Load the package with pkgload instead of devtools - #1
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shinylive scans app.R for dependencies, so devtools::load_all() pulled devtools and its 46 package import tree into the wasm bundle. That is 14.8 MB and 47 extra serial downloads before the app can start, none of which do anything useful in a browser. devtools::load_all() is a thin wrapper around pkgload::load_all(), so this is a direct swap. pkgload costs 6 packages and 1.2 MB. Net saving is 41 packages and 13.6 MB off first load.
ashbaldry
approved these changes
Aug 7, 2026
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app.R used devtools::load_all(). shinylive scans app.R when working out what to bundle, so devtools and its 46 package import tree ended up in the wasm payload every visitor downloads.
That is 14.8 MB and 47 extra downloads. webR fetches packages one at a time over synchronous XHR, so the round trips cost as much as the bytes. None of it is usable in a browser anyway.
devtools::load_all() is a thin wrapper around pkgload::load_all(), so this is a straight swap. pkgload brings 6 packages and 1.2 MB. Net saving is 41 packages and 13.6 MB off first load.
Note that library(dtlgdemo) does not work here. The package is not in the wasm repo, so the app relies on loading from bundled source.
Measured against the packages currently served from the live site.