RStudio global settings (options) Export/Import

Question

I would like to export/import RStudio global options, which can typically found and set in RStudio at Tools> Global Options...

Ideally I could run a line of code, saving the existing settings to a file. Then run another line of code to load those settings from this file.

These options include settings such as a Dark Theme for the GUI, or Tab Width etc.

This has a range of uses but my specific use case is that I spin up virtual environments to utilize cloud computing. Each time I shutdown and/or spin-up a new environment I need to apply these various settings anew (or work with the defaults).

After searching for a while all I have found is this unanswered user request. Despite the unanswered request, I feel like there is/should be an existing way to do this, even if imperfect.

Thanks in advance for any help/direction

Answer 1

Aha! I found a relevant support page: https://support.rstudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/200534577-Resetting-RStudio-Desktop-s-State

TL;DR:
Most settings are stored in a "RStudio-Desktop" folder. To be exact:

• Windows: %localappdata%\RStudio-Desktop
  (fyi: %localappdata% usually resolves to C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local [1])
• Unix / MacOS: ~/.rstudio-desktop

I have confirmed that deleting/overriding that folder with a backup of it restores the settings from the time of the backup.

Some further information (e.g. last window size) may be stored at

• Windows: %appdata%\RStudio
• Unix: ~/.config/RStudio
  (I'm guessing it's the same for MacOS, but the relevant section is worded it bit weirdly, so I'm unsure.)