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R

rwasm

INFRA · APIS
Velocity0.0

Build R Packages for WebAssembly

github.com/r-wasm/rwasm ↗

The toolchain that gets R packages into the browser is optimising for payload size, not features.

webassemblywebrcross-compilationr-packagebuild-tooling
◆Current state
rwasm cross-compiles R packages to WebAssembly and assembles the virtual filesystem images that webR loads. Its three releases have moved from making cross-compilation work at all — Autoconf overrides, uname and pkg-config shims, OpenMP support — to controlling how the resulting artefacts are packaged and shipped. Every release is pinned to a specific webR version floor.
◆Where it's heading
The arc runs from correctness to delivery. The first release fought the cross-compilation environment itself, isolating builds from host libraries and shimming the tools configure scripts expect. The second replaced Emscripten's own file_packager with a custom metadata path and added gzip compression for filesystem images. The third is pure coordination, rebuilding the build system for webR 0.5.0. That cadence — roughly annual, each release gated on a webR version — makes this a component of the webR release train rather than an independently moving project.
◆Prediction
The next release will most likely follow the next webR version, since two of three releases so far have been driven by a webR floor rather than by rwasm's own agenda.

◆Recent moves

  1. 1y ago

    Build system realigned for webR 0.5.0

    A breaking build system update for webR 0.5.0 and later, plus a fix to include Makevars.wasm.in when looking for Makevars overrides. Coordination work that keeps the packaging tool aligned with the runtime it feeds.

    View source ↗
  2. 1y ago

    rwasm 0.2.0

    ⚡ SPARK

    The release that changed how artefacts are delivered rather than how they are built: Emscripten's file_packager is replaced with a custom metadata path over binary .tgz files, and VFS images can be gzip compressed. It reframes the project from a cross-compiler into a delivery pipeline.

    View source ↗
  3. 2y ago

    Cross-compilation gains OpenMP, Autoconf overrides and host isolation

    The foundational release, focused on making real R packages survive cross-compilation: Autoconf function-check overrides, shims for uname and pkg-config, OpenMP support, and isolation from host LIBS. It also flips the dependencies argument of add_pkg() to FALSE and makes CXX17 the default.

    View source ↗