Welcome to blockr

What is blockr?

blockr is a visual framework for building data workflows. Instead of writing code, you work with blocks - each block performs a specific task like loading data, filtering rows, or creating a chart. Connect blocks together to build complete data pipelines.

knitr::include_graphics("../man/figures/workflow-example.png")

Who is it for?

blockr is designed for anyone who works with data:

• Analysts who want to explore data without writing code
• Researchers who need reproducible workflows
• Teams who want to share and collaborate on data pipelines

How it works

1. Add blocks to your workspace - choose from data import, transformation, visualization, and export blocks
2. Connect blocks together to create a pipeline - data flows from one block to the next
3. Configure blocks using dropdowns, checkboxes, and input fields - no coding required
4. See results in real-time as you build - each block shows a preview of its output

Available blocks

blockr comes with blocks for common data tasks:

Import and Export

• Import Data - Load CSV, Excel, SPSS, SAS, Stata, Parquet files from your computer, a server, or URLs
• Export Data - Save results to CSV, Excel, or Parquet files

Data Transformation

• Filter Rows - Keep rows matching specific values
• Select Columns - Choose which columns to keep
• Calculate Columns - Create new columns using formulas
• Aggregate Data - Calculate totals, averages, counts
• Sort Rows - Order data by column values
• Lookup & Merge - Combine tables by matching columns
• And more: Rename, Pivot, Stack, Split…

Visualization

• ggplot - Create scatter plots, bar charts, line graphs, histograms, and more
• Theme - Customize colors and styling
• Facet - Split plots into panels
• Grid - Combine multiple plots

Next steps

• Install blockr locally: vignette("install", package = "blockr"), if you want to run it on your own machine
• Working with blockr: vignette("blockr", package = "blockr") - a guided walkthrough of building a workflow

Core packages

blockr is built on six specialized packages:

Foundational:

• blockr.core - Framework and architecture
• blockr.dag - Workflow management
• blockr.dock - User interface components

Block packages:

• blockr.dplyr - Data transformation blocks
• blockr.ggplot - Visualization blocks
• blockr.io - File import and export blocks

Extending blockr

Additional block packages can be installed for specific domains. For example, blockr.ts adds blocks for time series analysis.