RDesk

RDesk is a framework for building native Windows desktop applications with R. It turns your logic into a standalone .exe that runs on any machine—no R installation required by the end-user.

Quick Start

Get a professional dashboard running in seconds:

# 1. Install RDesk
devtools::install_github("Janakiraman-311/RDesk")

# 2. Create a working dashboard
RDesk::rdesk_create_app("MyDashboard")

Why RDesk?

RDesk solves the “Last Mile” problem of R deployment. Instead of a browser URL, you give your users a familiar Windows tool.

Feature	Shiny	RDesk
Delivery	Browser + Server	Native .exe
Network Ports	Yes (httpuv)	Zero (Native Pipe)
Offline Use	No	Yes
Distribution	Deploy to Cloud	Single ZIP or Installer
User Experience	Website-like	Desktop Native

Who uses RDesk?

Data analysts building internal tools that cannot live on a server
Consultants distributing one-off analysis tools to clients
Teams replacing Excel macros with proper R-powered apps
Organisations that need offline, zero-IT-involvement deployment

Not the right fit for web applications, cross-platform needs, or real-time collaborative tools — use Shiny for those.

Core Benefits

🔒 Zero-Port IPC: Native bidirectional pipes between R and the UI. No firewall issues or port conflicts.
⚡ Async by Default: Built-in background task processing via mirai. The UI never freezes, even during heavy R computations.
📦 Portable Runtime: Packages a minimal R distribution into your .exe. Your users don’t need to install R.
🎨 Modern Web UI: Use HTML/JS/CSS for the interface while keeping 100% of your logic in R.
🛠 Professional Scaffolding: Generate dashboards with sidebar navigation, Dark Mode, and auto-wired charts in one command.

Distribute Your Work

Building a professional installer is a single command away:

RDesk::build_app(
  app_dir         = "MyDashboard",
  app_name        = "SalesTool",
  build_installer = TRUE
)
# Output: dist/SalesTool-1.0.0-setup.exe

Learn More

Visit the full documentation at janakiraman-311.github.io/RDesk

Getting Started — From zero to your first native app.
Coming from Shiny — A side-by-side guide to mapping your Shiny knowledge to RDesk.
Async Guide — Mastering background tasks and progress overlays.
Cookbook — Copy-paste recipes for common desktop patterns.