Tidyverse Blog Formatting Conventions

Tidyverse Blog Formatting Conventions

Tidyverse-specific formatting requirements for blog posts on tidyverse.org. These conventions are for the hugodown-based Tidyverse blog.

Workflow for tidyverse.org Blog

When creating a blog post for the official tidyverse/tidyverse.org repository, follow these steps:

1. Install hugodown (if not already installed):

   pak::pkg_install("r-lib/hugodown")
   

2. Create a new post:

   hugodown::use_tidy_post("short-name")
   

   This creates content/blog/short-name/ containing an index.Rmd file.

   Common patterns for "short-name":

   • Package release: lifecycle-1-0-0, parsnip-0-1-2
   • Package release with specific topic: dplyr-1-0-0-rowwise, parsnip-adjacent, dplyr-1-0-4-if-any
   • Topic only: self-cleaning-test-fixtures, taking-control-of-plot-scaling

3. Write and knit:

   • Edit the generated index.Rmd file
   • Knit index.Rmd to generate index.md
   • Note: .Rmd files are only rendered when you explicitly knit them

4. Preview the site:

   hugodown::hugo_start()
   

   This runs once per session and continues in the background to turn .md into .html.

5. Check for outdated files (if concerned):

   hugodown::site_outdated()
   

   Lists all .Rmds that need to be re-rendered.

6. Add a photo: Every blog post must be accompanied by a photo. If you don't have one in mind, try:

   • https://unsplash.com
   • https://pexels.com
   • Jenny Bryan's free photo link collection

7. Submit PR:

   • Every PR gets an automatic live preview via Netlify
   • Once merged, the preview becomes the live site

Important Notes

• The site uses hugodown (not blogdown), which separates building into two steps:
  • hugodown generates .md from .Rmd
  • hugo generates .html from .md
• Use .Rmd files (not .Rmarkdown)
• Output should be output: hugodown::hugo_document
• If updating an old post to use hugodown:
  • Rename from .Rmarkdown to .Rmd
  • Delete the .markdown file
  • Set output: hugodown::hugo_document in YAML metadata

For Additional Context

If you need more details about the workflow or encounter issues, consult the README.md in the tidyverse/tidyverse.org repository.

Frontmatter Format

Tidyverse blog posts use YAML frontmatter with this structure:

---
output: hugodown::hugo_document
slug: package-name-version
title: package-name version
date: YYYY-MM-DD
author: Author Name
description: >
    Brief description of the package and release
photo:
  url: https://unsplash.com/photos/photo-id
  author: Photographer Name
categories: [package-name]
tags: [package-name, category]
---

Required Fields

• output: Always hugodown::hugo_document
• slug: URL slug using hyphens
  • Format: packagename-x-y-z (e.g., ellmer-0-4-0)
  • Replace dots with hyphens in version numbers
• title: Display title with spaces
  • Format: packagename x.y.z (e.g., ellmer 0.4.0)
• date: ISO format YYYY-MM-DD
• author: Full name of primary author
• description: Brief summary (can use > for multi-line)
• photo: Featured image with attribution
  • url: Full URL to image (often Unsplash)
  • author: Photographer name for attribution
• categories: Array with package name
• tags: Array with package name and related tags

Slug vs Title Convention

The slug is used in URLs and must be URL-safe:

• Slug: purrr-1-2-0 (hyphens, no dots)
• Title: purrr 1.2.0 (space, dots in version)

Image Attribution

Featured images are typically from Unsplash with proper photographer attribution:

photo:
  url: https://unsplash.com/photos/abc123
  author: John Doe

Title Format

The main title uses a simple format with space between package name and version:

# packagename 1.2.0

No "released" or "version" prefix. Just the package name and version number.

Code Formatting

Language Identifiers

Use triple backticks with r language identifier for R code:

```r
library(packagename)

result <- function_name(
  arg1 = "value",
  arg2 = TRUE
)
```

For installation:

```r
install.packages("packagename")
```

Inline Code Elements

• Function names: `function()`
• Packages: `{packagename}` when emphasizing it's a package
• Arguments: `arg = value`
• Values: `NULL`, `TRUE`, `"string"`

Function Links

When linking to function documentation, use markdown links:

[`function_name()`](https://url-to-docs)

Section Structure

Lifecycle Section Format

When including lifecycle changes, use this structure:

## Lifecycle changes

* **Fully removed** after 5+ years of deprecation:
  * `function1()` - use `replacement1()` instead
  * `function2()` - use `replacement2()` instead

* **Newly deprecated** (soft-deprecation):
  * `function3()` is superseded by `function4()`
  * `function5()` is no longer recommended

* **Breaking changes**:
  * Description of what changed and why

Use bold for the lifecycle stage labels.

Feature Sections

Use sentence case in headings:

## Easier `in_parallel()`

[Description of the feature...]

Include function names in backticks when they're part of the heading.

Acknowledgements Section

Always include as the final section:

## Acknowledgements

A big thank you to all the folks who helped make this release happen:

[@username1](https://github.com/username1), [@username2](https://github.com/username2), [@username3](https://github.com/username3), and [@username4](https://github.com/username4).

Formatting Rules

• Single paragraph format (not bulleted list)
• GitHub handles as markdown links
• Alphabetical order
• Comma-separated with "and" before the last name
• Period at the end

Generating the List

Use usethis::use_tidy_thanks():

# Fetch contributors since last release
usethis::use_tidy_thanks("tidyverse/packagename")

# Or from specific tag
usethis::use_tidy_thanks("tidyverse/packagename", from = "v1.0.0")

This function outputs properly formatted markdown that can be copied directly into the blog post.

Release Notes Link

Include a link to the full release notes (typically on pkgdown site):

You can see a full list of changes in the [release notes](https://packagename.tidyverse.org/news/).

Example Complete Frontmatter

---
output: hugodown::hugo_document
slug: purrr-1-2-0
title: purrr 1.2.0
date: 2025-11-04
author: Hadley Wickham
description: >
    purrr 1.2.0 includes deprecations and minor enhancements to
    functional programming tools in R.
photo:
  url: https://unsplash.com/photos/xyz789
  author: Jane Photographer
categories: [purrr]
tags: [purrr, tidyverse]
---

Examples of Well-Formatted Posts

Reference these posts for formatting examples:

• pkgdown 2.2.0
• testthat 3.3.0
• purrr 1.2.0
• ellmer 0.4.0