Build pkgdown Site

Config + deploy pkgdown doc site for R pkg.

Use When

• Doc site for R pkg
• Customize pkgdown layout, theme, nav
• Fix 404s on deployed pkgdown site
• Migrate between deploy methods

In

• Required: R pkg w/ roxygen2 docs
• Required: GitHub repo
• Optional: Custom theme/branding
• Optional: Vignettes to include as articles

Do

Step 1: Init pkgdown

usethis::use_pkgdown()

Creates

_pkgdown.yml

+ adds pkgdown to

.Rbuildignore

.

→

_pkgdown.yml

in project root.

.Rbuildignore

has pkgdown entries.

If err: Install pkgdown via

install.packages("pkgdown")

.

_pkgdown.yml

already exists → fn updates

.Rbuildignore

w/o overwriting config.

Step 2: Configure

_pkgdown.yml

url: https://username.github.io/packagename/

development:
  mode: release

template:
  bootstrap: 5
  bootswatch: flatly

navbar:
  structure:
    left: [intro, reference, articles, news]
    right: [search, github]
  components:
    github:
      icon: fa-github
      href: https://github.com/username/packagename

reference:
  - title: Core Functions
    desc: Primary package functionality
    contents:
      - main_function
      - helper_function
  - title: Utilities
    desc: Helper and utility functions
    contents:
      - starts_with("util_")

articles:
  - title: Getting Started
    contents:
      - getting-started
  - title: Advanced Usage
    contents:
      - advanced-features
      - customization

Critical: Set

development: mode: release

. Default

mode: auto

causes 404s on GitHub Pages (appends

/dev/

to URLs).

→

_pkgdown.yml

valid YAML w/

url

,

template

,

navbar

,

reference

,

articles

appropriate for pkg.

If err: Validate YAML syntax w/ online linter. All fn names in

reference.contents

match actual exported fns.

Step 3: Build Locally

pkgdown::build_site()

→

docs/

dir created w/ complete site incl

index.html

, fn ref pages, articles.

If err: Common issues: missing pandoc (set

RSTUDIO_PANDOC

in

.Renviron

), missing vignette deps (install suggested pkgs), broken examples (fix or wrap in

\dontrun{}

).

Step 4: Preview

pkgdown::preview_site()

Verify nav, fn ref, articles, search work.

→ Site opens in browser at localhost. Nav links work, ref pages render, search returns results.

If err: Preview doesn't open → manually open

docs/index.html

. Pages missing → check

devtools::document()

ran before build.

Step 5: Deploy to GitHub Pages

Method A: GitHub Actions (Recommended)

See

setup-github-actions-ci

skill for pkgdown workflow.

Method B: Manual Branch Deploy

# Build site
Rscript -e "pkgdown::build_site()"

# Create gh-pages branch if it doesn't exist
git checkout --orphan gh-pages
git rm -rf .
cp -r docs/* .
git add .
git commit -m "Deploy pkgdown site"
git push origin gh-pages

# Switch back to main
git checkout main

→

gh-pages

branch on remote w/ site files at root.

If err: Push rejected → ensure write access. Using GitHub Actions instead → skip + follow

setup-github-actions-ci

.

Step 6: Configure GitHub Pages

1. Repo Settings > Pages
2. Source: "Deploy from a branch"
3. Select

   gh-pages

   branch,

   / (root)

   folder
4. Save

→ Site available at

https://username.github.io/packagename/

within min.

If err: 404 → verify Pages source matches deploy method (branch deploy needs "Deploy from a branch"). Check

development: mode: release

in

_pkgdown.yml

.

Step 7: Add URL to DESCRIPTION

URL: https://username.github.io/packagename/, https://github.com/username/packagename

→ DESCRIPTION

URL

has pkgdown site URL + GitHub repo URL, comma-separated.

If err:

R CMD check

warns invalid URLs → verify pkgdown site actually deployed + accessible before adding.

Check

• Builds locally w/o errs
• All fn ref pages render
• Articles/vignettes accessible + render
• Search works
• Nav links correct
• Deploys to GitHub Pages
• No 404s

• development: mode: release

  set

Traps

• 404 after deploy: Almost always

  development: mode: auto

  (default). →

  mode: release

• Missing ref pages: Fns must be exported + documented. Run

  devtools::document()

  first
• Broken vignette links: Use

  vignette("name")

  syntax for cross-refs, not file paths
• Logo not showing: Place at

  man/figures/logo.png

  , ref in

  _pkgdown.yml

• Search not working: Needs

  url

  field in

  _pkgdown.yml

  set correctly
• Wrong R binary hybrid sys: WSL/Docker →

  Rscript

  may resolve to cross-platform wrapper vs native. Check

  which Rscript && Rscript --version

  . Prefer native (e.g.,

  /usr/local/bin/Rscript

  on Linux/WSL). See Setting Up Your Environment

→

• setup-github-actions-ci

  — automated pkgdown deploy workflow

• write-roxygen-docs

  — fn docs that appear on site

• write-vignette

  — articles in site nav

• release-package-version

  — trigger rebuild on release