FAQ

Q-Auth-1

I am getting an error when using circle::use_circle_deploy() or tic::use_ghactions_deploy().

Answer

In most cases this is related to API authentication issues. Ensure that the following points are met:

1. For Circle CI, install the respective GitHub App from the GitHub Marketplace.
2. Ensure that you have set the respective API keys for the problematic provider in your .Renviron file. Consult the help pages of the respective use_*_deploy() function for more help.

• GitHub Actions: A GITHUB_PAT with “public_repo” scopes.
• Circle CI: Env var R_CIRCLE.

Q-GHA-1

How is {tic} different from what r-lib/actions does?

Answer

{tic} uses r-lib/actions as the base to install R in the first place. However in detail, {tic} does the following things differently which aim to enhance the CI experience:

• Caching: {tic} caches the whole R library rather than only the direct dependencies of a package. This has the advantage that packages required for side actions ({pkgdown} deployment, README updates) will also be cached.

• ccache: {tic} comes with a compiler cache for source installations of packages by default, speeding up repeated source installation highly. The compiler cache directory (.ccache) will also be cached (once a week). Example use case: If you installed {Rcpp} from source as a dependency of your package and have it stored in your cache and {Rcpp} now updates two days later, the reinstallation will make use of the compiler cache and install {Rcpp} instantly rather than recompiling the C code again.

• Number of CPUs: {tic} uses 4 CPUs by default instead of only 1 as r-lib/actions does. This speeds up package installation a lot. 4 CPUs are max because all GitHub Actions runners have 2 hyperthreading cores available.

• Use of SSH deployment keys: Once set up via tic::use_ghactions_deploy(), this deployment approach makes it possible to push any file of your repository to any branch of your remote. Other deployment approaches often limit you to only push to gh-pages branch or similar.

Q-Other-1

Is it possible to update the CI YAML templates installed by {tic} with upstream changes?

Answer

Yes! Have a look at “Updating Templates” for more information.

Q-Other-2

Am I the only one using {tic}?

Answer

You can see who and how many people use {tic.R} on GitHub via this query: https://github.com/search?p=5&q=filename%3Atic.R&type=Code

Q-Other-3

Package {rgl} fails to install because of either

• “configure: error: X11 not found but required, configure aborted.”
• “error: X11 not found; XQuartz (from www.xquartz.org) is required to run rgl.”

Answer

The first one is usually caused by a missing installation of XQuartz on macOS. Add brew install xquartz to the runner.

The second error requires to set the DISPLAY env var to mimic a non-headless state. Add export DISPLAY=:99 to the stage in which {rgl} should be installed. If the warning message during loading of {rgl} should be suppressed, either env var RGL_USE_NULL = TRUE can be set or R option options(rgl.useNull = TRUE).