Agent-almanac create-r-dockerfile

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/pjt222/agent-almanac

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/pjt222/agent-almanac "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/i18n/wenyan/skills/create-r-dockerfile" ~/.claude/skills/pjt222-agent-almanac-create-r-dockerfile-ba53d8 && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: i18n/wenyan/skills/create-r-dockerfile/SKILL.md

source content

Create R Dockerfile

Build a Dockerfile for R projects using rocker base images with proper dependency management.

When to Use

Containerizing an R application or analysis
Creating reproducible R environments
Deploying R-based services (Shiny, Plumber, MCP server)
Setting up consistent development environments

Inputs

Required: R project with dependencies (DESCRIPTION or renv.lock)
Required: Purpose (development, production, or service)
Optional: R version (default: latest stable)
Optional: Additional system libraries needed

Procedure

Step 1: Choose Base Image

Use Case	Base Image	Size
Minimal R runtime	`rocker/r-ver:4.5.0`	~800MB
With tidyverse	`rocker/tidyverse:4.5.0`	~1.8GB
With RStudio Server	`rocker/rstudio:4.5.0`	~1.9GB
Shiny server	`rocker/shiny-verse:4.5.0`	~2GB

Expected: A base image is selected that matches the project's requirements without unnecessary bloat.

On failure: If unsure which image to use, start with

rocker/r-ver

(minimal) and add packages as needed. Check rocker-org for the full image catalog.

Step 2: Write Dockerfile

FROM rocker/r-ver:4.5.0

# Install system dependencies
# Group by purpose for clarity
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    # HTTP/SSL
    libcurl4-openssl-dev \
    libssl-dev \
    # XML processing
    libxml2-dev \
    # Git integration
    libgit2-dev \
    libssh2-1-dev \
    # Graphics
    libfontconfig1-dev \
    libharfbuzz-dev \
    libfribidi-dev \
    libfreetype6-dev \
    libpng-dev \
    libtiff5-dev \
    libjpeg-dev \
    # Utilities
    git \
    curl \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Install R packages
# Order: least-changing first for cache efficiency
RUN R -e "install.packages(c( \
    'remotes', \
    'devtools', \
    'renv' \
    ), repos='https://cloud.r-project.org/')"

# Set working directory
WORKDIR /workspace

# Copy renv files first (cache layer)
COPY renv.lock renv.lock
COPY renv/activate.R renv/activate.R

# Restore packages from lockfile
RUN R -e "renv::restore()"

# Copy project files
COPY . .

# Default command
CMD ["R"]

Expected: Dockerfile builds successfully with

docker build -t myproject .

On failure: If the build fails during

apt-get install

, check package names for the target distro (Debian). If

renv::restore()

fails, ensure

renv.lock

and

renv/activate.R

are copied before the restore step.

Step 3: Create .dockerignore

.git
.Rproj.user
.Rhistory
.RData
renv/library
renv/cache
renv/staging
docs/
*.tar.gz

Expected:

.dockerignore

excludes Git history, IDE files, local renv library, and build artifacts from the Docker context.

On failure: If the Docker build still copies unwanted files, verify

.dockerignore

is in the same directory as the Dockerfile and uses correct glob patterns.

Step 4: Build and Test

docker build -t r-project:latest .
docker run --rm -it r-project:latest R -e "sessionInfo()"

Expected: Container starts with correct R version and all packages available.

sessionInfo()

output confirms the expected R version.

On failure: Check build logs for system dependency errors. Add missing

-dev

packages to the

apt-get install

layer.

Step 5: Optimize for Production

For production deployments, use multi-stage builds:

# Build stage
FROM rocker/r-ver:4.5.0 AS builder
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y libcurl4-openssl-dev libssl-dev
COPY renv.lock .
RUN R -e "install.packages('renv'); renv::restore()"

# Runtime stage
FROM rocker/r-ver:4.5.0
COPY --from=builder /usr/local/lib/R/site-library /usr/local/lib/R/site-library
COPY . /app
WORKDIR /app
CMD ["Rscript", "main.R"]

Expected: Multi-stage build produces a smaller final image. Runtime stage contains only compiled R packages, not build tools.

On failure: If packages fail to load in the runtime stage, ensure the library path in

COPY --from=builder

matches where R installed packages. Check with

R -e ".libPaths()"

in both stages.

Validation

```
docker build
```
completes without errors
Container starts and R session works
All required packages are available
```
.dockerignore
```
excludes unnecessary files
Image size is reasonable for the use case
Rebuilds are fast when only code changes (layer caching works)

Common Pitfalls

Missing system dependencies: R packages with compiled code need
```
-dev
```
libraries. Check error messages during
```
install.packages()
```
Layer cache invalidation: Copying all files before installing packages invalidates cache on every code change. Copy lockfile first.
Large images: Use
```
rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
```
after
```
apt-get install
```
. Consider multi-stage builds.
Timezone issues: Add
```
ENV TZ=UTC
```
or install
```
tzdata
```
for timezone-aware operations
Running as root: Add a non-root user for production:
```
RUN useradd -m appuser && USER appuser
```

Examples

# Development container with mounted source
docker run --rm -it -v $(pwd):/workspace r-project:latest R

# Plumber API service
docker run -d -p 8000:8000 r-api:latest

# Shiny app
docker run -d -p 3838:3838 r-shiny:latest

Related Skills

```
setup-docker-compose
```
- orchestrate multiple containers
```
containerize-mcp-server
```
- special case for MCP R servers
```
optimize-docker-build-cache
```
- advanced caching strategies
```
manage-renv-dependencies
```
- renv.lock feeds into Docker builds