rollupTree
The recursive-computation engine under massProps grows the accessors its consumer needed
Comparison · Infra & APIs
formr vs humind
A side-by-side editorial comparison of formr and humind — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
formr vs humind: at a glance
What is formr?
formr's R client reached CRAN and moved its recommended path to the v1 REST API.
formr is the R-side client for formr.org, the open study framework used to run longitudinal and experience-sampling questionnaires. In May it reached CRAN for the first time, released in step with formr.org server v1.0.0, and the formr_api_* family built on the server's RESTful surface became the supported entry point. The three releases since have been repair work on the paths that move rendered output and API results.
What is humind?
The MSNI humanitarian needs framework as code, rewritten and re-broken every year
humind turns household survey data into Multi-Sector Needs Index severity scores across WASH, Protection, SNFI, Food Security, Education and Health. Its version line tracks the annual MSNI framework revision — 2024.x, 2025.x, 2026.x — with narrow correctness patches between rollouts. v2026.2.0 is the current rollout and the most structural one in the visible history: water-quantity scoring moved out into a new mandatory prerequisite, food-security severity now comes from a different matrix, and the impactR4PHU runtime dependency is gone.
formr vs humind: editorial side-by-side
formr
0.0INFRA · APIS
formr's R client reached CRAN and moved its recommended path to the v1 REST API.
◆ Current state
formr is the R-side client for formr.org, the open study framework used to run longitudinal and experience-sampling questionnaires. In May it reached CRAN for the first time, released in step with formr.org server v1.0.0, and the formr_api_* family built on the server's RESTful surface became the supported entry point. The three releases since have been repair work on the paths that move rendered output and API results.
◆ Where it's heading
The direction is consolidation around the v1 API while the legacy Classic path is left running but demoted in the vignette. The complication is that CRAN's requirements and the OpenCPU server's requirements pull against each other: CRAN review pushed rendering into tempdir() with random filenames, which broke rforms.org because the server fetches a fixed knit.html, and 1.1.2 had to put it back. The 1.2.0 note describes the same write-directory problem being solved in an OpenCPU-aware way rather than reverted, alongside making dependencies installable under WASM.
◆ Prediction
Two of the last three releases were regressions in the render path, so the OpenCPU-aware write directory in 1.2.0 is the change most likely to need follow-up. The Classic formr_results() path remains in the package with no removal date announced, and nothing in these entries indicates when that ends.
humind
3.8INFRA · APIS
The MSNI humanitarian needs framework as code, rewritten and re-broken every year
◆ Current state
humind turns household survey data into Multi-Sector Needs Index severity scores across WASH, Protection, SNFI, Food Security, Education and Health. Its version line tracks the annual MSNI framework revision — 2024.x, 2025.x, 2026.x — with narrow correctness patches between rollouts. v2026.2.0 is the current rollout and the most structural one in the visible history: water-quantity scoring moved out into a new mandatory prerequisite, food-security severity now comes from a different matrix, and the impactR4PHU runtime dependency is gone.
◆ Where it's heading
Two things move together. The framework content is revised yearly — indicators added, weights corrected, instruments swapped — and the package keeps absorbing pipeline it used to delegate, most visibly by vendoring add_fcs(), add_hhs(), add_rcsi(), add_lcsi() and add_fcm_phase() locally rather than importing them. Each rollout is explicitly breaking and the release notes have grown per-function 'Action:' instructions, which reads as maintainers who expect every downstream dashboard to need rewiring on the same annual clock.
◆ Prediction
The 2025 line settled into narrow patches immediately after its rollout — 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 fixed a separator argument, a schema rename and a shelter misclassification rather than adding indicators. Expect the 2026 line to do the same: correctness fixes against the new WASH, FCLCM and shelter-damage logic before any further framework change.
Alternatives to formr and humind
Other Infra & APIs 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 formr or humind.
massProps
A mass-properties rollup spends a year on documentation and follows its sibling's API
writeAlizer
Six months of releases and not one of them touched the scoring models
samplr
A cognitive-science sampling package ships once, then goes quiet for eighteen months
stochvol
A Bayesian volatility sampler in its maintenance decade, paying for its own speed
midr
A black-box interpreter reaches CRAN, then learns multi-class and survival responses
See all formr alternatives → · See all humind alternatives →
Recent activity from formr and humind
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 29d agohumind2026 MSNI rollout: HWISE-4 prerequisite, FCLCM, impactR4PHU dropped ⚡
- 1mo agoformrOpenCPU-aware render directory and WASM-installable dependencies
- 2mo agoformrHotfix: rendered output returns to knit.html
- 2mo agoformrcalculate items no longer coerced to NA by as.numeric()
- 2mo agoformrv1.0.0 — first CRAN release ⚡
- 8mo agohumindTents reclassified as inadequate shelter
- 10mo agohumindFix: honour the sep argument in protection score columns
- 10mo agohumind'Acute need' renamed to 'severe need' across every output column
- 1y agohumind2025 MSNI rollout: Protection revamped, WGQ dropped from Health
- 1y agohumindScoring corrections across WASH, education, health and shelter
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between formr and humind?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. humind is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 3.8 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is formr better than humind?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. humind is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 3.8 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to formr?
Top formr alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "formr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/formr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to humind?
Top humind alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "humind alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/humind for the full list with editorial commentary on each.