Resetting RStudio's State

Overview

RStudio stores your custom settings and options in a hidden directory called RStudio-Desktop. If this directory does not exist, RStudio will create it on start up. This directory includes user settings, log files, and other state information. Removing (or renaming) this directory will reset RStudio's state analogous to a fresh installation.

We recommend renaming this directory to create a backup version instead of completely deleting it. This allows you to save your settings, incase you want to revert back to them. Additionally, if you experienced a crash or RStudio failed to start, this directory may contain vital information for determining the source of the error. In this case, we recommend renaming this directory to backup-rstudio-desktop and sending it along with a support request.

Accessing the RStudio-Desktop Directory

Windows

You can open an Explorer window into the RStudio-Desktop directory by typing the following command into Start -> Run:

For Windows Vista and 7:

%localappdata%\RStudio-Desktop

For Windows XP:

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\RStudio-Desktop

You can then rename this directory to backup-rstudio-desktop and send it with your support request.

Mac OS X

You can easily create a backup by running the following command from the terminal. Then you can send this backup with your support request:

mv ~/.rstudio-desktop ~/backup-rstudio-desktop

Alternatively, you can open a Finder window into the rstudio-desktop directory by typing the following command at the Terminal:

open ~/.rstudio-desktop

Linux

You can easily create a backup by running the following command from the terminal. Then you can send this backup with your support request:

mv ~/.rstudio-desktop ~/backup-rstudio-desktop

Alternatively, you can open a File Browser into the rstudio-desktop directory by typing the following command at the Terminal:

nautilus ~/.rstudio-desktop

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