Condition Handling in R Packages

When to Use What

CLI Conditions Essentials

Use cli_abort(), cli_warn(), and cli_inform() instead of base R's stop(), warning(), and message() for formatted condition messages.

Basic Usage

# Simple error
cli_abort("Column {.field name} is required")

# Simple warning
cli_warn("Column {.field {col}} has missing values")

# Simple message
cli_inform("Processing {n} file{?s}")

Structured Messages with Bullets

Use named character vectors for multi-part messages:

cli_abort(c(

  "File not found",
  "x" = "Cannot read {.file {path}}",

  "i" = "Check that the file exists"
))

Bullet types:

• "x" - Error/problem (red X)
• "!" - Warning (yellow !)
• "i" - Information (blue i)
• "v" - Success (green checkmark)
• "*" - Bullet point
• ">" - Arrow/pointer

Essential Inline Markup

Format values in condition messages for clarity:

# Arguments
cli_abort("{.arg x} must be numeric")

# Files and paths
cli_abort("Cannot find {.file {path}}")

# Values
cli_abort("Expected {.val TRUE}, got {.val {x}}")

# Classes/types
cli_abort("Expected numeric, got {.cls {class(x)}}")

# Code
cli_abort("Use {.code na.rm = TRUE} to ignore missing values
")

# Function names
cli_abort("See {.fn mypackage::helper} for details")

Pluralization

Use {?} for automatic singular/plural handling:

cli_abort("Found {n} error{?s}")
#> Found 1 error
#> Found 3 errors

cli_abort("Found {n} director{?y/ies}")
#> Found 1 directory
#> Found 5 directories

Error Call Context

By default, abort() and cli_abort() show the function where they are called. When using error helpers, pass call = caller_env() to show the user's function instead.

The Problem

# Error helper without call context
stop_my_class <- function(message) {

  abort(message, class = "my_class")
}

my_function <- function(x) {
  stop_my_class("Something went wrong")
}

my_function("test")
#> Error in `stop_my_class()`:
#> ! Something went wrong

The error shows stop_my_class() but users called my_function().

The Solution

stop_my_class <- function(message, call = caller_env()) {
  abort(message, class = "my_class", call = call)
}

my_function <- function(x) {
  stop_my_class("Something went wrong")
}

my_function("test")
#> Error in `my_function()`:
#> ! Something went wrong

Now the error correctly shows my_function().

Pattern: Abort Wrapper

stop_my_class <- function(message, call = caller_env()) {
  abort(message, class = "my_class", call = call)
}

Input Checkers

Input checkers validate function arguments. Use caller_arg() to get the argument name dynamically and caller_env() for proper error context.

Basic Input Checker

check_string <- function(x,
                         arg = caller_arg(x),
                         call = caller_env()) {
  if (!is_string(x)) {
    cli_abort("{.arg {arg}} must be a string.", call = call)
  }
}

Using the Checker

my_function <- function(my_arg) {
  check_string(my_arg)
  # ... rest of function
}

my_function(NA)
#> Error in `my_function()`:
#> ! `my_arg` must be a string.

The error shows:

• The correct function (my_function, not check_string)
• The correct argument name (my_arg, not x)

Pattern: Complete Input Checker

check_scalar_numeric <- function(x,
                                  arg = caller_arg(x),
                                  call = caller_env()) {
  if (!is.numeric(x) || length(x) != 1) {
    cli_abort(c(
      "{.arg {arg}} must be a single number",
      "x" = "You supplied {.cls {class(x)}} of length {length(x)}"
    ), call = call)
  }
}

Built-in Checkers from rlang

rlang provides check_required() for mandatory arguments:

my_function <- function(data) {
  check_required(data)
  # ... rest of function
}

my_function()
#> Error in `my_function()`:
#> ! `data` is absent but must be supplied.

Error Chaining

Error chaining adds context when catching and rethrowing errors. Use try_fetch() to catch errors and parent to chain them.

Basic Error Chaining

with_chained_errors <- function(expr, call = caller_env()) {
  try_fetch(
    expr,
    error = function(cnd) {
      abort("Problem during step.", parent = cnd, call = call)
    }
  )
}

my_verb <- function(expr) {
  with_chained_errors(expr)
}

my_verb(1 + "a")
#> Error in `my_verb()`:
#> ! Problem during step.
#> Caused by error in `1 + "a"`:
#> ! non-numeric argument to binary operator

Why try_fetch() Over tryCatch()

• Preserves full backtrace context for debugging
• Allows options(error = recover) to work
• Catches stack overflow errors (R >= 4.2.0)

Taking Ownership of Errors

Use parent = NA to completely replace a low-level error:

with_user_friendly_errors <- function(expr, call = caller_env()) {
  try_fetch(
    expr,
    vctrs_error_scalar_type = function(cnd) {
      abort(
        "Must supply a vector.",
        parent = NA,
        error = cnd,  # Store original for debugging
        call = call
      )
    }
  )
}

For advanced error chaining patterns: See references/error-chaining.md for iteration context, modifying error calls, and case studies.

Testing Error Conditions

Use testthat snapshot tests to verify error messages.

Basic Snapshot Test

test_that("validation errors are clear", {
  expect_snapshot(error = TRUE, {
    my_function(NULL)
  })
})

This creates a snapshot file recording the exact error output.

Testing Multiple Cases

test_that("input validation catches bad inputs", {
  expect_snapshot(error = TRUE, {
    check_string(123)
    check_string(NA)
    check_string(c("a", "b"))
  })
})

Enabling rlang Error Display

To see the call field in error snapshots, depend on rlang >= 1.0.0 in your package. With testthat >= 3.1.2, this enables the enhanced error display automatically.

Testing Error Classes

test_that("errors have correct class", {
  expect_error(
    validate_input(NULL),
    class = "validation_error"
  )
})

Resources

rlang Documentation

• Error call documentation
• Error chaining documentation
• Condition customisation

cli Documentation

• cli package
• Semantic CLI article

Style Guide

• Tidyverse error style guide

Reference Files

• references/error-chaining.md - Advanced error chaining patterns
• references/customisation.md - Condition appearance customization