readRDS and saveRDS in R Programming

Introduction

These functions help you save and load R objects easily. You can keep your work and use it later without redoing everything.

You want to save a data frame after cleaning it to use later.

You need to save a model you trained to use it again without retraining.

You want to share an R object with a friend or colleague.

You want to save your workspace objects before closing R.

Syntax

R Programming

saveRDS(object, file)
readRDS(file)

saveRDS() saves a single R object to a file.

readRDS() reads the saved object back into R.

Examples

Saves the object my_data to a file named data.rds.

R Programming

saveRDS(my_data, "data.rds")

Loads the saved object from data.rds into loaded_data.

R Programming

loaded_data <- readRDS("data.rds")

Saves a model object and then loads it back into new_model.

R Programming

saveRDS(model, "model.rds")
new_model <- readRDS("model.rds")

Sample Program

This program creates a list, saves it to a file, then loads it back and prints it.

R Programming

my_list <- list(name = "Alice", age = 30, scores = c(90, 85, 88))
saveRDS(my_list, "my_list.rds")
loaded_list <- readRDS("my_list.rds")
print(loaded_list)

Important Notes

The file saved by saveRDS() is binary and only readable by R.

You can save any R object, like vectors, lists, data frames, or models.

Use readRDS() to load the object and assign it to a variable.

Summary

saveRDS() saves one R object to a file.

readRDS() loads the saved object back into R.

These functions help keep your work safe and reusable.