We are excited to roll out R 4.6.1 on the cluster! To ensure a smooth transition without breaking your current workflows, here is what you need to know about your packages, jobs, and temporary session files.
1. 📦 Package Compatibility: Why You Need to Rebuild for R 4.6.1
Your R 4.4.0 packages will not automatically share or sync with R 4.6.1.
- The Simple Reason: Many R packages contain underlying code written in C, C++, or Fortran. These are compiled for a specific version’s internal engine (known as the Application Binary Interface, or ABI).
- What Happens If Shared? Trying to force R 4.6.1 to load packages compiled for R 4.4.0 will cause immediate crashes, package errors, or segmentation faults (
segfaults). - What You Should Do: Simply reinstall your required packages inside your new R 4.6.1 session so they compile cleanly for the new environment. (Refer to R 4.4.0 History Tab)
2. 🔄 Zero Downtime: R 4.4.0 Remains Available
Don’t worry—your ongoing research won’t be interrupted!
- Run Both Simultaneously: R 4.4.0 will remain available on the cluster.
- Safe Testing: You can take your time setting up and testing your package environments in R 4.6.1 while continuing to run your critical production jobs on R 4.4.0.
3. 🧹 Why It Is Safe to Delete ~/.local/share/rstudio/sessions & .RData
When switching to RStudio Server 2026, we recommend running a quick one-time cleanup before your first launch:
Bash
rm -rf ~/.local/share/rstudio/sessions
rm -rf .RData
- Why perform this cleanup? These folders only store temporary UI layout states and saved workspace snapshots from older R versions. Deleting them prevents RStudio from trying to restore outdated session files that cause startup conflicts.
- Why is it 100% safe? These commands do not touch your actual code or saved data files. As long as your scripts export their results (e.g., saving to
.rds,.csv,.xlsx, or a database), deleting these cache files will never lose your work or break your scripts.
If you run into any issues during the setup, feel free to reach out to the HPC support team!