cmd-check

GitHub Copilot Chat Assistant

name: cmd-check trigger: run R CMD check / check package / validate package description: Enforce and explain R CMD check for R packages. Use when verifying code quality before merging or completing a task.

R CMD check

Run R CMD check to ensure the package structure, documentation, and code meet CRAN-like quality standards. Per the standard workflow in AGENTS.md, this should be run after tests pass.

Running checks

Use devtools::check() for the standard development loop. Use rcmdcheck for more detailed programmatic control or CI-like local runs.

# Standard check (as defined in AGENTS.md)
devtools::check(error_on = "warning")

# Comprehensive CRAN-style check
rcmdcheck::rcmdcheck(args = "--as-cran")

Interpreting results

Common fixes

Missing dependencies

Add missing packages to the Imports (runtime) or Suggests (test/doc only) section of DESCRIPTION. Ensure all external functions are called using package::function().

Documentation out of sync

If Rd files or NAMESPACE are flagged, run:

devtools::document()

Then re-run the check.

Global variable NOTES

If check warns about "no visible binding for global variable", add the variables to R/HockeyModel-package.R or use utils::globalVariables() to quiet the note, especially when using dplyr or data.table.

Examples failing

If examples take too long or require internet access, wrap them in \dontrun{} or \donttest{} in the roxygen comments. Use @examplesIf interactive() for network-dependent functions.

Best practices

• Check locally before PR: Always run devtools::check() before pushing to ensure CI passes.
• Clean environment: Run checks in a fresh R session to avoid contamination from the global environment.
• Namespace hygiene: Ensure NAMESPACE only exports intended functions. Use @keywords internal to hide helpers from the documentation index while keeping them exported if necessary.
• News update: If fixing a check issue that affects users, add a note to NEWS.md.

References

• rcmdcheck documentation
• CRAN Repository Policy
• r-lib GitHub Actions