Import Boilerplate Database(s) — boilerplate

This function imports one or more boilerplate databases from disk. It automatically detects the file format (RDS or JSON) based on file extension. The function can import from a directory (original behaviour) or from a specific file path (new).

Usage

boilerplate_import(category = NULL, data_path = NULL, quiet = FALSE)

Arguments

category

Character or character vector. Category of database to import. Options include "measures", "methods", "results", "discussion", "appendix", "template". If NULL (default), imports all available categories as a unified database. Ignored if data_path points to a specific file.

data_path

Character. Can be either:

A directory path containing database files (original behaviour)
A specific file path to import (e.g., "data/methods_db_20240115_143022.rds") If NULL (default), uses here::here("boilerplate", "data").

quiet

Logical. If TRUE, suppresses all CLI alerts. Default is FALSE.

Value

List. The imported database(s). If a single category was requested, returns that database. If multiple categories were requested, returns a unified database with each category as a named element.

Examples

# Create a temporary directory and initialise databases
temp_dir <- tempdir()
data_path <- file.path(temp_dir, "boilerplate_import_example", "data")

# Initialise some databases first
boilerplate_init(
  categories = c("methods", "measures"),
  data_path = data_path,
  create_dirs = TRUE,
  create_empty = FALSE,
  confirm = FALSE,
  quiet = TRUE
)

# Import just the methods database
methods_db <- boilerplate_import("methods", data_path = data_path, quiet = TRUE)
names(methods_db)
#> [1] "sample"             "causal_assumptions" "statistical"       

# Import all available databases as unified
all_dbs <- boilerplate_import(data_path = data_path, quiet = TRUE)
names(all_dbs)
#> [1] "measures" "methods" 

# Import from a specific file (e.g., timestamped or backup)
# First, save with timestamp to create a timestamped file
boilerplate_save(
  methods_db,
  category = "methods",
  data_path = data_path,
  timestamp = TRUE,
  confirm = FALSE,
  quiet = TRUE
)

# List files to see what's available
list.files(data_path, pattern = "methods.*\\.rds")
#> [1] "methods_db.rds"                 "methods_db_20250607_003233.rds"

# Import the timestamped file directly
timestamped_file <- list.files(
  data_path, 
  pattern = "methods.*_\\d{8}_\\d{6}\\.rds", 
  full.names = TRUE
)[1]
if (length(timestamped_file) > 0 && file.exists(timestamped_file)) {
  methods_timestamped <- boilerplate_import(
    data_path = timestamped_file, 
    quiet = TRUE
  )
}

# Clean up
unlink(file.path(temp_dir, "boilerplate_import_example"), recursive = TRUE)