Submit to CRAN

Execute the full CRAN submission workflow from pre-flight checks through submission.

When to Use

Package is ready for initial CRAN release
Submitting an updated version of an existing CRAN package
Re-submitting after CRAN reviewer feedback

Inputs

Required: R package passing local R CMD check with 0 errors and 0 warnings
Required: Updated version number in DESCRIPTION
Required: Updated NEWS.md with changes for this version
Optional: Previous CRAN reviewer comments (for re-submissions)

Procedure

Step 1: Version and NEWS Check

Verify DESCRIPTION has the correct version:

desc::desc_get_version()

Verify NEWS.md has an entry for this version. The entry should summarize user-facing changes.

Expected: Version follows semantic versioning. NEWS.md has a matching entry for this version.

On failure: Update version with usethis::use_version() (choose "major", "minor", or "patch"). Add a NEWS.md entry summarizing user-facing changes.

Step 2: Local R CMD Check

devtools::check()

Expected: 0 errors, 0 warnings, 0 notes (1 note acceptable for new submissions: "New submission").

On failure: Fix all errors and warnings before proceeding. Read the check log at <pkg>.Rcheck/00check.log for details. Notes should be explained in cran-comments.md.

Step 3: Spell Check

devtools::spell_check()

Add legitimate words to inst/WORDLIST (one word per line, sorted alphabetically).

Expected: No unexpected misspellings. All flagged words are either corrected or added to inst/WORDLIST.

On failure: Fix genuine misspellings. For legitimate technical terms, add them to inst/WORDLIST (one word per line, alphabetically sorted).

Step 4: URL Check

urlchecker::url_check()

Expected: All URLs return HTTP 200. No broken or redirected links.

On failure: Replace broken URLs. Use \doi{} for DOI links instead of raw URLs. Remove links to resources that no longer exist.

Step 5: Win-Builder Checks

devtools::check_win_devel()
devtools::check_win_release()

Wait for email results (usually 15-30 minutes).

Expected: 0 errors, 0 warnings on both Win-builder release and devel. Results arrive by email within 15-30 minutes.

On failure: Address platform-specific issues. Common causes: different compiler warnings, missing system dependencies, path separator differences. Fix locally and re-submit to Win-builder.

Step 6: R-hub Check

rhub::rhub_check()

This checks on multiple platforms (Ubuntu, Windows, macOS).

Expected: All platforms pass with 0 errors and 0 warnings.

On failure: If a specific platform fails, check the R-hub build log for platform-specific errors. Use testthat::skip_on_os() or conditional code for platform-dependent behavior.

Step 7: Prepare cran-comments.md

Create or update cran-comments.md in the package root:

## R CMD check results
0 errors | 0 warnings | 1 note

* This is a new release.

## Test environments
* local: Windows 11, R 4.5.0
* win-builder: R-release, R-devel
* R-hub: ubuntu-latest (R-release), windows-latest (R-release), macos-latest (R-release)

## Downstream dependencies
There are currently no downstream dependencies for this package.

For updates, include:

What changed (brief)
Response to any previous reviewer feedback
Reverse dependency check results if applicable

Expected: cran-comments.md accurately summarizes check results across all test environments and explains any notes.

On failure: If check results differ across platforms, document all variations. CRAN reviewers will check these claims against their own tests.

Step 8: Final Pre-flight

# One last check
devtools::check()

# Verify the built tarball
devtools::build()

Expected: Final devtools::check() passes cleanly. A .tar.gz tarball is built in the parent directory.

On failure: If a last-minute issue appears, fix it and re-run all checks from Step 2. Do not submit with known failures.

Step 9: Submit

devtools::release()

This runs interactive checks and submits. Answer all questions honestly.

Alternatively, submit manually at https://cran.r-project.org/submit.html by uploading the tarball.

Expected: Confirmation email from CRAN arrives within minutes. Click the confirmation link to finalize the submission.

On failure: Check email for rejection reasons. Common issues: examples too slow, missing \value tags, non-portable code. Fix the issues and re-submit, noting in cran-comments.md what changed.

Step 10: Post-Submission

After acceptance:

# Tag the release
usethis::use_github_release()

# Bump to development version
usethis::use_dev_version()

Expected: GitHub release is created with the accepted version tag. DESCRIPTION is bumped to the development version (x.y.z.9000).

On failure: If the GitHub release fails, create it manually with gh release create. If CRAN acceptance is delayed, wait for the confirmation email before tagging.

Validation

R CMD check returns 0 errors, 0 warnings on local machine
Win-builder passes (release + devel)
R-hub passes on all tested platforms
cran-comments.md accurately describes check results
All URLs valid
No spelling errors
Version number is correct and incremented
NEWS.md is current
DESCRIPTION metadata is complete and accurate

Common Pitfalls

Examples too slow: Wrap expensive examples in \donttest{}. CRAN enforces time limits.
Non-standard file/directory names: Avoid files that trigger CRAN notes (check .Rbuildignore)
Missing \value in docs: All exported functions need a @return tag
Vignette build failures: Ensure vignettes build in a clean environment without your .Renviron
DESCRIPTION Title format: Must be Title Case, no period at end, no "A Package for..."
Forgetting reverse dependency checks: For updates, run revdepcheck::revdep_check()

Examples

# Full pre-submission workflow
devtools::spell_check()
urlchecker::url_check()
devtools::check()
devtools::check_win_devel()
rhub::rhub_check()
# Wait for results...
devtools::release()

Related Skills

release-package-version - version bumping and git tagging
write-roxygen-docs - ensure documentation meets CRAN standards
setup-github-actions-ci - CI checks that mirror CRAN expectations
build-pkgdown-site - documentation site for accepted packages

submit-to-cran