A simpler solution may be to run `update.packages()` daily (or close to it) and to trust both CRAN on the examplary work they do, and stick with packages that won't break you. There. That "just worked" for me for 25 years with #RStats. These days I even get binaries via r2u.
Pat Schloss @PatSchloss
12 Jul 2022
I have a bad habit of not paying attention to the version of packages I'm using in #Rstats. Then I'm surprised if a package is updated and things break. Want to know how to keep better track of your packages and their versions? Watch the latest Code Club youtube.com/yc7ZB4F_dc0

Jul 12, 2022 · 12:50 PM UTC

1
2
8
Replying to @eddelbuettel
Thanks. And what if you're using code that for whatever reason isn't getting developed on every day? Thinking of an analysis that was done two years ago that someone might want to re-run today. New versions likely to break old scripts.
2
3
Not so. My CRANberries code has been running (now on an hourly cronjob) for fifteen years. I have owned production jobs that ran for years. CRAN ensures an absence of fundamental breakage. You can combine that with your knowledge and experience to pick packages that behave.
1