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Too many R packages: CRAN is inundated with submissions

New CRAN Packages: signal or noise? – R Works

rworks.dev

June 24, 2026

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Summary

CRAN is experiencing a rapid increase in the number of new R packages being accepted. There is ongoing debate within the R community about whether this growth is beneficial.

Key Takeaways

The number of new R packages accepted by CRAN is increasing rapidly, raising questions about their overall benefit to the R community.
Many new R packages lack sufficient documentation, with 40 out of 323 new packages in May having no README file, vignettes, or repository links.
The ease of packaging and deploying software may lead to a proliferation of R packages that do not contribute meaningfully to statistical methods or the R community.
There is a concern that most new R packages are not being used, reviewed, or discovered, indicating a potential lack of value.

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Community Sentiment

Mixed

Positives

AI is accelerating the learning curve for R users, making the language more accessible to those who may have struggled with programming before.
The tidyverse ecosystem is praised for its coherence and functionality in machine learning and statistical computing, offering a streamlined approach for users.
CRAN's human oversight ensures a higher quality of packages compared to more chaotic repositories, which could lead to more reliable tools for data analysis.

Concerns

The reliance on the tidyverse among R instructors is criticized for promoting redundant functions and anti-patterns, potentially hindering new users from mastering base R capabilities.
Many packages on CRAN are seen as poorly documented or lacking in utility, contributing to a cluttered and confusing environment for users.
There is a sentiment that R's popularity is waning compared to Python, suggesting a need for improvement in the language's ecosystem to retain users.