Using brand.yml with Shiny for R

Using brand.yml with Shiny for R

Guide for applying brand.yml styling to Shiny applications using the bslib package.

Overview

The bslib package integrates brand.yml to provide unified visual theming across Shiny applications. Define colors, fonts, and logos once in _brand.yml, and bslib automatically applies them to your Shiny app UI.

Installation

# Install bslib (includes brand.yml support)
install.packages("bslib")

# Optional: Install brand.yml package for theming plots/tables
install.packages("brand.yml")

Quick Start

Automatic Discovery

Place _brand.yml at your app directory root:

my-app/
├── _brand.yml
├── app.R
└── ...

Then use bs_theme() in your app:

library(shiny)
library(bslib)

ui <- page_fluid(
  theme = bs_theme(),  # Automatically finds _brand.yml
  titlePanel("My App"),
  # ... rest of UI
)

server <- function(input, output, session) {
  # ...
}

shinyApp(ui, server)

Search Paths

bslib automatically searches for _brand.yml in this order:

1. Current app directory
2. _brand/ subdirectory
3. brand/ subdirectory
4. Parent directories (recursive)

bs_theme() Brand Parameter

The brand parameter controls how branding is applied:

Automatic (Default)

theme = bs_theme()

Searches for _brand.yml and applies it if found. No error if file doesn't exist.

Required Brand

theme = bs_theme(brand = TRUE)

Requires _brand.yml to exist. Throws error if not found.

Explicit Path

theme = bs_theme(brand = "path/to/my-brand.yml")

Uses specific brand file. Path can be:

• Relative to app directory: "branding/company-brand.yml"
• Absolute: "/Users/name/brands/company.yml"
• Directory (auto-finds _brand.yml): "branding/"

Inline Brand Definition

theme = bs_theme(
  brand = list(
    color = list(
      palette = list(
        blue = "#0066cc",
        gray = "#666666"
      ),
      primary = "blue",
      foreground = "gray"
    ),
    typography = list(
      fonts = list(
        list(family = "Inter", source = "google", weight = c(400, 600))
      ),
      base = "Inter"
    )
  )
)

Disable Branding

theme = bs_theme(brand = FALSE)

Ignores _brand.yml even if it exists.

Using with page_*() Functions

All bslib page functions support automatic brand discovery:

# page_fluid
ui <- page_fluid(
  theme = bs_theme(),
  # ... content
)

# page_sidebar
ui <- page_sidebar(
  theme = bs_theme(),
  sidebar = sidebar(
    # ... sidebar content
  ),
  # ... main content
)

# page_navbar
ui <- page_navbar(
  theme = bs_theme(),
  nav_panel("Tab 1", # ...),
  nav_panel("Tab 2", # ...)
)

# page_fillable
ui <- page_fillable(
  theme = bs_theme(),
  # ... content
)

Branded Plots and Tables in Shiny

Use theming functions from the brand.yml package to style plots and tables within Shiny apps. See brand-yml-in-r.md for complete documentation of theming functions.

Basic Example

library(shiny)
library(bslib)
library(ggplot2)
library(gt)
library(brand.yml)

ui <- page_sidebar(
  theme = bs_theme(brand = TRUE),

  sidebar = sidebar(
    selectInput("dataset", "Dataset:", c("mtcars", "iris"))
  ),

  card(
    card_header("Branded Plot"),
    plotOutput("plot")
  ),
  card(
    card_header("Branded Table"),
    gt_output("table")
  )
)

server <- function(input, output, session) {
  output$plot <- renderPlot({
    ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, hp)) +
      geom_point() +
      theme_brand_ggplot2()
  })

  output$table <- render_gt({
    head(mtcars) |>
      gt() |>
      theme_brand_gt()
  })
}

shinyApp(ui, server)

Benefits:

• Consistent styling across UI, plots, and tables
• Automatic brand detection from _brand.yml
• Works with ggplot2, gt, flextable, plotly, and base R graphics

For detailed theming function documentation, see brand-yml-in-r.md.

Complete Shiny Example

library(shiny)
library(bslib)

ui <- page_sidebar(
  theme = bs_theme(brand = TRUE),  # Require _brand.yml

  sidebar = sidebar(
    title = "Controls",
    selectInput("dataset", "Dataset:",
                choices = c("iris", "mtcars")),
    numericInput("n", "Number of rows:", 10, min = 1, max = 50)
  ),

  card(
    card_header("Data Summary"),
    tableOutput("summary")
  ),

  card(
    card_header("Data Details"),
    verbatimTextOutput("details")
  )
)

server <- function(input, output, session) {
  dataset <- reactive({
    get(input$dataset)
  })

  output$summary <- renderTable({
    head(dataset(), input$n)
  })

  output$details <- renderPrint({
    summary(dataset())
  })
}

shinyApp(ui, server)

With _brand.yml:

color:
  palette:
    brand-blue: "#0066cc"
    brand-gray: "#666666"
  primary: brand-blue
  foreground: brand-gray
  background: "#ffffff"

typography:
  fonts:
    - family: Inter
      source: google
      weight: [400, 600]
  base:
    family: Inter
    size: 16px
  headings:
    family: Inter
    weight: 600

R Markdown Shiny Documents

Use brand.yml in R Markdown documents with Shiny runtime:

---
title: "Interactive Dashboard"
output:
  html_document:
    theme:
      version: 5          # Required for brand.yml
      brand: true         # Auto-discover _brand.yml
runtime: shiny
---

Or specify a path:

---
title: "Interactive Dashboard"
output:
  html_document:
    theme:
      version: 5
      brand: "path/to/brand.yml"
runtime: shiny
---

Important: Set version: 5 to use Bootstrap 5, which has the best brand.yml support.

Note: For R Markdown documents without runtime: shiny, see brand-yml-in-r.md.

Programmatic Brand Access

For advanced use cases, access brand data programmatically within Shiny:

library(brand.yml)

server <- function(input, output, session) {
  # Read brand data
  brand <- read_brand_yml()

  # Use in custom UI elements
  output$brand_info <- renderUI({
    div(
      style = paste0("color: ", brand$color$primary, ";"),
      h3(brand$meta$name),
      p("Welcome to our branded app!")
    )
  })

  # Use in plots with custom styling
  output$custom_plot <- renderPlot({
    plot(mtcars$mpg, mtcars$hp,
         col = brand$color$primary,
         pch = 19)
  })
}

For complete documentation on programmatic access and theming functions, see brand-yml-in-r.md.

Tips

• Start simple: Begin with colors and one font family
• Test automatically: Automatic discovery works well for most cases
• Use explicit paths: For shared brand files across multiple apps
• Version control: Include _brand.yml in your git repository
• Validate early: Use brand = TRUE during development to catch missing files
• Combine with theming functions: Style plots and tables consistently (see brand-yml-in-r.md)

Troubleshooting

Brand not applying to Shiny UI?

• Check file is named _brand.yml (with underscore)
• Verify file is in app directory or parent directories
• Try explicit path: bs_theme(brand = "path/to/_brand.yml")
• Check for YAML syntax errors

Colors not matching?

• Verify hex colors have quotes: "#0066cc"
• Check color names match palette definitions
• Ensure primary/secondary colors reference valid palette names

Fonts not loading?

• Verify Google Fonts spelling and availability
• Check source: google is specified correctly
• Ensure font family names match exactly in typography elements

Plots/tables not branded?

• Ensure brand.yml package is installed: install.packages("brand.yml")
• Use theming functions: theme_brand_ggplot2(), theme_brand_gt(), etc.
• See brand-yml-in-r.md for complete theming documentation

Related Documentation

• brand-yml-in-r.md: General R usage, R Markdown integration, theming functions, and programmatic access
• brand-yml-spec.md: Complete brand.yml file specification