RStudio Server Installation & Management Guide (Ubuntu 20.04 / 24.04)

This guide outlines the procedure for building an RStudio Server environment on Ubuntu. It covers pinning R versions using rig, managing system dependencies, and configuring session timeouts.

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1. System Preparation

Before installing R, update system repositories and install essential build tools.

1.1. System Update & Dependency Installation

It is strongly recommended to install system-level development libraries first to prevent R package compilation errors (especially for spatial/graphic packages).

# Update repositories
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install basic build tools
sudo apt install -y build-essential libcurl4-gnutls-dev libxml2-dev \
  libssl-dev curl gdebi-core default-jdk

# Install GIS, graphics, and font libraries (Essential for sf, terra, tidyverse, etc.)
sudo apt install -y libgdal-dev libproj-dev libgeos-dev libudunits2-dev \
  libnode-dev libcairo2-dev libnetcdf-dev libharfbuzz-dev libfribidi-dev \
  libpng-dev libjpeg-dev libtiff-dev

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2. R Installation (Pinning Version with rig)

Use rig (The R Installation Manager) to install specific R versions and prevent overwrites caused by apt upgrade.

2.1. Install rig

curl -Ls https://github.com/r-lib/rig/releases/download/latest/rig-linux-amd64.tar.gz \
  | sudo tar xz -C /usr/local

2.2. Install specific R version

# R 4.3.3 Installation (for example)
sudo rig install 4.3.3

# Set as system default
sudo rig default 4.3.3

# Configure Java (Resolve rJava issue)
sudo R CMD javareconf

2.3. Prevent System R Installation (Optional, Recommended)

Prevent other sudo users from accidentally installing the apt version of R.

sudo apt-mark hold r-base r-base-core r-base-dev r-recommended

Since R installed via rig and R installed via apt can conflict, holding the apt packages is recommended.

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3. RStudio Server Installation

3.1. Download and Installation

Note: It is crucial to install the correct build for your OS release. Installing a version designed for Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 on Ubuntu 20.04 will cause libssl dependency errors.

Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) / 22.04 (Jammy):Uses standard official release (OpenSSL 3.0 support).

sudo apt-get install gdebi-core
wget https://download2.rstudio.org/server/jammy/amd64/rstudio-server-2024.04.2-764-amd64.deb
sudo gdebi -n rstudio-server-*-amd64.deb

Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal):Used the specific build 2024.04.3+777 (Daily Build) to get most recent update and ensure OpenSSL 1.1 compatibility.

sudo apt-get install gdebi-core
# Download the specific build for Focal (Ubuntu 20.04)
wget https://s3.amazonaws.com/rstudio-ide-build/server/focal/amd64/rstudio-server-2024.04.3-777-amd64.deb
sudo gdebi -n rstudio-server-2024.04.3-777-amd64.deb

3.2. Verification

# Verify the service status
sudo systemctl status rstudio-server

# Verify the installed version
rstudio-server version

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4. Configuration

4.1. Pinning a Specific R Version

Force RStudio Server to use a specific R version installed via rig (e.g., /opt/R/...).

sudo nano /etc/rstudio/rserver.conf

Add the following line:

# Path to the specific R version
rsession-which-r=/opt/R/4.3.3/bin/R

4.2. Port Configuration (Optional)

If you need to use a port other than the default 8787 (e.g., due to firewall restrictions):

sudo nano /etc/rstudio/rserver.conf

Add or modify:

```ini, TOML www-port=xxxx

### 4.3. Disabling Session Timeouts

Configure RStudio to prevent automatic session suspension or logout.

**Prevent Session Suspension (Keep R processes alive):**

```bash
sudo nano /etc/rstudio/rsession.conf

# 0 = Unlimited (No timeout)
session-timeout-minutes=0

Prevent Authentication Timeout (Keep users logged in):

sudo nano /etc/rstudio/rserver.conf

auth-timeout-minutes=0

4.4. Applying Changes

Restart the server to apply the configuration changes.

sudo rstudio-server restart