[Rd] Creating a private CRAN with webpages

[Joshua Bradley]

Hello,

I am trying to setup a private CRAN for work (behind a firewall). The best
options available include miniCRAN
<https://github.com/RevolutionAnalytics/miniCRAN>, drat
<https://github.com/eddelbuettel/drat> and packrat
<https://rstudio.github.io/packrat/>. One problem is these packages do not
automatically generate the web pages that are on the CRAN.

Examples:
https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/index.html
https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/available_packages_by_name.html

Each time the CRAN adds a package, there must be an automated process in
place to regenerate the pages again with the new package added (example - A3
<https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/A3/index.html>). I read somewhere
(possibly on stackoverflow) that the CRAN html pages are statically built.
I would like for users to be able to explore the packages in my private
CRAN just like the public CRAN without having to open R and search for
packages/documentation through the command line.

The R Manual includes a small section
<https://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/r-release/R-admin.html#Setting-up-a-package-repository>
on setting up a repository but it only discusses the structure of the
directories needed to host packages. Nothing is mentioned about how the
CRAN creates/updates the /web directory. What is the best way to
generate/maintain the web pages for a private CRAN?

P.S. Let me know if this question is best answered on one of the other
mailing lists.

Josh Bradley

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