Package Imports and Namespace Management

Guide to properly importing functions from other packages and managing your package’s namespace.

The NAMESPACE File

The NAMESPACE file controls:

Which functions your package exports (makes available to users)
Which functions your package imports from other packages

Important: Never edit NAMESPACE directly. Let roxygen2 generate it via devtools::document().

Package-Level Documentation

Create a package-level documentation file to declare imports.

Create R/{packagename}-package.R

#' @keywords internal
#' @importFrom stats weighted.mean
"_PACKAGE"

## usethis namespace: start
## usethis namespace: end
NULL

Replace {packagename} with your actual package name (e.g., R/mymetrics-package.R).

What this does

@keywords internal - Marks as internal documentation
@importFrom stats weighted.mean - Imports weighted.mean from stats
"_PACKAGE" - Roxygen directive for package-level docs
## usethis namespace: - Markers for usethis to add content

Common Import Patterns

Importing specific functions

#' @keywords internal
#' @importFrom stats weighted.mean median sd
#' @importFrom utils head tail
"_PACKAGE"

Importing entire packages (use sparingly)

#' @keywords internal
#' @import rlang
"_PACKAGE"

Warning: @import imports everything from a package. Use @importFrom instead to import only what you need.

When to Add Imports

R CMD check warnings

If you see warnings like:

checking R code for possible problems ... NOTE
  your_function: no visible global function definition for 'weighted.mean'
  Undefined global functions or variables:
    weighted.mean

Solution: Add import to package-level doc:

#' @importFrom stats weighted.mean

Common packages that need imports

From stats:

#' @importFrom stats weighted.mean median sd var quantile

From utils:

#' @importFrom utils head tail str

From grDevices:

#' @importFrom grDevices rainbow

Dependencies in DESCRIPTION

Imports in NAMESPACE must match dependencies in DESCRIPTION.

Add package dependencies

# For packages you import from
usethis::use_package("rlang")
usethis::use_package("cli")
usethis::use_package("yardstick")

# For optional dependencies (examples, vignettes)
usethis::use_package("ggplot2", type = "Suggests")
usethis::use_package("modeldata", type = "Suggests")

This updates DESCRIPTION:

Imports:
  rlang,
  cli,
  yardstick
Suggests:
  ggplot2,
  modeldata

Calling Functions from Other Packages

Option 1: Use :: notation (recommended for occasional use)

# Don't need to import, just use ::
result <- dplyr::filter(data, condition)

When to use:

Functions used infrequently
Clarity about where function comes from
Avoiding namespace conflicts

Option 2: Import and use directly (recommended for frequent use)

# In R/{packagename}-package.R
#' @importFrom dplyr filter mutate

# In your function code
result <- filter(data, condition) |>
  mutate(new_col = old_col * 2)

When to use:

Functions used frequently
Cleaner, more readable code
Functions are core to your package

Special Cases

Non-standard evaluation (NSE) with tidy eval

For rlang functions:

#' @keywords internal
#' @importFrom rlang :=  !! !!! enquo enquos sym syms
"_PACKAGE"

S3 method registration

If you create S3 methods for other packages’ generics:

#' @export
#' @method autoplot your_class
autoplot.your_class <- function(object, ...) {
  # Implementation
}

Or use @export on the method:

#' @export
autoplot.your_class <- function(object, ...) {
  # Implementation
}

Importing entire packages (last resort)

Only use @import for packages designed for it (like rlang):

#' @keywords internal
#' @import rlang
"_PACKAGE"

Avoid @import for most packages - import specific functions instead.

Workflow

Add dependency to DESCRIPTION:
```
usethis::use_package("dplyr")
```
Add import to package-level doc:
```
#' @importFrom dplyr filter mutate
```
Update documentation:
```
devtools::document()
```
Use function in your code:
```
result <- filter(data, condition)
```

Common Issues

“could not find function”

Problem: Function not imported or package not in DESCRIPTION

Solution: 1. Add package to DESCRIPTION: usethis::use_package("package_name") 2. Add import or use :: notation 3. Run devtools::document()

“no visible global function definition”

Problem: Function used but not imported

Solution: Add @importFrom to package-level doc

“no visible binding for global variable”

Problem: NSE variables not declared (common with dplyr/ggplot2)

Solution: Either:

Use .data$column pronoun: mutate(.data$new_col = value)

Or add utils::globalVariables() to package-level doc:

utils::globalVariables(c("column_name", "another_column"))

“object is not exported by ‘namespace:package’”

Problem: Trying to import internal function

Solution: Use ::: (not recommended for production) or find an exported alternative

Best Practices

DO:

Use @importFrom to import specific functions
Add all packages to DESCRIPTION first
Run devtools::document() after changes
Use :: for infrequently-used functions

DON’T:

Edit NAMESPACE directly
Use @import for most packages
Import internal functions with :::
Forget to add packages to DESCRIPTION

Example Package-Level Doc

#' @keywords internal
#' @importFrom stats weighted.mean median sd
#' @importFrom rlang := !! enquo enquos
#' @importFrom cli cli_abort cli_warn
"_PACKAGE"

## usethis namespace: start
## usethis namespace: end
NULL

Checking Your Imports

Run R CMD check to verify:

devtools::check()

Look for:

“no visible global function definition” - add import
“Namespace dependencies not required” - remove import
“All declared Imports should be used” - remove unused package

Next Steps

Write roxygen documentation: package-roxygen-documentation.md
Follow best practices: package-best-practices.md
Set up testing: package-testing-patterns.md