy_dependencies() is a new function that sets up standard dependencies
  used by all tidyverse packages, except those that are designed to be
  dependency free (#1423).

• use_tidy_upkeep_issue() is a new function similar to use_release_issue()
  that creates a checklist-style issue to prompt various updates (#1416).

• use_tidy_release_test_env() has been deleted since we no longer recommend
  including test environments in cran-comments.md. There's no evidence that
  CRAN finds it useful, and it's annoying to keep up-to-date (#1365).

• use_tidy_github_labels() is the new name for use_tidy_labels() (#1430).

• use_tidy_github_actions() takes over for use_tidy_ci(), which is now
  deprecated.

User-level configuration

• "usethis.overwrite" is a new option. When set to TRUE, usethis overwrites
  an existing file without asking for user confirmation if the file is inside
  a Git repo. The normal Git workflow makes it easy to see and selectively
  accept/discard any proposed changes. This behaviour is strictly opt-in
  (#1424).

• Functions that provide code to load packages in your .Rprofile now use
  rlang::check_installed() to make sure the package is installed locally
  (@malcolmbarrett, #1398).

• edit_rstudio_prefs() and edit_rstudio_snippets() should work now on
  case-sensitive OSes, due to a path fix re: the location of RStudio's config
  files (@charliejhadley, #1420).