Guide to Install and Configure RStudio Server on Debian

how to install and configure and run RStudio server in Debian

Installing and configuring RStudio Server on a Debian-based system involves several steps. Below is a detailed guide to help you through the process:

Step 1: Update Your System

First, ensure your system is up to date by running the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2: Install R

RStudio Server requires R to be installed on your system. You can install R by adding the CRAN repository and then installing R:

1. Add the CRAN repository to your sources list:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/linux/debian $(lsb_release -cs)-cran40/" >> /etc/apt/sources.list'

2. Add the GPG key for the CRAN repository:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 51716619E084DAB9

3. Update your package list and install R:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install r-base

Step 3: Install RStudio Server

Download the RStudio Server .deb package from the RStudio website. You can find the latest version here.

1. Download the .deb package:

wget https://download2.rstudio.org/server/bionic/amd64/rstudio-server-1.4.1717-amd64.deb

2. Install the .deb package:

sudo dpkg -i rstudio-server-1.4.1717-amd64.deb

3. If there are any missing dependencies, fix them by running:

sudo apt --fix-broken install

Step 4: Start and Enable RStudio Server

Start the RStudio Server service and enable it to start on boot:

sudo systemctl start rstudio-server
sudo systemctl enable rstudio-server

Step 5: Configure RStudio Server

The main configuration file for RStudio Server is located at /etc/rstudio/rserver.conf. You can edit this file to configure various settings.

For example, to change the default port (8787), you can add the following line:

www-port=8787

After making changes to the configuration file, restart the RStudio Server service:

sudo systemctl restart rstudio-server

Step 6: Access RStudio Server

Open a web browser and navigate to http://<your-server-ip>:8787. You should see the RStudio Server login page.

Step 7: Create a User Account

RStudio Server uses system user accounts for authentication. You can create a new user account with the following command:

sudo adduser <username>

Follow the prompts to set the password and other details for the new user.

Step 8: Log In

Use the newly created user account to log in to RStudio Server through the web interface.

Optional: Secure RStudio Server with SSL

To secure your RStudio Server with SSL, you can use a reverse proxy like Nginx or Apache. Here is a basic example using Nginx:

1. Install Nginx:

sudo apt install nginx

2. Configure Nginx to proxy requests to RStudio Server. Create a new configuration file, e.g., /etc/nginx/sites-available/rstudio:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your_domain_or_ip;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8787;
        proxy_redirect http://localhost:8787/ $scheme://$host/;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

3. Enable the new site and restart Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/rstudio /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx

4. Optionally, you can obtain a free SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt and configure Nginx to use it.

That's it! You should now have RStudio Server up and running on your Debian system.