easystats
The easystats meta-package is install tooling wrapped around a relicensed ecosystem.
Comparison · Analytics
bonsai vs cmdstanr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of bonsai and cmdstanr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
bonsai vs cmdstanr: at a glance
What is bonsai?
bonsai keeps widening tidymodels' boosted-tree engine bench, catboost most recently
bonsai exists to attach non-core tree engines to parsnip's boost_tree() and rand_forest(), and the release history reads as a steady accumulation of them: partykit, aorsf, lightgbm, and now catboost. The 0.4.x line is spent making catboost behave like a full tidymodels citizen rather than adding anything new.
What is cmdstanr?
cmdstanr keeps adding fast approximations beside full HMC, and fighting Windows toolchains.
cmdstanr is the lightweight R interface to CmdStan, shelling out to the Stan binary rather than embedding it. The visible releases pair inference-method expansion, with laplace and pathfinder arriving in 0.7.0, against a continuous effort to make installation work on Windows. The most recent releases are dominated by CmdStan version compatibility and numerical fixes in the loo path.
bonsai vs cmdstanr: editorial side-by-side
bonsai
0.0ANALYTICS
bonsai keeps widening tidymodels' boosted-tree engine bench, catboost most recently
◆ Current state
bonsai exists to attach non-core tree engines to parsnip's boost_tree() and rand_forest(), and the release history reads as a steady accumulation of them: partykit, aorsf, lightgbm, and now catboost. The 0.4.x line is spent making catboost behave like a full tidymodels citizen rather than adding anything new.
◆ Where it's heading
Each engine follows the same arc — land it, then close the gaps that keep it from tuning cleanly (parameter naming, multi_predict, threading, case weights). Recent work is squarely in that second phase for catboost, with dials supplying the matching parameter objects on its own release schedule. Bug-fix density is high relative to new surface.
◆ Prediction
Expect the catboost integration to keep filling in tuning and GPU-related arguments before any further engine is added; the entries give no signal about which engine would come next.
cmdstanr
0.0ANALYTICS
cmdstanr keeps adding fast approximations beside full HMC, and fighting Windows toolchains.
◆ Current state
cmdstanr is the lightweight R interface to CmdStan, shelling out to the Stan binary rather than embedding it. The visible releases pair inference-method expansion, with laplace and pathfinder arriving in 0.7.0, against a continuous effort to make installation work on Windows. The most recent releases are dominated by CmdStan version compatibility and numerical fixes in the loo path.
◆ Where it's heading
The package tracks CmdStan closely, and its own work concentrates in two places. One is broadening the method surface so approximate inference sits beside sampling on the same object, extended in 0.8.0 by letting a completed fit supply initial values for the next run. The other is cutting installation friction, which reaches its conclusion in 0.9.0 with RTools45 supported and no additional toolchain setup needed on Windows. Dependency trimming, such as dropping RcppEigen for direct Eigen interop, runs alongside both.
◆ Prediction
The cadence is a CmdStan release followed by a compatibility release here, so expect the next to track a newer CmdStan and continue the effective-sample-size numerical work in the loo method.
Alternatives to bonsai and cmdstanr
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either bonsai or cmdstanr.
discrim
discrim settled into a thin engine shim after handing its model definitions to parsnip.
dbparser
dbparser shed its database and CSV writers to become just a DrugBank parser.
desirability2
desirability2 is making multi-metric model selection a first-class tidymodels step.
crosstalk
crosstalk is frozen infrastructure: four releases in five years, mostly CRAN upkeep.
comtradr
comtradr's 1.0 line is a long tail of patches against a brittle UN trade API.
See all bonsai alternatives → · See all cmdstanr alternatives →
Recent activity from bonsai and cmdstanr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2mo agobonsaicatboost gains multi_predict() and corrected tuning parameters
- 4mo agocmdstanrRTools45 support; Windows needs no extra toolchain setup
- 4mo agocmdstanrBugfix release: SUNDIALS linking, Windows paths, RTools
- 4mo agocmdstanrCmdStanFit objects usable as initial values; RcppEigen dropped
- 1y agobonsaicatboost engine added to boost_tree()
- 1y agobonsailightgbm accepts sparse matrices for fit and predict
- 2y agobonsaiaorsf fit failure in multisession workers fixed
- 2y agobonsaiaorsf engine added; lightgbm gains dataset params and case weights
- 2y agocmdstanrBugfix release with dedicated hpp generation step
- 2y agocmdstanrLaplace and Pathfinder inference methods added ⚡
- 2y agocmdstanrjacobian argument enabled for optimization; assorted fixes
- 3y agobonsailightgbm num_leaves becomes tunable; alias arguments disallowed
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between bonsai and cmdstanr?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. bonsai and cmdstanr are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is bonsai better than cmdstanr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. bonsai and cmdstanr are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to bonsai?
Top bonsai alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "bonsai alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/bonsai-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to cmdstanr?
Top cmdstanr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "cmdstanr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/cmdstanr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.