libPaths {base} | R Documentation

## Search Paths for Packages

### Description

`.libPaths` gets/sets the library trees within which packages are looked for.

### Usage

    .libPaths(new)

    .Library

### Arguments

`new` | a character vector with the locations of R library trees.

### Details

`.Library` is a character string giving the location of the default library, the ‘`library`’ subdirectory of `R_HOME`.

`.libPaths` is used for getting or setting the library trees that R knows about (and hence uses when looking for packages). If called with argument `new`, the library search path is set to the existing files in `unique(c(new, .Library))` and this is returned. If given no argument, a character vector with the currently known library trees is returned.

The library search path is initialized at startup from the environment variable `R_LIBS` (which should be a semicolon-separated list of directories at which R library trees are rooted) by calling `.libPaths` with the directories specified in `R_LIBS`.

### Value

A character vector of file paths.

### References

Becker, R. A., Chambers, J. M. and Wilks, A. R. (1988) The New S Language. Wadsworth & Brooks/Cole.

### See Also

`library`

### Examples

    .libPaths()                 # all library trees R knows about

[Package base version 2.3.1 Index]