User account for R processes in RStudio Connect

This article is based on this section of the administrator's guide.

The RStudio Connect installation creates a local rstudio-connect user account. This account runs all the R processes; root does not invoke R. If you would like a different user to run R, customize the Applications.RunAs property.

Administrators can customize the RunAs user on a content-specific level. This means that different Shiny applications and R Markdown reports can be run using different Unix accounts. This setting can be found on the Access tab when editing content settings. Publishers and Viewers are prohibited from changing the RunAs user on a content-specific level.

If you choose to specify a custom RunAs user for content, that user must be a member of the Unix group that is the primary group of the default RunAs user.

The rstudio-connect user, for example, has a primary group also named rstudio-connect. Any Unix account configured as a custom RunAs user for a Shiny application or R Markdown report must be a member of the rstudio-connect group.

Installation of R packages always happens as the Application.RunAs user. A Shiny application or R Markdown report may override its RunAs setting; this alters how the deployed code is executed and does not impact package installation. See this section of the admin guide for more information about process sandboxing.