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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-28T04:14:09+00:00

What is supposed to happen if a package is installed in multiple libraries? For

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What is supposed to happen if a package is installed in multiple libraries? For example, in Debian/Ubuntu one can install debianized packages through apt-get, and then also install a more recent version of the same package straight from CRAN. When using library(), will the most recent package be loaded, or does it depend on the order of .libPaths()?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    As already stated by others, .libPaths() search order matter which is why we set it such that local packages are searched first as the distro versions, especially with Debian stable or Ubuntu releases that are not updated, are more likely to be older.

    There is a comment to this effect in the file /etc/R/Renviron setting it:

    # edd Apr 2003  Allow local install in /usr/local, also add a directory for
#               Debian packaged CRAN packages, and finally the default dir 
# edd Jul 2007  Now use R_LIBS_SITE, not R_LIBS
R_LIBS_SITE=${R_LIBS_SITE-'/usr/local/lib/R/site-library:/usr/lib/R/site-library:/usr/lib/R/library'}

    So a user-set value of R_LIBS_SITE would get precedence, else the value shown here is used.

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