How to download and install RStudio on Mac

Before you download

RStudio doesn’t include R: install R first, then RStudio. Both are free. R comes from CRAN, the R project’s site, in separate builds for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. RStudio is one download for both and needs macOS 14 or later. To know your chip:

1. Choose Apple menu › About This Mac.
2. If you see Chip with Apple M1, M2 or later, you need R for Apple Silicon (arm64). If you see Processor with Intel, you need R for Intel (x86_64).

Download R only from cran.r-project.org and RStudio only from Posit’s site.

Step 1: install R

1. Open cran.r-project.org/bin/macosx and download the latest R-….pkg: the arm64 one for Apple Silicon, the x86_64 one for Intel.
2. Open the .pkg, click Continue through the pages, Agree to the license and click Install.
3. Enter your Mac password and click Close when the installer is done. R appears in Applications.

If macOS asks whether the installer may access your Downloads folder, allow it: CRAN warns that the install fails otherwise. Or move the .pkg to your home folder first. With Homebrew, R installs with the command below.

Step 2: install RStudio

1. On Posit’s download page, take the RStudio Desktop .dmg for macOS.
2. Open the .dmg from Downloads and drag RStudio to the Applications folder.

3. Open RStudio from Applications and click Open when macOS asks about an app downloaded from the internet.
4. RStudio finds R by itself and shows its version in the Console.

What to set up after the first launch

• Packages. install.packages() in the Console downloads packages from CRAN into your R library. They stay when you update RStudio.
• Settings. Appearance, the R version and other options are in Tools › Global Options.
• Updates. RStudio and R update separately: download newer versions from the same pages and install them over the old ones.
• The installers. Move the .pkg and the .dmg from Downloads to the Trash once RStudio runs.

If RStudio won’t install or open

• RStudio says it can’t find R. Install R from CRAN first, then open RStudio again.
• The R installer refuses to install. Check that the build matches your chip and your macOS: R for Apple Silicon needs macOS 14 or later, and CRAN lists builds for older systems on the same page.
• «RStudio is damaged and can’t be opened». The download was incomplete. Delete it and download it again from Posit’s site.

Alternatives to RStudio

• PositronPosit’s newer editor for R and Python.
• Visual Studio CodeWorks with R through an extension.