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Single-cell batch correction that learned to use cell labels, then spent three releases chasing Seurat.
Comparison · Analytics
cfbfastr vs eiaapi
A side-by-side editorial comparison of cfbfastr and eiaapi — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
cfbfastr vs eiaapi: at a glance
What is cfbfastr?
College football's open data client hit v2 — and now reports how many API calls you have left.
cfbfastR retrieves college football data — play-by-play, box scores, betting lines, ratings and recruiting — from the CollegeFootballData API, ESPN endpoints and the sportsdataverse data repository. Version 2.0.0 in September 2025 was the first release in over three years and rebuilt the package against CFBD's v2 API. Every load_cfb_*() function changed its underlying source to comply with CFBD's terms, the play-by-play dataset gained team and game identifiers users previously had to join in themselves, and a batch of new endpoints arrived covering opponent-adjusted metrics, FPI ratings and live scoreboard and play data.
What is eiaapi?
A thin EIA energy-data client whose whole story is making bulk queries survive the API's limits.
eiaapi wraps the US Energy Information Administration API: eia_get() issues a single query, and eia_backfill() decomposes a large date range into chunks the API will actually serve. Three releases across two years cover the package's entire history, and the second and third both exist because of eia_backfill().
cfbfastr vs eiaapi: editorial side-by-side
cfbfastr
0.0ANALYTICS
College football's open data client hit v2 — and now reports how many API calls you have left.
◆ Current state
cfbfastR retrieves college football data — play-by-play, box scores, betting lines, ratings and recruiting — from the CollegeFootballData API, ESPN endpoints and the sportsdataverse data repository. Version 2.0.0 in September 2025 was the first release in over three years and rebuilt the package against CFBD's v2 API. Every load_cfb_*() function changed its underlying source to comply with CFBD's terms, the play-by-play dataset gained team and game identifiers users previously had to join in themselves, and a batch of new endpoints arrived covering opponent-adjusted metrics, FPI ratings and live scoreboard and play data.
◆ Where it's heading
The package's direction is now set by the data provider rather than by its own plans, and that provider has moved to metered access — the free tier is capped at 1,000 calls a month, with limits tied to membership level. cfbd_api_key_info() reporting a user's tier and usage is the clearest sign of that shift: quota is now something an analysis has to manage. The long gap before 2.0.0 and its arrival largely through a first-time contributor also indicate a package sustained by community effort rather than steady maintenance.
◆ Prediction
The live scoreboard and play endpoints are the natural place for the next work, since they are the ones that benefit from in-season iteration. Given the release notes warn users to check their pipelines, follow-up fixes for the changed loading functions are likely before anything new lands.
eiaapi
0.0ANALYTICS
A thin EIA energy-data client whose whole story is making bulk queries survive the API's limits.
◆ Current state
eiaapi wraps the US Energy Information Administration API: eia_get() issues a single query, and eia_backfill() decomposes a large date range into chunks the API will actually serve. Three releases across two years cover the package's entire history, and the second and third both exist because of eia_backfill().
◆ Where it's heading
The package's development is a single problem being worked: pulling more data than one request allows. Version 0.1.2 introduced eia_backfill() for exactly that, and 0.2.0 fixed it for non-hourly frequencies by adding the frequency and data arguments so it matches eia_get()'s interface and by reworking Date handling. That convergence of the two functions' signatures is the visible design direction — one query idiom regardless of range size.
◆ Prediction
With the two functions now taking aligned arguments, further work most plausibly extends coverage to more EIA endpoints or response shapes. The entries name no specific target.
Alternatives to cfbfastr and eiaapi
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 cfbfastr or eiaapi.
ggtrace
A debugger for ggplot2's internals, hardening its grip as the internals it traces keep moving.
kde1d
A univariate density estimator that added zero-inflated data and reopened its C++ API to do it.
svines
Stationary vine copulas for time series, released in lockstep with the rest of Nagler's vine stack.
gghighlight
A single-purpose ggplot2 extension that has spent six years tracking ggplot2 instead of growing.
rtrek
A Star Trek data package that became a Memory Alpha web client and has been patching scrapers ever since.
See all cfbfastr alternatives → · See all eiaapi alternatives →
Recent activity from cfbfastr and eiaapi
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 11mo agocfbfastrRebuilt on CFBD API v2 with metered access and live endpoints ⚡
- 1y agoeiaapieia_backfill() works for non-hourly frequencies
- 3y agoeiaapieia_backfill() added for large data queries
- 3y agoeiaapiInitial release with eia_get() API query function
- 4y agocfbfastrESPN endpoints and repo-backed loaders added
- 4y agocfbfastrAll outputs standardised as tibbles with a custom class
- 4y agocfbfastrCRAN release with option-restoring cleanup
- 4y agocfbfastrMinor fixes to betting and FPI rating functions
- 4y agocfbfastrESPN scoreboard and play-by-play access, with argument cleanup
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between cfbfastr and eiaapi?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. cfbfastr and eiaapi 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 cfbfastr better than eiaapi?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. cfbfastr and eiaapi 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 cfbfastr?
Top cfbfastr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "cfbfastr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/cfbfastr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to eiaapi?
Top eiaapi alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "eiaapi alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/eiaapi for the full list with editorial commentary on each.