R
R is a statistical computing and programming environment for macOS used for data analysis, visualization, modeling, and package-based research workflows.
What is R?
R is a native macOS implementation of the R language and environment for statistical computing and graphics. It helps researchers, analysts, students, and developers work with data, build statistical models, create charts, and write reproducible analysis scripts. On Mac, users commonly install R to run code locally, use CRAN packages, and support workflows in areas such as data science, biostatistics, econometrics, and machine learning. The software includes the core R runtime and supports command-line use as well as the standard Mac GUI distributed with the macOS builds. Many users pair it with editors or IDEs such as RStudio, but R itself provides the underlying language, package system, and computation environment. Simon Urbanek maintains the macOS distribution used for R binaries on Mac.
Key features
- Run statistical analysis and numerical computing tasks locally
- Create plots, charts, and other data visualizations
- Install and use CRAN packages for specialized workflows
- Write scripts for reproducible data analysis and reporting
- Fit statistical models and test analytical hypotheses
- Work from the command line or the standard Mac GUI
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Inspect caches, support files, containers, and login items before cleaning.
Safety overview
Status: Safe
R is legitimate scientific and analytical software. It normally reads and writes files that you choose for projects, scripts, datasets, packages, and output, which is expected for a programming environment. If you install third-party packages or run downloaded scripts, treat that code with the same caution you would use for any developer tool, because packages can access your files and network within your user account. Keep R only if you use it for data analysis or software workflows, and be selective about the packages and code you run.
Recommendation: Keep R if you use statistical computing, data analysis, or any Mac workflow that depends on R packages. If you no longer use it, you can remove it, but expect R scripts, package-based tools, and projects that depend on the local R runtime to stop working until it is reinstalled.
Common paths
/Applications/R.app/Library/Frameworks/R.framework/usr/local/bin/R/usr/local/bin/Rscript
Cache paths
~/Library/Caches/org.R-project.R
Preference paths
~/Library/Preferences/org.R-project.R.plist
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