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mrbayes

ANALYTICS
Velocity0.0

Bayesian Summary Data Models for Mendelian Randomization Studies

github.com/okezie94/mrbayes ↗

mrbayes spent 2026 auditing its own Bayesian MR estimators for coding errors.

mendelian-randomizationbayesian-inferencestanjagscorrectness-auditr-package
◆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.

◆Recent moves

  1. 1mo ago

    Estimator audit fixes MVMR-Egger loops and radial Egger sigma

    A dozen correctness fixes land at once inside the Egger model code: a hardcoded three-exposure loop in MVMR-Egger print and summary, a broken joint-prior branch, a wrong sigma parameterization in mr_radialegger_rjags, and several prior constraints widened or bounded. The R 4.3.0 floor and macOS ARM segfault fixes ride along, but the substance here is statistical, not packaging.

    View source ↗
  2. 1y ago

    MVMR rjags example gated on rjags being installed

    A single helpfile example now runs conditionally. Check-farm plumbing consistent with the package's long-running accommodation of machines where JAGS is unavailable.

    View source ↗
  3. 1y ago

    Examples and tests skip when rstan or rjags is missing

    Examples and testthat files gain installation guards, driven by JAGS failing to compile on Apple silicon. Infrastructure that keeps the package installable rather than anything users invoke.

    View source ↗
  4. 1y ago

    pkgdown site updated

    A merged pull request refreshing the documentation site. No package code involved.

    View source ↗
  5. 1y ago

    Helper command added for installing JAGS

    An install helper for the JAGS backend, reducing the setup friction that the later conditional-example work exists to tolerate. Small but user-facing.

    View source ↗
  6. 1y ago

    Dependency surface trimmed; maintainer handover

    NAMESPACE imports and the dependency list both shrink, datasets get compressed, and a CITATION file arrives — alongside the maintainer switch that precedes the 2026 audit work. The lighter dependency footprint is the durable part.

    View source ↗