RStudio finally gets a chat window that doesn't require alt-tabbing

What it does gptstudio embeds large language models into RStudio through addins—think inline code help, chat windows, and text generation without leaving your analysis environment. It supports a broad roster of backends: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Azure, Perplexity, Cohere, HuggingFace, and local models via Ollama.

The interesting bit The package is deliberately provider-agnostic in a language ecosystem that often defaults to tidyverse-or-bust. The Ollama integration is the quietly practical option: run Mistral or Llama locally, and your data never leaves the machine. The README is unusually frank about privacy risks, warning users not to highlight sensitive code or data.

Key highlights

• Eight AI service backends, switchable via configuration
• Local model support through Ollama for air-gapped workflows
• API keys managed through standard .Renviron files
• Sister package gpttools adds R-specific developer addins
• CRAN-published with active CI and test coverage tracking

Caveats

• Lifecycle badge is “experimental,” though CRAN availability suggests core stability
• OpenAI requires valid payment details; this is an upstream restriction, not the package’s fault
• Default configuration sends highlighted code to third-party APIs—easy to leak data if you’re not paying attention

Verdict R users who want Copilot-like assistance without leaving the IDE should install this. If you already live in VS Code or Jupyter, there’s nothing here worth switching for.