Positron: A new IDE for Data Science

Positron

A new IDE for Data Science

SoCal RUG
July 18th, 2024
Emil Hvitfeldt

What is Positron?

A next-generation data science IDE built by Posit PBC
An extensible, polyglot tool for writing code and exploring data
A familiar environment for reproducible authoring and publishing

Is Positron for me?

Positron is an early stage project under active development and may not yet be a good fit for you. If you are interested in experimenting with it, we welcome your feedback!

Good fit if

you use VS Code for data science (Python or R) but wish it included a dedicated console, variables pane, data explorer, and other affordances for your data-specific work.
you use Jupyterlab for data science (Python or R) and are ready for a more powerful, fully-featured IDE.
you use RStudio and want more ability to customize or extend your IDE.
you use additional languages in your day-to-day data science or package development work, like Rust, C++, JavaScript, or Lua.

Bad fit if?

you need stable, polished software. Positron is still in beta, and some features are unstable or unfinished.
you need all the features of the RStudio IDE. Positron doesn’t have all RStudio’s features; some notable absences are inline output for Quarto and R Markdown, profiling, Sweave, RStudio Add-In support, etc.
you use remote development features (e.g. dev containers, remote SSH); these are not supported in Positron yet. However, providing tools for Remote SSH is on our roadmap.

Showcase checklist

Reminder! Positron just entered open Beta