Starting with R 4.0.0 we are building R using standard Apple tools (Xcode) and GNU Fortran (see tools for downloads and details). As of R 4.3.0 we maintain two binary builds:
| Build | OS | Download |
|---|---|---|
| R-devel 4.4.0 Under development (unstable) (2023/09/22, r85209) | big-sur-arm64 | Installer: R-devel-arm64.pkg (90Mb, notarized) (for M1/M2 Macs only!) |
| R-devel 4.4.0 Under development (unstable) (2023/09/20, r85183) | big-sur-x86_64 | Installer: R-devel-x86_64.pkg (96Mb, notarized) (for Intel Macs) |
| R-4.3-branch 4.3.1 Patched (2023/09/22, r85209) | big-sur-arm64 | Installer: R-4.3-branch-arm64.pkg (89Mb, notarized) (for M1/M2 Macs only!) |
| R-4.3-branch 4.3.1 Patched (2023/09/15, r85182) | big-sur-x86_64 | Installer: R-4.3-branch-x86_64.pkg (96Mb, notarized) (for Intel Macs) |
Note that although M1 Macs can run the Intel build via Rosetta2 the native arm64 build is typically faster. All dependent static libraries are available in the bin directory. Please make sure you remove any modifications to build flags from your home (~/.R) since no custom compilers are used anymore. For more information about alternative OpenMP options (as in older version) see the openmp page of this site.
| Build | OS | Date | Status | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-4.2-branch 4.2.3 Patched (2023/03/29, r84123) | high-sierra | Mar 29 20:41 | x86_64: OK (log) Package: OK | x86_64/R-4.2-branch.tar.gz (x86_64, 77Mb) R-4.2-branch.pkg (89Mb, installer incl. GUI) |
| R-4.2-branch 4.2.3 Patched (2023/04/13, r84396) | big-sur | Mar 31 17:34 | arm64: OK (log) Package: OK | arm64/R-4.2-branch.tar.gz (arm64, 75Mb) R-4.2-branch.pkg (87Mb, installer incl. GUI) |
| R-4.3-branch 4.3.1 Patched (2023/09/15, r85182) | big-sur | Sep 20 12:48 | arm64: OK (log) x86_64: OK (log) | arm64/R-4.3-branch.tar.gz (arm64, 78Mb) R-4.3-branch-arm64.tar.xz (arm64 framework, 66Mb) R-4.3-branch-arm64.pkg (89Mb, installer incl. GUI) x86_64/R-4.3-branch.tar.gz (x86_64, 84Mb) R-4.3-branch-x86_64.tar.xz (x86_64 framework, 72Mb) R-4.3-branch-x86_64.pkg (96Mb, installer incl. GUI) |
| R-devel 4.4.0 Under development (unstable) (2023/09/20, r85183) | big-sur | Mar 31 17:43 | arm64: OK (log) x86_64: OK (log) Package: OK | x86_64/R-devel.tar.gz (x86_64, 84Mb) R-devel.pkg (88Mb, installer incl. GUI) |
The installer image (*.pkg) is packaged exactly the same way as the CRAN release of R (including the GUI) and it will update your R version (unless you use pkgutil - see instructions during installation and/or the "Multiple versions" section of the R Installation and Administration manual).
Alternatively, you can use the tar-ball (*.tar.gz) in the table above. The tar-ball must be unpacked in the root directory using:
$ tar fvxz R*.tar.gz -C /
NOTE: The tar-ball does not contain the GUI (see below for a separate download), it only contains files under /Library/Frameworks/R.framework so either run it via /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Resources/bin/R or create a convenience symlink if desired. The installer includes Tcl/Tk package which will install in /opt/R/arm64 or /opt/R/x86_64. It is optional (only needed for the tcltk R package) and can be unchecked at installation time.
If you see any issues with the builds, please contact Simon Urbanek (the macOS maintainer of R) or report on the R-SIG-Mac mailing list.
For old OS X El Capitan nightly builds of R 3.x.x please see the old OS X builds page.
Recently, we have introduced "last-success" binaries which are always available (even if the nightly build fails) and intended mostly for CI/CD automated systems to install latest versions. The two locations are split by the build: high-sierra (x86_64) and big-sur (x86_64 and arm64). The xz tar balls contain only the R.framework directory of the final package, so must be unpacked into /Library/Frameworks.
| Version | Build | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8213 for R 4.2.x | high-sierra-x86_64-Debug.dmg | R-GUI-8213-4.2-high-sierra-x86_64-Debug.dmg |
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8213 for R 4.2.x | high-sierra-x86_64-Release.dmg | R-GUI-8213-4.2-high-sierra-x86_64-Release.dmg |
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8233 for R 4.2.x | big-sur-arm64-Debug.dmg | R-GUI-8233-4.2-big-sur-arm64-Debug.dmg |
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8233 for R 4.2.x | big-sur-arm64-Release.dmg | R-GUI-8233-4.2-big-sur-arm64-Release.dmg |
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8270 for R 4.3.x | big-sur-arm64-Debug.dmg | R-GUI-8270-4.3-big-sur-arm64-Debug.dmg |
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8270 for R 4.3.x | big-sur-x86_64-Debug.dmg | R-GUI-8270-4.3-big-sur-x86_64-Debug.dmg |
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8270 for R 4.3.x | big-sur-arm64-Release.dmg | R-GUI-8270-4.3-big-sur-arm64-Release.dmg |
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8270 for R 4.3.x | big-sur-x86_64-Release.dmg | R-GUI-8270-4.3-big-sur-x86_64-Release.dmg |
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8270 for R 4.4.x | big-sur-arm64-Debug.dmg | R-GUI-8270-4.4-big-sur-arm64-Debug.dmg |
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8270 for R 4.4.x | big-sur-x86_64-Debug.dmg | R-GUI-8270-4.4-big-sur-x86_64-Debug.dmg |
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8270 for R 4.4.x | big-sur-arm64-Release.dmg | R-GUI-8270-4.4-big-sur-arm64-Release.dmg |
| Mac OS X GUI rev. 8270 for R 4.4.x | big-sur-x86_64-Release.dmg | R-GUI-8270-4.4-big-sur-x86_64-Release.dmg |
To install, open the image and drag the R icon to your Applications folder. Alternatively the GUI can be run directly off that image without copying if you just want to test it. Build configurations with "64" suffix are 64-bit builds, all others are 32-bit (except for Debug). If you want to use both, rename one of them or place them in different directories.
The big-sur build of R requires XQuartz 2.8.5 or higher to use the X11 components.
NOTE: Bob Rudis is maintaining a new version of a tool which has RSwitch functionality and more - see 3rd party RSwitch replacement (NOT related to R-Foundation or CRAN!).