IMPORTR: Stata module to import R data files (.Rdata,.Rda,.Rds) into Stata over an R or Python bridge

Eric A. Booth ()
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Eric A. Booth: Texas 2036

Statistical Software Components from Boston College Department of Economics

Abstract: .Rdata and .Rds files are compressed binary objects in R's own serialization format, so there is no pure-Stata way to read them; something outside Stata has to do the decoding. importr takes a dual-bridge approach so that it works on machines with R and on machines without it. It first looks for Rscript and, if found, converts the file through the haven package. If R is absent it falls back to Stata's built-in Python integration and the pyreadstat library. Either path lands the data in memory; the choice is reported so you know which bridge ran. Handles .Rdata, .Rda, and .Rds. R with the haven package (Rscript on the PATH), or Stata's Python integration with pyreadstat (python pip install pyreadstat).

Language: Stata
Requires: Stata version 16.0
Keywords: import; R; data management; interoperability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07-30
Note: This module should be installed from within Stata by typing "ssc install importr". The module is made available under terms of the MIT license (https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT).
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Downloads: (external link)
http://fmwww.bc.edu/repec/bocode/e/example.Rdata example dataset (application/octet-stream)
http://fmwww.bc.edu/repec/bocode/i/importr.ado program code (text/plain)
http://fmwww.bc.edu/repec/bocode/i/importr.sthlp help file (text/plain)

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