tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
Comparison · Analytics
errors vs mrbayes
A side-by-side editorial comparison of errors and mrbayes — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
errors vs mrbayes: at a glance
What is errors?
errors keeps making uncertainty print the way each scientific field expects.
errors attaches uncertainty to numeric vectors and propagates it automatically through arithmetic, as part of the r-quantities family alongside units. The propagation core is settled; recent releases concentrate on presentation and integration — PDG rounding rules in 0.4.2, decimal support in parenthesis notation in 0.4.3, and ggplot2 deprecation tracking in 0.4.1 and 0.4.4.
What is mrbayes?
mrbayes spent 2026 auditing its own Bayesian MR estimators for coding errors.
mrbayes wraps Stan and JAGS implementations of Bayesian Mendelian randomization estimators — IVW, MR-Egger, radial Egger, and their multivariable forms. Most of the visible history is packaging work: dependency trimming, conditional examples so the package installs where JAGS will not compile, a maintainer handover. The 0.5.3 release in July 2026 breaks that pattern with a dense list of fixes inside the model code itself.
errors vs mrbayes: editorial side-by-side
errors
0.0ANALYTICS
errors keeps making uncertainty print the way each scientific field expects.
◆ Current state
errors attaches uncertainty to numeric vectors and propagates it automatically through arithmetic, as part of the r-quantities family alongside units. The propagation core is settled; recent releases concentrate on presentation and integration — PDG rounding rules in 0.4.2, decimal support in parenthesis notation in 0.4.3, and ggplot2 deprecation tracking in 0.4.1 and 0.4.4.
◆ Where it's heading
Two threads run through this history. One is formatting convergence: uncertainty has field-specific conventions, and the package has been absorbing them one contributed pull request at a time rather than imposing a single style. The other is keeping the errors class first-class everywhere R users work — vctrs methods for dplyr 1.0, a geom_errors() layer for ggplot2, missing-value and duplicate handling. Both are integration work, which is what a type-extension package mostly is.
◆ Prediction
Expect further formatting conventions to arrive as contributions, following PDG rounding and the decimals option, plus continued upkeep against ggplot2 aesthetic deprecations that have forced two of the last four releases.
mrbayes
0.0ANALYTICS
mrbayes spent 2026 auditing its own Bayesian MR estimators for coding errors.
◆ Current state
mrbayes wraps Stan and JAGS implementations of Bayesian Mendelian randomization estimators — IVW, MR-Egger, radial Egger, and their multivariable forms. Most of the visible history is packaging work: dependency trimming, conditional examples so the package installs where JAGS will not compile, a maintainer handover. The 0.5.3 release in July 2026 breaks that pattern with a dense list of fixes inside the model code itself.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has moved from packaging upkeep into a correctness-audit phase. 0.5.3 fixes a hardcoded three-exposure loop in MVMR-Egger reporting, a broken joint-prior branch, a sigma parameterization error in radial Egger, and several prior specifications — the profile of a maintainer reading their own model files closely rather than responding to bug reports. Platform work continues underneath: an R 4.3.0 floor inherited through a transitive dependency chain, and segfault fixes on macOS ARM.
◆ Prediction
Expect further audit-driven patches to the remaining rjags and Stan model files rather than new estimators; the fixes in 0.5.3 cluster in the Egger variants, which suggests that is where the reading is still in progress.
Alternatives to errors and mrbayes
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 errors or mrbayes.
tern.mmrm
An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.
ggmagnify
A single-purpose ggplot2 inset tool, refining the same three arguments.
symengine
An R symbolic-maths binding whose changelog is really the C++ core's release notes.
gtfstools
gtfstools stopped guarding its own object model and started accepting everyone else's.
quantities
The glue package that makes R carry units and uncertainty through the same calculation.
See all errors alternatives → · See all mrbayes alternatives →
Recent activity from errors and mrbayes
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agomrbayesEstimator audit fixes MVMR-Egger loops and radial Egger sigma
- 1y agoerrorserrors 0.4.4 replaces deprecated geom_errorbarh()
- 1y agoerrorserrors 0.4.3 supports decimals in parenthesis notation
- 1y agomrbayesMVMR rjags example gated on rjags being installed
- 1y agomrbayesExamples and tests skip when rstan or rjags is missing
- 1y agomrbayespkgdown site updated
- 1y agomrbayesHelper command added for installing JAGS
- 1y agomrbayesDependency surface trimmed; maintainer handover
- 2y agoerrorserrors 0.4.2 adds PDG rounding rules
- 2y agoerrorserrors 0.4.1 handles missing values, fixes na.rm
- 3y agoerrorserrors 0.4.0 adds geom_errors() for automatic errorbars
- 5y agoerrorserrors 0.3.6
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between errors and mrbayes?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. errors and mrbayes 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 errors better than mrbayes?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. errors and mrbayes 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 errors?
Top errors alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "errors alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/errors-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to mrbayes?
Top mrbayes alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mrbayes alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mrbayes for the full list with editorial commentary on each.