How to Make Your R Shiny App into A Desktop Application

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In this post, I will show you how you can very easily turn your R Shiny application into a desktop application, complete with a desktop icon 😃.

Note that this post will not teach you how to build a Shiny app. Instead, we will make use of boilerplate code. Let’s get started!

Create A New Shiny Project

If you are using R Studio IDE, go to File > New Project > New Directory > Shiny Application. Then give a name to the directory where your Shiny application files will be saved. You can give it a name like “DemoApp”.

Your project will then launch, and you will see your boilerplate Shiny app code like this:

You can run the app by pressing the “Run App” button.

Now that we have created our R Shiny project, let us now make this basic app into a desktop application.

Install shiny.exe

We will need to install the shiny.exe package by running:

install.packages("shiny.exe")

The shiny.exe package has a simple function shiny.exe() which we will call to generate a portable batch file that we can then use to run our app.

Now that the package has been installed, in your Shiny project, create a new R script and include the following code:

library(shiny.exe)

shiny.exe("DemoApp") # you can give the app any name of your choice

After running the above script, a Windows batch file and R file, both named “DemoApp”, will be created in your Shiny app project folder like this

The DemoApp.R file contains some configuration which you do not want to alter, otherwise the application will not run properly.

Our real interest is in the Windows batch file “DemoApp”. If you double-click on this file, it will launch your Shiny application in the default browser of your computer using a randomly generated port number.

You can set your own port number and make the application public by defining the arguments host= and port= . Defining host="public" will launch your application to the public server to which you are connected. This means that all other devices connected to the server will be able to access your application.

You will also notice that your command line interface is launched. This is because the application is running as a job which you can terminate at any point in time. So Voila! your Shiny app is running from a batch file on your computer and not from R Studio.

It is worthy of note that you can create a batch file for a Shiny app that is not running inside of a Shiny project. If you have an app.R file, all you need to do is to include library(shiny.exe) in your script like you would any other R library and also insert shiny.exe() in any part of the script. When you run your app, it will automatically create the batch file for you in the directory where your app.R file lives.

Creating A Desktop Icon

Having created the batch file, the next thing to do is to create a desktop shortcut by right-clicking on the file and selecting Send to > Desktop (create shortcut).

Once the shortcut has been created on your desktop, right-click on it and select Properties. You will see a wizard like this:

Now click on “Change Icon” and select any icon of your choice that you think best depicts the functionality of your app. Alternatively, you can import and use your own icon.

After you have selected your icon, you can also rename the shortcut and remove the “Shortcut” suffix so that you have a clean app name on your desktop.

Now double-click the icon, and your Shiny app is launched in your default browser like a true desktop application.

Benefits

Here are some benefits of running a Shiny app in a batch file:

• Simplified Execution: Batch files allow users to launch Shiny apps with a double-click, eliminating the need to manually start R or RStudio. This is particularly beneficial for non-technical users who may not be familiar with R environments.
• Automated Deployment: Batch files can be scheduled to run at specific times or intervals using task schedulers, facilitating automated deployment of Shiny apps. This is useful for applications that require regular updates or data processing.
• Environment Configuration: Batch files can set up the necessary environment variables and working directories before launching the Shiny app, ensuring that the application runs in the correct context. This is essential when the app depends on specific configurations or external resources.
• Error Handling and Logging: By incorporating error handling and logging mechanisms within the batch file, developers can monitor the app’s performance and troubleshoot issues more effectively. This approach provides a clear record of the app’s execution and any encountered errors.
• Integration with Other Systems: Batch files can be integrated into larger workflows or systems, allowing Shiny apps to interact with other applications or processes. This is advantageous in complex environments where multiple tools need to work together seamlessly.

Conclusion

As you have seen, it is possible to run a Shiny application as a desktop app, thanks to the ingenious shiny.exe package. The process is super simple too. You do not need to know batch scripting language or be an IT person to be able to turn your Shiny app into a functioning desktop application.

So now that you have learned this trick, show it off to your friends and work colleagues, and watch them marvel at your technical skill 😉.

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