Installing R and RStudio is the starting point for learning R programming language. This article shows you the easy and simple way to install/update R and RStudio on Windows operating system.

If you are a Mac user and want to install/update R and RStudio on Mac operating system then check my another article Install or Update R and RStudio on Mac Operating System.

Installing R

For installing R on Windows perform the following steps:

1. Go to page R for Windows to download the R installer.
2. Download the Latest release of R for Windows (e.g. R-4.0.2-win.exe).
3. After downloading the file, double-click to install. In the installation window, just click "Next" to all dialogs to finish the installation.

Installing RStudio

For installing RStudio on Windows perform the following steps:

1. Go to page Download RStudio to download the RStudio installer.
2. Download the latest release of RStudio for Windows (e.g. RStudio-1.3.1073.exe).
3. After downloading the file, double click to install. In the installation window, just click "Next" to all dialogs to finish the installation.

Verify R Version

You can check the R version by opening the RStudio. At the top of the console of your RStudio you will see the R version. For example,

R version 4.0.2 (2020-06-22)

Or, simply type R.version.string on the RStudio console to see the R version. For example,

> R.version.string
[1] "R version 4.0.2 (2020-06-22)"

Updating R

For updating R on Windows, you can simply try using the installr package which is created particularly for windows.

To update R on Windows using installr package, perform the following steps:

1. Install and load installr package:

   install.packages("installr") 
   library(installr)

2. Call updateR() function. This will start updating R by finding the latest R version, downloading the latest R version, running the R installer, deleting the installation file, and copy new packages and updating old packages to the new R installation.

After updating your R, restart your RStudio, it will automatically use the updated version of R. Awesome!

Updating RStudio

For updating RStudio on Windows, perform the following steps.

1. Open RStudio, and go to Help > Check for Updates. This will redirect to RStudio download page.
2. If newer version available, download the latest release of RStudio for Windows (e.g. RStudio-1.3.1073.exe).
3. After downloading the file, double click to install. In the installation window, just click "Next" to all dialogs to finish the installation.

By the way, if you want to update packages, from the RStudio go to Tools > Check for Package Updates. If updates are available, select all (or, select the specific packages you want to update), and click install updates.

Concluding Remarks

That's all about installing or updating R and RStudio on Windows. I personally found these steps easier and simpler. Hope you will find the same!

Happy R coding!