metapip installs, inspects, and manages the R packages behind the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP). Think of it as the {tidyverse} for PIP: one package that loads and coordinates all the others.
The PIP ecosystem comprises multiple interdependent R packages (pipapi,
pipload, wbpip, pipfun, pipdata, pipaux, pipster, pipfaker)
hosted on GitHub. Keeping them in sync across users and environments is
error-prone. metapip solves this by:
- One-call installs – install all core packages from their configured branches with a single function call.
- SHA-pinned reproducibility – a
PIP_LOCK.csvlockfile pins every package to an exact commit, so all team members get identical code. - Branch management – configure per-package branch overrides and inspect version status across the ecosystem.
# install.packages("devtools")
devtools::install_github("PIP-Technical-Team/metapip")library(metapip)
# 1. Verify GitHub credentials (recommended for rate limits)
check_github_token() |> print()
# 2. Install and attach all core packages
init_metapip()
# 3. Snapshot the current state for team reproducibility
pip_snapshot()init_metapip() checks each package against its configured branch and installs
any outdated packages. When a PIP_LOCK.csv lockfile is present, it installs
from the exact recorded SHAs.
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
init_metapip() |
Install + attach all packages (lock-driven) |
install_branch() |
Install one package from a branch/SHA |
install_pip_packages() |
Install multiple packages from branches |
update_pip_packages() |
Refresh lock + install outdated packages |
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
get_branches() |
List available branches for a package |
get_branch_info() |
Last commit info for specific branches |
core_metadata() |
Overview of all core packages |
package_branches() |
Version comparison across branches |
get_current_branches() |
View configured branch assignments |
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
pip_snapshot() |
Write a PIP_LOCK.csv lock manifest |
metapip uses a two-tier configuration:
# Global default (applies to all packages)
get_default_branch() # "PROD"
set_default_branch("DEV") # Change for session
# Per-package overrides (take precedence over global)
set_custom_branch(pipapi = "DEV_v3", pipfaker = "main")
get_custom_branch() # View overridesInstall functions (install_branch(), install_pip_packages()) require a
GitHub PAT for rate-limit reliability. Read-only functions work without one.
Set up credentials with:
# Using gitcreds (recommended)
gitcreds::gitcreds_set()
# Or environment variable
Sys.setenv(GITHUB_PAT = "ghp_your_token")- Project lead: run
pip_snapshot()to writePIP_LOCK.csv. - Commit the lockfile to version control.
- Team members: run
init_metapip()to install at the recorded SHAs. - Updates: run
update_pip_packages()to refresh the lock and install new versions.
See vignette("lockfile-workflow") for the full workflow.
| Vignette | Description |
|---|---|
| Getting Started | Installation, credentials, first steps |
| Architecture | Design, data flow, and core concepts |
| Lockfile Workflow | Team reproducibility end-to-end |
| Package Development | Developing PIP packages with metapip |
| Branch Configuration | Default branches and per-package overrides |
| Function Reference | Complete function documentation |
metapip installs PIP packages from GitHub branches and resolves non-PIP
dependencies from CRAN independently, which can cause version skew. For
coordinated dependency resolution, consider using
{renv} as a companion tool.