Configuration Structure Levels

default:

dev:

qa:

prod:

default:
  paths:
  autos:

dev:
  paths:
  autos:

qa:
  paths:
  autos:

prod:
  paths:
  autos:

default:
  paths:
    data: "/demo/DEV/username/project1/data"
    output: "/demo/DEV/username/project1/output"
    programs: "/demo/DEV/username/project1/programs"

Working Example

Let’s create a practical example for a project called project1 that needs data input, result output, and program storage locations.

library(envsetup)

# Create temporary directory for demonstration
dir <- fs::file_temp()
dir.create(dir)
config_path <- file.path(dir, "_envsetup.yml")

# Write a basic config file
file_conn <- file(config_path)
writeLines(
"default:
  paths:
    data: '/demo/DEV/username/project1/data'
    output: '/demo/DEV/username/project1/output'
    programs: '/demo/DEV/username/project1/programs'", file_conn)
close(file_conn)

Loading and Using the Configuration

# Load the configuration
envsetup_config <- config::get(file = config_path)

# Apply the configuration to your R session
rprofile(envsetup_config)
#> Assigned paths to R_GlobalEnv

Accessing Your Configured Paths

Once configured, your paths are available in the envsetup_environment environment within the envsetup package environment:

# See all available path objects
ls(envsetup_environment)
#> [1] "object_metadata"

# Access individual paths
get_path(data)
#> [1] "/demo/DEV/username/project1/data"
get_path(output)
#> [1] "/demo/DEV/username/project1/output"
get_path(programs)
#> [1] "/demo/DEV/username/project1/programs"

How It Works

The rprofile() function:

1. Creates a special environment called envsetup_environment

2. Populates it with your configured path objects

3. Makes these objects accessible in your code via the get_path(), read_path(), and write_path()

Benefits

With this setup:

• Consistency: All team members use the same path structure

• Flexibility: Easy to change paths without modifying code

• Clarity: Path purposes are clearly defined

• Maintainability: Centralized configuration management

Next Steps

Now that you understand basic path configuration, the next guide will show you how to manage multiple environments (dev, qa, prod) with different configurations.