FreesearchR/README.md

# FreesearchR <a href="https://agdamsbo.github.io/FreesearchR/"><img src="man/figures/logo.png" alt="FreesearchR website" align="right" height="70"/></a>

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The [***FreesearchR***](https://app.freesearchr.org) is a simple, clinical health data exploration and analysis tool to democratise clinical research by assisting any researcher to easily evaluate and analyse data and export publication ready results.

[***FreesearchR***](https://app.freesearchr.org) is free and open-source, and is [accessible in your web browser through this link](https://app.freesearchr.org). The app can also run locally, please [see below](#run-locally-on-your-own-machine-sec-run-locally).

All feedback is welcome and can be shared as a GitHub issue. Any suggestions on collaboration is much welcomed. Please reach out!

![FreesearchR demo](./man/figures/demo.gif)

## Motivation

This app has the following simple goals:

1.  help the health clinician getting an overview of data in quality improvement projects and clinical research

2.  help learners get a good start analysing data and coding in *R*

3.  ease quick data overview and basic visualisations for any clinical researcher

Here’s a polished and restructured version of your README section for clarity, conciseness, and user-friendliness:

## Run Locally on Your Own Machine

The **FreesearchR** app can be run locally on your machine, ensuring no data is transmitted externally. Below are the available options for setup and configuration.

### Configuration & Data Loading

The app can be configured either by passing a named list to `run_app()` or by setting environment variables in a **Docker Compose** file. The following variables control data access and display behavior. If no values are provided, the app will use the defaults listed below.

**Configuration Variables**

| Variable | Description | Default |
|--------------|--------------------------------------------|--------------|
| `INCLUDE_GLOBALENV` | Load datasets already present in the global R environment into the app | `FALSE` |
| `DATA_LIMIT_DEFAULT` | Default number of observations for previewing or working with a dataset | `10,000` |
| `DATA_LIMIT_UPPER` | Maximum number of observations a user can set for the upper limit. If set to 0, no uppper limit is applied. | `100,000` |
| `DATA_LIMIT_LOWER` | Minimum number of observations a user can set for the lower limit | `1` |
| `CHECK_APP_VERSION` | Always print version check results. Checks app version against latest release on GitHub. | `FALSE` |

### Run from R (or RStudio)

If you're working with data in R, **FreesearchR** is a quick and easy tool for exploratory analysis.

1.  **Requirement:** Ensure you have [R](https://www.r-project.org/) installed, and optionally an editor like [RStudio](https://posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop/).

2.  Open the **R console** and run the following code to install the `{FreesearchR}` package and launch the app:

    ``` r
    if (!require("devtools")) install.packages("devtools")
    devtools::install_github("agdamsbo/FreesearchR")
    library(FreesearchR)
    # Load sample data (e.g., mtcars) to make it available in the app
    data(mtcars)
    launch_FreesearchR(INCLUDE_GLOBALENV=TRUE,CHECK_APP_VERSION=TRUE)
    ```

All the variables specified above can also be passed to the app on launch from R. Set DATA_LIMIT_UPPER=0 to remove upper data limit. This limit is set to protect the online app version from choking and crashing on large data sets.

### Running with Docker Compose

For advanced users, you can deploy **FreesearchR** using Docker. A data folder can be mounted to `/app/data` to automatically load supported file types (`.csv`, `.tsv`, `.txt`, `.xls`, `.xlsx`, `.ods`, `.dta`, `.rds`) at startup.

To mount a local data folder, add a `volumes` entry to your `docker-compose.yml` file:

``` yaml
services:
  shiny:
    image: ghcr.io/agdamsbo/freesearchr:latest
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data:ro
    environment:
      - INCLUDE_GLOBALENV=FALSE
      - DATA_LIMIT_DEFAULT=10000
      - DATA_LIMIT_UPPER=100000
      - DATA_LIMIT_LOWER=1
    ports:
      - '3838:3838'
    restart: on-failure
```

-   The `:ro` flag mounts the folder as **read-only**, preventing the app from modifying your original data files.

-   If no volume is mounted, the app will start without any preloaded datasets.

## Code of Conduct

Please note that the ***FreesearchR*** project is published with a [Contributor Code of Conduct](https://contributor-covenant.org/version/2/1/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.html). By contributing to this project, you agree to abide by its terms.

## Translators

Thank you very much to all translators having helped to translate and validate translation drafts.

## Acknowledgements

Like any other project, this project was never possible without the great work of others. These are some of the sources and packages I have used:

-   The ***FreesearchR*** app is built with [Shiny](https://shiny.posit.co/) and based on [*R*](https://www.r-project.org/).

-   [gtsummary](https://www.danieldsjoberg.com/gtsummary/): superb and flexible way to create publication-ready analytical and summary tables.

-   [dreamRs](https://github.com/dreamRs): maintainers of a broad selection of great extensions and tools for [Shiny](https://shiny.posit.co/).

-   [easystats](https://easystats.github.io/easystats/): the [`performance::check_model()`](https://easystats.github.io/performance/articles/check_model.html) function was central in sparking the idea to create a data analysis tool.

-   [IDEAfilter](https://biogen-inc.github.io/IDEAFilter/): a visually appealing data filter function based on the [{shinyDataFilter}](https://github.com/dgkf/shinyDataFilter).

This project was all written by a human and not by any AI-based tools.

The online ***FreesearchR*** app contains a tracking script, transmitting minimal data on usage. No uploaded data is transmitted anywhere. Have a look at the [tracking data here](https://analytics.gdamsbo.dk/share/2i4BNpMcDMB9lJvF/agdamsbo.shinyapps.io). No tracking data is sent running the app locally (see above).