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fabletools vs hoardr

A side-by-side editorial comparison of fabletools and hoardr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:r-package

fabletools vs hoardr: at a glance

Featurefabletoolshoardr
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesforecasting, tidyverts, model-combination, reconciliationcaching, r-package, ropensci, infrastructure
Last editorial update3h ago56m ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is fabletools?

The tidyverts forecasting core rebuilt model combination on full residual covariance.

fabletools is the framework layer under fable and fpp3 — mables, fables, accuracy measures, reconciliation, and the model arithmetic that lets forecasters express ensembles as expressions. Version 0.8.0 reworked that arithmetic: combination now uses a joint N-way convolution accounting for the full residual covariance across components rather than composing pairwise, and every arithmetic operator collapses to a single model_combination with correctly implied weights, so nested expressions like ((m1 + m2)/2 + m3)/2 flatten automatically. In parallel, the package has been shedding graphics to {ggtime} on a deliberately slow deprecation clock.

Read the full fabletools trajectory →

What is hoardr?

A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.

hoardr manages local cache directories for other R packages — where files go, how they are keyed, whether they exist. It underpins caching in several rOpenSci data clients. The last functional additions were in 2018; everything since is a patch issued because CRAN reported a test failure or the maintainer changed.

Read the full hoardr trajectory →

fabletools vs hoardr: editorial side-by-side

F
fabletools
ANALYTICS
0.0

The tidyverts forecasting core rebuilt model combination on full residual covariance.

◆ Current state

fabletools is the framework layer under fable and fpp3 — mables, fables, accuracy measures, reconciliation, and the model arithmetic that lets forecasters express ensembles as expressions. Version 0.8.0 reworked that arithmetic: combination now uses a joint N-way convolution accounting for the full residual covariance across components rather than composing pairwise, and every arithmetic operator collapses to a single model_combination with correctly implied weights, so nested expressions like ((m1 + m2)/2 + m3)/2 flatten automatically. In parallel, the package has been shedding graphics to {ggtime} on a deliberately slow deprecation clock.

◆ Where it's heading

The framework is being narrowed and deepened at the same time. Narrowed, because plotting is moving out to a dedicated package over an announced two-year deprecation, leaving fabletools to modeling infrastructure. Deepened, because the recent statistical work targets correctness in places users could not easily inspect — combination weights, inverse-variance weighting computed on response rather than innovation residuals, reconciliation coherency matrices exposed via coherent_smat() and coherent_cmat(). Class hygiene follows the same instinct, with mdl_lst replacing lst_mdl and gaining augment(), glance(), and tidy() so global and reconciliation models report statistics like any other.

◆ Prediction

With combination and reconciliation infrastructure freshly reworked, the remaining announced work is the ggtime separation, so expect the graphics re-exports to keep degrading toward removal while modeling changes stay incremental.

H
hoardr
ANALYTICS
0.0

A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.

◆ Current state

hoardr manages local cache directories for other R packages — where files go, how they are keyed, whether they exist. It underpins caching in several rOpenSci data clients. The last functional additions were in 2018; everything since is a patch issued because CRAN reported a test failure or the maintainer changed.

◆ Where it's heading

This is infrastructure that has reached its final shape. Three of the last three releases were reactive: two responses to CRAN test-failure notifications, one to a maintainer handover. The single behavioural change in that stretch — forward slashes in paths on every operating system — is a consistency fix for downstream packages rather than a feature. Its release cadence is set by CRAN's checks, not by demand.

◆ Prediction

Expect the next release to be triggered by another CRAN check failure rather than by new functionality, matching every release since 2018.

Alternatives to fabletools and hoardr

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 fabletools or hoardr.

See all fabletools alternatives → · See all hoardr alternatives →

Recent activity from fabletools and hoardr

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1mo agofabletoolsModel combination rebuilt on joint N-way convolution
  2. 3mo agofabletoolsCoherency matrices exposed, mdl_lst gains tidier methods
  3. 5mo agofabletoolsGraphics methods now require fabletools to be attached
  4. 6mo agofabletoolsTime series graphics migrating out to ggtime
  5. 8mo agofabletoolsggplot2 4.0.0 compatibility patch
  6. 8mo agofabletoolsIRF() generic and multivariate bootstrap sample paths
  7. 1y agohoardrPaths use forward slashes on every platform
  8. 2y agohoardrTest-only patch for a CRAN failure
  9. 3y agohoardrPatch release for maintainer handover
  10. 7y agohoardrFixes cache paths leaking between HoardClient instances
  11. 7y agohoardrFile-existence checks and full-path cache configuration
  12. 9y agohoardrCRAN disk-writing policy compliance

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between fabletools and hoardr?

Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. fabletools and hoardr 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 fabletools better than hoardr?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. fabletools and hoardr 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 fabletools?

Top fabletools alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "fabletools alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/fabletools for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to hoardr?

Top hoardr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "hoardr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hoardr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.