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R Markdown

Maintenance

by Posit Software, PBC · Library · also known as rmarkdown, RMarkdown

R package that turns Markdown documents with embedded R (and Python or SQL) chunks into HTML, PDF, Word, slides, books and dashboards through knitr and Pandoc

MIT licenseFreeOpen sourceLocalSelf-hostable
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Checked Nov 2, 2026

Overview

R Markdown is the R package (rmarkdown) that established the literate-programming workflow now generalized by Quarto: an .Rmd file combines narrative Markdown with code chunks, knitr executes the chunks, and Pandoc renders the result to HTML, PDF, Word, Beamer or HTML5 slides, Tufte handouts, dashboards (flexdashboard), books (bookdown), blogs (blogdown), scientific article templates (rticles) and Shiny documents. Chunks can also run Python, SQL and other engines, and RStudio provides a notebook-style editor with inline output.

The package is MIT-licensed and maintained by Posit. Posit now recommends Quarto for new projects, and R Markdown receives maintenance rather than major new features, but the vast existing base of .Rmd documents, packages and templates keeps it relevant, and Quarto renders most .Rmd files unchanged. It requires R, Pandoc (bundled with RStudio) and a TeX distribution for PDF output.

Editorial note on uncertainty. product_status 'maintenance' reflects Posit's public guidance to prefer Quarto for new projects; the package remains published and updated.

Capabilities

  • Executable R, Python and SQL chunks via knitr
  • Rendering to HTML, PDF, Word and slide formats through Pandoc
  • Extension ecosystem: bookdown, blogdown, flexdashboard, rticles
  • Parameterized reports
  • Shiny-powered interactive documents
  • Notebook editing in RStudio

Typical workflows

  1. Statistical report regenerated when the data change
  2. Course notes or a book with bookdown
  3. Journal article from an rticles template

Strengths

  • Mature ecosystem with many templates
  • Works inside RStudio out of the box
  • MIT licence

Limitations

  • R-centric; multi-language support is weaker than Quarto's
  • Posit recommends Quarto for new work
  • PDF output needs a TeX distribution

Prerequisites

  • R and the rmarkdown package
  • Pandoc (bundled with RStudio)
  • TeX distribution for PDF

Who it is for

  • R users producing reports and papers
  • Maintainers of existing .Rmd projects

Alternatives & comparison

Quarto is the direct successor and renders most R Markdown documents; Jupyter offers notebooks for Python-first users. Pandoc is the converter both systems rely on.

  • Pandoc

    Universal document converter that translates between Markdown, LaTeX, HTML, DOCX, EPUB, Typst, Jupyter and dozens of other formats, with citeproc and Lua filters

    Open sourceFree
  • Project Jupyter

    Open-source computational notebook ecosystem: the .ipynb format, kernels for Python, R and Julia, JupyterLab and Notebook interfaces and JupyterHub

    Open sourceOpen source
  • Quarto

    Open-source scientific publishing system from Posit that renders Markdown with executable Python, R, Julia or Observable code to HTML, PDF, Word, slides, websites and books via Pandoc

    Open sourceFree
  • RStudio IDE

    Posit's open-source integrated development environment for R, with console, editor, plots, environment panes, Quarto/R Markdown authoring and Python via reticulate

    MixedFree
Compare R Markdown with its alternatives →

Sources & verification

Primary sources consulted for this record. Claims are tied to the fields each source supports; the automated link checker re-verifies every URL on a schedule.

  • License
    rstudio/rmarkdown LICENSE.md

    https://github.com/rstudio/rmarkdown/blob/main/LICENSE.md

    Supports: license_spdx, source_model, vendor

    checked Nov 1, 2026
  • Official documentation
    R Markdown: The Definitive Guide

    https://bookdown.org/yihui/rmarkdown

    Supports: docs_url, workflows

    checked Nov 1, 2026
  • Official site
    R Markdown

    https://rmarkdown.rstudio.com/

    Supports: name, summary, capabilities

    checked Nov 1, 2026
Confidence
High
Reviewed
Nov 1, 2026
Links
Broken · Nov 2, 2026

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