RKWard is an easy to use and easily extensible IDE/GUI for R. It aims to combine the power of the R-language with the ease of use of commercial statistics tools.
RKWard’s features include:
Spreadsheet-like data editor
Syntax highlighting, code folding and code completion
Data import (e.g. SPSS, Stata and CSV)
Plot preview and browsable history
R package management
Workspace browser
GUI dialogs for all kinds of statistics and plots
RKWard’s features can be extended by plugins, and it’s all free software.
What's new in 0.8.3
Fixed: Remove obsolete dep# on dbus
Added: Allow to define custom script preview modes (rk.register.script.preview()))
Added: Various small updates to the R highlighting in the R console
Added: Allow translation of strings in the rkward R package
Added: Support HTML rendering with QWebView, which allows to use native renderers on some platforms
Fixed: Crash when splitting view on a data.frame editor window
Fixed: Allow compilation with the upcoming R 4.6
Fixed: Horizontal text alignment would be inaccurate for some symbols in RK() device
Fixed: Parts of a command entered interactively could run twice under specific circumstances
Fixed: Output window would fail to open, automatically, for certain plugins
Fixed: Width of "progress" dialogs (showing R output) would exceed screen size depending on configuration
Fixed: Code completion hints would sometimes be misplaced to top-left cursor position
Fixed: Call hint did not show active function along with arguments
Changed: R backend now uses UTF-8 mode on Windows
Added: options(error) may now be set freely (no longer needs to be .rk.do.error for correct behavior)
Fixed: Attached windows would not always be placed in the most recently active pane (in a split view)
Fixed: Crash when switching from dialog to wizard interface in plugins providing a preview
Fixed: Crash using context menu while data editor is visible, under certain conditions
Added: Enhanced "R Console" preview mode, including produced plots
Added: New mechanism RK.addHook() to monitor RK() devices for modifications
Added: Actions to navigate R code based on its structure & Quick Code Navigation Mode
Added: Plugins: Enhance addChangeCommand() to allow writing more readable GUI logic code
Added: Plugins: Simplify running R commands inside GUI logic code
Fixed: Crash on script errors in plugins
Fixed: Printing of captured R messages/warnings in plugins was broken
Internal: Code cleanups …
0.8.1Apr 21, 2025
Added: Allow to register custom R functions in the menu (rk.menu())
Added: Plugin to facilitate download of latest AppImage (Linux only)
Added: Allow to limit plugins to certain platforms
Fixed: antialising=FALSE was ignored in RK() device
Added: Impoement glyph()-functionality in RK() device
Fixed: Crash when manually adding plugin maps via "Manage R packages and pluigns"
Fixed: Abnormal exit on Windows while trying to launch gpgpme (triggered from PDF previews)
Fixed: Failure to paint symbols in onscreen device, under some circumstances
Fixed: Potential library conflicts on systems shipping a more recent version of libglib2 than included in the AppImage
Fixed: Implement capbilities report for RK() device (may fix graphics limitation, but also potential crashes with R >= 4.2.0)
Fixed: Adjustments to changes in R devel (for compatibility with the future R 4.5.x)
Fixed: Potential crash on "spontaneous" R output (originating from event handlers such as tcl)
Fixed: commandArgs() would show incorrect options
Internal: Various code cleanups
Added: Configuration pages for loaded kate plugins are integrated into the settings dialog
0.8.0Jul 28, 2024
Fixed: Crash when trying to edit a data.frame containing columns that are not vectors
Fixed: Basic statistics would refuse to "overwrite file", even if saving to file was unchecked
Changed: Status indicator for preview windows (updating/ready) is less obstrusive
Added: Ability to open PDF documents inside the RKWard window, and associated R function rk.show.pdf()
Fixed: Add breeze icons as a fallback on systems that use a different icon theme (fixes missing icons)
Added: Setup dialog includes setting to select a different R installation
Added: Command line option "--setup" to force (re-)initialization as if a new version of RKWard had been installed
Fixed: R functions loadhistory(), savehistory(), and timestamp() broken
Changed: R shared library is now loaded, dynamically, rather than linked at compile time.
This allows more flexibility on which R version to use at runtime, esp. in the context of AppImage binaries
Fixed: References to the package cairoDevice (removed on CRAN) have been replaced with Cairo
Fixed: Creating new output window from the UI would sometimes show empty window
Fixed: Better support for running from non-standard paths on Linux (e.g. user-local installation in home dir)
Fixed: Added REUSE license information where missing
Fixed: Handling of carriage returns in R Console window (used in progress bars, importantly)
Fixed: Crash when renaming top level object from context menu …
Other versions
0.7.5-rc1
Frequently asked questions
Is RKWard free?
Yes. RKWard is free and open-source software released under the GPL-2.0-or-later license.
What is the latest version of RKWard?
The latest version is 0.8.3, released on Apr 24, 2026.
Is it safe to download RKWard?
The download button links to the official installer published on download.kde.org, the same file Windows Package Manager installs. You can verify the downloaded file by comparing its SHA-256 checksum with b8db6d61b5738951a68d79fc2eaec5149aec30dbb7c0387e3d8e7f235e2b4ed0.
Which Windows versions does RKWard support?
RKWard runs on Windows and is available for 64-bit (x64) systems.
How do I install RKWard silently?
Run the offline installer with "rkward-0.8.3-x86_64.exe" /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP- /CURRENTUSER, or install it with Windows Package Manager: winget install --id=KDE.RKWard -e --silent.
How do I uninstall RKWard?
Open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find RKWard and select Uninstall. From the command line, run winget uninstall --id=KDE.RKWard -e.
What file types can RKWard open?
RKWard supports 4 file types, including .r, .rdata, .rko, .rmd.
Alternatives to RKWard
Other Development kits programs for Windows from different developers.
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