2  Search for packages

You can search for packages via https://r-universe.dev/search/ using keywords or author names.
To search for an exact phrase like “weather data,” use double quotes instead of single quotes.
The search bar includes a drop-down button for accessing advanced search fields.

Search landing page

Search landing page, advanced fields

Search results for ‘“missing-data”’

Search results for ‘author:jeroen json’

Search results for ‘exports:toJSON’

2.1 How is the package-rank score calculated?

The rank of a package in search results is based on its match with the search queries, and on its popularity/quality.

The exact algorithm for calculating popularity/quality is a work-in-progress and will change. At the time of writing it includes:

• Number of dependents (that is to say, recursive reverse dependencies);
• Number of stars on Github;
• Number of unique contributors;
• Commit activity over the last year;
• Downloads per month from CRAN or Bioconductor mirrors;
• Number of files on GitHub that mention ‘library(pkgname)’.

You can browse scores and metrics for all packages.

We plan to keep updating the algorithm as R-universe matures and better data becomes available.

As a package maintainer, you can optimize your package’s metadata and work on improving its rank.

2.2 Why is a package sometimes listed twice?

If a source package fails to build (which means something is very wrong) then you see a red “build failure” message. If there was a previous successful build, it is kept there as well for users to install. You can explore scores and metrics for all packages.
The algorithm will evolve as R-universe matures and better data becomes available.

2.3 Which packages get included in search?

In R-universe, a given R package can appear in multiple registries. To avoid duplicates, search results only display packages from the upstream GitHub owner’s universe, excluding third-party copies.

Specifically, search results include:

• Packages where the GitHub owner matches the universe name (e.g., packages under https://jeroen.r-universe.dev from https://github.com/jeroen/). This includes all CRAN packages.
• Packages where the universe name differs from the GitHub owner, but the DESCRIPTION file includes the full user.r-universe.dev URL in the URL field (e.g., https://jeroen.r-universe.dev or https://jeroen.r-universe.dev/mypkg).

2.4 Why is a package sometimes listed twice?

If a source package fails to build (indicating a critical issue), a red “build failure” message is displayed.
If a previous build succeeded, it remains available for users to install.