LoginSign Up
← Back to all sparks
R

rredlist

ANALYTICS
Velocity0.0

R client for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species API

github.com/ropensci/rredlist ↗

rredlist threw out its species-centric API in 1.0.0 and rebuilt around assessments.

iucn-red-listapi-migrationbreaking-changebulk-retrievalconservation-data
◆Current state
rredlist 1.0.0 is a hard break: the IUCN Red List API moved to v4, and the package followed by dropping v3 support entirely, reorganising around assessments rather than species, renaming or removing most functions, changing returned data structures, and requiring users to generate a new API key. The two releases since are consolidation on that new shape — `rl_assessment_list()` and `rl_assessment_extract()` for retrieving and unpacking many assessments at once, a `scope` argument on the `*_latest()` functions, and NULL-safe extraction.
◆Where it's heading
Post-1.0.0 work is clearly aimed at bulk use: fetch many assessments, pull a chosen field out of each. That is a different usage pattern from the one-species-at-a-time queries the v3-era functions encouraged, and it suits the conservation-analysis workloads the package is actually used for. Deprecated v3 functions are still present and flagged for eventual removal.
◆Prediction
The deprecated v3-era functions are the obvious next thing to disappear, and further bulk-retrieval helpers are likely given both post-1.0 releases went that way.

◆Recent moves

  1. 11mo ago

    rredlist 1.1.1 extracts multiple assessment elements

    Lets `rl_assessment_extract()` pull multiple elements at once and stops it choking on NULL components. Direct follow-through on the bulk-retrieval direction 1.1.0 opened.

    View source ↗
  2. 1y ago

    rredlist 1.1.0 adds bulk assessment retrieval and extraction

    Adds `rl_assessment_list()` and `rl_assessment_extract()` for retrieving and unpacking many assessments, plus a `scope` filter and a sensible fallback when no assessment is flagged latest. This is where the v4 rewrite becomes practical for analysis at scale.

    View source ↗
  3. 1y ago

    rredlist 1.0.0 rebuilds on IUCN Red List API v4

    ⚡ SPARK

    The v4 rewrite that defines everything after it: species-centric functions replaced by assessment-centric ones, changed return structures, mandatory new API keys, and no v3 support at all. Every subsequent release builds on this shape.

    View source ↗
  4. 3y ago

    rredlist 0.7.1 changes maintainer

    A maintainer handover to William Gearty, with no code change. It precedes the v4 rewrite by under two years and is the only activity in a long quiet stretch.

    View source ↗
  5. 5y ago

    rredlist 0.7.0 adds vignette and HTTPS base URL

    Adds a vignette, sets a dummy key for keyless testing, tidies the README, and moves the API base URL to HTTPS. Housekeeping from the v3 era.

    View source ↗
  6. 6y ago

    rredlist 0.6.0 improves docs and NA handling

    Documents why package results can differ from the Red List website and fails usefully on NA parameters. Small clarity fixes against the old API.

    View source ↗