Release Notes

What changed in each version of webRoid on Google Play, newest first.

v1.1.1 (September 25, 2026)

A small update that sends the code you run in the Workspace’s Editor pane to the Console pane, and fixes two problems.

Improvements

  • In the Workspace layout, Run in the Editor pane now runs your code in the Console pane instead of an output panel.
  • A run from the Workspace’s Editor pane is now listed under Console in History, and Copy Files Back Automatically copies what it writes.
  • Several lines of code pasted into the Console now show each command with its result right under it, instead of only the last result.

Bug fixes

  • The on-screen keyboard no longer autocorrects R code in the Console and the Editor, which could turn head(airquality) into head(air quality).
  • Import Dataset’s preview no longer counts a CSV file’s header line as one of its rows.

v1.1.0 (September 24, 2026)

webRoid 1.1.0 brings R 4.6.0, so you will need to install your R packages again after you update. It also adds interactive plots, a Browse tab for finding packages and a way to keep the files your R code writes.

Before you update

  • The update removes your R packages, which don’t work with R 4.6.0, and a notice lets you reinstall them in one tap.
  • The four-pane Workspace layout is now for tablets. If you had chosen it, you’ll see the Sidebar layout on a phone or in a narrow split screen, and Workspace comes back when there’s room.
  • In the Editor, the Run button runs your selection, or the whole script if nothing is selected.
  • Ctrl+Enter now runs your selection or the line the cursor is on, instead of the whole file.
  • Send to Console, in History, now puts the command in the Console’s input for you to edit and run, instead of running it straight away.

New features

Console and Editor

  • The Editor has Undo and Redo for each tab, and you can pinch its code to change the text size.
  • The Editor’s More menu adds Rename Variable, Fold All, Unfold All, Toggle Comment and Duplicate Line.
  • The Console has a new menu with Export Session, Copy All Output and an Inline Plots switch.
  • You can select and copy text in the Console, in the Editor’s output panel and on help pages.
  • History now records code you run from the Editor, and you can export it as plain text or JSON.
  • Text shared to webRoid from another app opens in a new Editor tab.

Plots

  • Interactive plots made with packages such as plotly and leaflet show under Plots > Interactive, and the new Interactive Plots bundle installs everything they need.
  • Plot Size, in Settings > Plots, sets how large R draws plots, and the plot viewers have zoom buttons.
  • You can share any plot, interactive ones included, from its detail view or the gallery.

Environment and data

  • Import Dataset reads Excel files once the readxl package is installed, and lets you choose the sheet.
  • The data frame viewer can save the rows it shows as a CSV file.

Packages

  • A new Browse tab on the Packages screen lets you search every package available and install any you tap.
  • Calling webroid_enable_curl_shim() lets some R code that uses the curl package download files from websites that allow it.

Files and projects

  • Copy Files Back from R saves the files your R code wrote into your project folder, and can do it automatically.
  • Use App Storage keeps your files in webRoid’s own folder, which is deleted if you uninstall the app.
  • Tapping a file in Files opens it: images in a preview, data files in Import Dataset and others in another app.

Help and settings

  • Restart R starts R fresh and is the way out of a command that never ends. Your files and Editor tabs stay, but your variables and any files R wrote that you haven’t copied back are gone.
  • If Android closes R to free memory, an R Session Stopped screen lets you restart it, with your files safe.
  • Help lists your recent topics and resource links, and running ?mean from the Editor opens a help panel over your script.
  • Settings adds Show Tutorial and Reset All Settings, and the Licenses page now shows each license in full.
  • Send Feedback can include a new Session End Log, which records why the app recently closed.
  • On a hardware keyboard, new shortcuts clear the Console and search your history, and Meta+/ lists every shortcut.

Improvements

  • On a tablet, a new install starts in the Workspace layout, and Compare Plots shows its two plots side by side.
  • Back steps through folders in Files and topics in Help, instead of leaving the screen.
  • If Android closes webRoid in the background, its screens come back as you left them, though R starts fresh.
  • The app keeps waiting for a command that runs longer than a minute, and a banner says R is still working.
  • The Console shows your commands in your theme’s code colors, and R wraps output to fit the screen.
  • The completion list opens next to what you’re typing, and the R keyboard toolbar sits on top of the keyboard.
  • Detach to window opens a plot beside the app, and tapping an inline plot opens it in the gallery.
  • The Environment updates as soon as your code finishes, and the data frame viewer shows up to a million cells.
  • Tapping a project in Files shows its details first, and Enter Project switches to it.
  • webRoid takes about 46 MB less space on your device.
  • R gets a copy of up to 50 MB of your project, smallest files first, and a project with many data files no longer runs the app out of memory.
  • A right-click works like a long press, and Google Play now offers webRoid on devices without a touchscreen.

Bug fixes

  • R keeps running, with your variables, when you change dark mode, text size or language, or connect a keyboard.
  • Soft Reset R clears only what you created, so package installs, help and completion keep working.
  • Many fixes to the Console and code completion, such as missing lines of output and “Error: Unknown error” after switching layouts.
  • Many fixes to saving, renaming and restoring Editor tabs, such as old text left at the end of a saved script.
  • Several controls that did nothing now work, such as the Font Size sliders, Line Numbers, Word Wrap and Plot Background.
  • Export to Gist no longer fails every time with “Network error”.
  • Rename, Recent Files and each project’s file count now work in Files.
  • Import Dataset now brings your data into R, in every layout.
  • Compare Data Frames shows both data frames and what changed, instead of a single empty row.
  • History marks a command that ends in an error as failed, so the Failed filter finds it.
  • Remove on the Packages screen sticks, and a failed install or bundle tells you what went wrong.
  • Plots stay in the gallery when you leave the app, and Clear All Plots keeps your pinned ones.
  • Help pages keep all of their text, and their links go to the right topic.
  • Many fixes to the Workspace layout and custom themes, and to how screens fit around the keyboard and status bar.
  • The app now tells you when something fails, so a plot export no longer says “Saved” without saving a file.

Accessibility

  • TalkBack names buttons that show only an icon, and screen titles are headings you can jump between.
  • TalkBack reads new Console and Editor output as it arrives, and tells you when it is an error or a warning.
  • Default Light and Default Dark meet a common standard for readable text, and the app follows Android’s contrast and animation settings.
  • You can move the dividers with TalkBack or the arrow keys, and the welcome pages scroll at the largest text sizes.

Privacy and security

  • The small web server that webRoid runs to load R now accepts connections only from your own device.
  • webRoid turns off the usage and crash reports Android’s browser engine would send to Google, and never sends curl requests through someone else’s server.
  • Interactive plots can’t read your files, and links inside them don’t open, except email and phone links.
  • Android now backs up your settings and open tabs, but not your files, on a device with a screen lock.
  • Settings > GitHub lets you forget a saved token, and Send Feedback’s logs stay off until you turn them on.

Documentation

  • We checked every page of this guide against the 1.1.0 app, and every screenshot now comes from the app itself.
  • A new Accessibility page covers TalkBack, text size, contrast and hardware keyboards.
  • The FAQ has new answers, and the Support page, Privacy Policy and Terms of Service are updated for 1.1.0.

v1.0.1 (March 16, 2026)

A small update that fixes R failing to start the first time the app opens.

Improvements

  • The app records more detail while R starts, which helps us work out what went wrong when it doesn’t.

Bug fixes

  • R starts on the first launch. Before, the app could stop at the Unable to Start R screen or stay on “Loading R”.

v1.0.0 (March 10, 2026)

The first release of webRoid, a nearly full-featured R environment for your Android phone or tablet. It is built on webR, a version of R made to run inside a web browser engine, using a technology called WebAssembly.

New features

Console and Editor

  • An R console with syntax highlighting, output colored by kind (results, messages, warnings and errors), and earlier commands you can swipe through to recall.
  • A code editor with tabs, an R keyboard toolbar, find and replace (with regular expressions), a code outline, snippets and GitHub Gist export.
  • Code completion that shows function signatures and argument hints.
  • Code folding for functions, control flow blocks and R code sections.
  • Brackets and quotes close themselves as you type. Typing the closing one steps over it, and deleting an opening one deletes its pair.
  • Bracket matching highlights the partner of the bracket at the cursor.
  • A long press in the Console copies a line of output.
  • When a script calls library() for a package you haven’t installed, the Editor shows a banner that installs it with one tap.

Plots

  • A plot gallery with pinch to zoom, side-by-side comparison, and four display modes: Tab Only, Floating, Sheet and Inline.
  • Plots can be exported as PNG, JPEG or PDF through Android’s share sheet.
  • A gallery for interactive HTML widgets. (Correction: interactive plots didn’t appear in 1.0.0 or 1.0.1. They first work in v1.1.0.)

Environment and data

  • A variable inspector that groups variables by type, tracks memory, and has search and quick actions.
  • A data frame viewer with column details and statistics, filtering and sorting.
  • A data import wizard for CSV, Excel and text files. (Correction: imports didn’t work in 1.0.0 or 1.0.1. They first work in v1.1.0.)

Packages

  • R packages built for webR can be installed from repo.r-wasm.org.
  • Bundles (Core Tidyverse, Data Science and Statistics) install a set of packages in one tap.
  • Installed packages are restored when the app starts.

Files and projects

  • A file browser organized by project, with a breadcrumb trail showing where you are, and search by file name or by what a file contains.
  • Your files live in a folder you choose on your device’s storage.

Appearance and layout

  • A Material Design 3 look, in light and dark mode.
  • Nine built-in color themes. You can make your own in the theme editor, or import a VS Code or RStudio theme.
  • Three layouts: Tab Bar for phones, Sidebar, and Workspace, which shows four panes at once on a tablet.
  • R toolbar buttons and font sizes you can change.

Help and settings

  • A browser for R’s documentation, with search. You can open help for a function from any screen.
  • Keyboard shortcuts for hardware keyboards.
  • A Report Issue button on the screen shown when R can’t start, to make reporting a problem easier.
  • Once your packages are installed, everything runs on your device, with no internet connection or server needed.