Product Design, Manufacturing & Innovation Resources

webR

Coding, Data Analysis & Visualization

Free
No Download/Install required
No registration

webR is a build of the R language compiled to WebAssembly, developed by Posit. The REPL page runs a full R session in the browser with a console, a file browser, a plot pane and an editor, with no server and no local R installation.

Base R, graphics and statistics functions work as on a desktop, and many CRAN packages are available as precompiled WebAssembly binaries that can be installed with install.packages from the webR repository. Files can be uploaded into the virtual file system, which allows analysis of CSV and other data files.

This environment is suited to short statistical analyses, teaching, reproducing results from a script and testing packages. Performance and memory are lower than native R, and packages that depend on system libraries outside the repository are not available. Sessions end when the tab is closed.

Disciplines: Statistics, Data science, Biostatistics, Academic research, Education, Epidemiology.

Free alternative to RStudio, Posit Cloud, Google Colab.

webR compared with RStudio, Posit Cloud and Google Colab
webR	RStudio	Posit Cloud	Google Colab
Where the code runs: R is compiled to WebAssembly and executes inside the browser tab, so no R installation and no R server are needed. Data loaded in the session stays on the client machine.	Where the code runs: The desktop edition runs R locally. RStudio Server and Posit Workbench provide the same IDE in a browser, with R executing on a server.	Where the code runs: R runs in a per-project container hosted on AWS and the IDE is opened in the browser. Project data is encrypted at rest on the provider side.	Where the code runs: Code runs on virtual machines operated by Google. Notebooks are stored in Google Drive or loaded from GitHub, and sharing a notebook does not share the VM or its files.
Language support: Runs the R language, plus a TypeScript and JavaScript API for driving the R console and R objects from a web page.	Language support: Integrated environment for R and Python, with a visual editor for Quarto and RMarkdown, an interactive debugger and package development tools.	Language support: Offers RStudio for R and Jupyter Notebooks for Python in the browser.	Language support: Focuses on Python and its ecosystem. According to the FAQ, R and other non-Python kernels are not supported, and no timeline is given.
Limits and persistence: Packages can only be installed as precompiled WebAssembly binaries, not from source, and they are reinstalled in every session. The system() command is not implemented and each session starts with a clean slate.		Limits and persistence: Usage is measured in compute hours that depend on allocated RAM and CPUs, and projects are suspended after 15 minutes without activity. Plans range from 1 to 8 CPUs and from 1 to 32 GB of RAM.	Limits and persistence: Limits are dynamic and not published. Free notebooks can run for at most 12 hours, idle runtimes time out, and GPU and TPU availability varies over time.
Licence and cost model: Built on the open-source R interpreter and delivered as web pages, so it can be hosted on an ordinary web server such as GitHub Pages.	Licence and cost model: The open source edition is under the AGPL. Commercial variants exist, and the Posit Workbench commercial licence removes the AGPL restrictions.	Licence and cost model: Free plan that does not expire, with paid plans above it. Some plans cap monthly compute hours.	Licence and cost model: Free of charge with GPUs and TPUs included. Paid Pro, Pro+ and Pay As You Go plans add compute availability, longer runtimes and high-memory machines.
Platform and access: Needs a modern browser. The webr canvas graphics device requires OffscreenCanvas, while Cairo-based devices such as png() also work in older browsers.	Platform and access: Desktop runs on Windows 11, macOS 14 or later and Linux. Server and Workbench are reached through a browser.	Platform and access: Accessed through posit.cloud with an authenticated login.

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