`cloud_check()` should mercy kill a revdep that needs a package from a defunct repo

[jennybc]

This is based on my recent experience doing revdepchecks for vroom. As of 2026-01-23, vroom has impactr as a revdep:

https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/impactr/index.html

And here's its DESCRIPTION right now:

Package: impactr
Title: Mechanical Loading Prediction Through Accelerometer Data
Version: 0.4.1
Authors@R: 
    person(given = "Lucas",
           family = "Veras",
           role = c("aut", "cre"),
           email = "lucasdsveras@gmail.com",
           comment = c(ORCID = "0000-0003-0562-5803"))
Description: Functions to read, process and analyse accelerometer
    data related to mechanical loading variables. This package is
    developed and tested for use with raw accelerometer data from
    triaxial 'ActiGraph' <https://actigraphcorp.com> accelerometers.
License: MIT + file LICENSE
URL: https://lveras.com/impactr/
BugReports: https://github.com/verasls/impactr/issues/
Encoding: UTF-8
LazyData: true
Roxygen: list(markdown = TRUE)
RoxygenNote: 7.2.1
Imports: 
    glue,
    lubridate,
    lvmisc,
    pillar,
    pracma,
    purrr,
    Rcpp,
    rlang (>= 0.4.6),
    signal,
    stringr,
    tibble,
    toOrdinal,
    utils,
    vroom
Suggests: 
    accdata,
    covr,
    knitr,
    rmarkdown,
    testthat (>= 3.0.0)
Config/testthat/edition: 3
LinkingTo: 
    Rcpp
VignetteBuilder: knitr
Language: en-GB
Depends: 
    R (>= 2.10)
Additional_repositories: https://lveras.com/drat/

It Suggests accdata, which is supposed to be available from the Additional_repositories: https://lveras.com/drat/. But that repository does not currently exist.

~/work/vroom % curl -I https://lveras.com/drat/src/contrib/PACKAGES
HTTP/2 403 
alt-svc: h3=":8443"; ma=2592000
server: Caddy
date: Sat, 24 Jan 2026 01:46:19 GMT

~/work/vroom % curl -I https://cloud.r-project.org/src/contrib/PACKAGES 
HTTP/2 200 
content-length: 5711710
date: Sat, 24 Jan 2026 01:46:59 GMT
expires: Sat, 24 Jan 2026 02:16:59 GMT
server: Apache/2.4.65 (Unix)
last-modified: Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:31:16 GMT
etag: "57275e-6491764598047"
accept-ranges: bytes
cache-control: max-age=1800
x-cache: Miss from cloudfront
via: 1.1 36d4ca7ddc4beff9d1b963574f5a4134.cloudfront.net (CloudFront)
x-amz-cf-pop: YVR52-P3
x-amz-cf-id: 8Orpg5Pk3i4uJsa-iNH_gNdShgzquldFfQSZbpthkDiiuY13pgmJtA==

Here's how it looks when I try to install local dev deps with pak:

> pak::local_install_dev_deps()
✔ Loading metadata database ... done
Run `[rlang::last_trace()](vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Positron.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/code/electron-browser/workbench/workbench.html#)` to see where the error occurred.                  
Error:
! ! error in pak subprocess
Caused by error: 
! Could not solve package dependencies:
* deps::/Users/jenny/tmp/impactr: Can't install dependency accdata
* accdata: Can't find package called accdata.

In cloud revdep checks, this particular package seems to just hang, causing the entire job to be stuck at 1 thing still in progress and n - 1 things being complete. Eventually, somewhere north of 2 hours, something appears to time out and you can run cloud_report(), which does not report anything about this problematic package.

I have a couple of wishes:

• Can this doomed situation fail fast and be logged in the problems? Feels like it fits in the "failed to check" bucket.
• Can we make it easier to find out which revdeps are still running? Part of what makes this situation tricky is that I can't see which package is the zombie. If I could, that unblocks me to do some local, artisanal troubleshooting. In this case, I have to wait 'til it's the only check still running, do cloud_report(), back out which packages have been checked, get the list of revdeps via revdepcheck::cran_revdeps("vroom"), then use setdiff() to figure out who's missing.
• Given that this situation only generates a NOTE in CRAN's checks, should we be doing something different? Here's what CRAN shows for impactr at this moment:

[jennybc]

This is happening to me again, with a different package. Where a single revdep seems hung, causing the cloud checks to not finish in a timely manner.

For my own sake, here's how I try to figure out what the zombie check is.

revdepcheck::cloud_report()
...
job <- revdepcheck::cloud_job()
done <- fs::path("revdep/cloud.noindex/", job) |> 
  fs::dir_ls(glob = "*.tar.gz") |> 
  fs::path_file() |> 
  fs::path_ext_remove() |> 
  fs::path_ext_remove()
revdeps <- revdepcheck::cran_revdeps("gargle")
setdiff(revdeps, done)
#> [1] "ragnar"

[jennybc]

I was able to successfully check ragnar locally, but it installs lots of things, so I can certainly imagine something not going well or going slowly in the cloud checks. In case it's interesting here's the local result:

> devtools::check()
══ Documenting ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
ℹ Updating ragnar documentation
ℹ Loading ragnar
ℹ Re-compiling ragnar
── R CMD INSTALL ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
─  installing *source* package ‘ragnar’ ...
   ** this is package ‘ragnar’ version ‘0.3.0.9000’
   ** using staged installation
   Downloading cpython-3.12.12-macos-aarch64-none (download) (15.7MiB)
    Downloading cpython-3.12.12-macos-aarch64-none (download)
   Downloading onnxruntime (16.4MiB)
   Downloading numpy (5.0MiB)
   Downloading pillow (4.4MiB)
   Downloading lxml (8.3MiB)
   Downloading sympy (6.0MiB)
   Downloading pandas (9.4MiB)
   Downloading pdfminer-six (6.3MiB)
   Downloading cryptography (6.8MiB)
   Downloading youtube-transcript-api (2.1MiB)
   Downloading speechrecognition (31.3MiB)
   Downloading magika (12.7MiB)
    Downloading youtube-transcript-api
    Downloading pillow
    Downloading numpy
    Downloading sympy
    Downloading pdfminer-six
    Downloading cryptography
    Downloading lxml
    Downloading pandas
    Downloading onnxruntime
    Downloading magika
    Downloading speechrecognition
   Installed 50 packages in 97ms
   python:         /Users/jenny/.cache/uv/archive-v0/sOvaIEdUN_ZKNyRfHJb6x/bin/python
   libpython:      /Users/jenny/.local/share/uv/python/cpython-3.12.12-macos-aarch64-none/lib/libpython3.12.dylib
   pythonhome:     /Users/jenny/.cache/uv/archive-v0/sOvaIEdUN_ZKNyRfHJb6x:/Users/jenny/.cache/uv/archive-v0/sOvaIEdUN_ZKNyRfHJb6x
   virtualenv:     /Users/jenny/.cache/uv/archive-v0/sOvaIEdUN_ZKNyRfHJb6x/bin/activate_this.py
   version:        3.12.12 (main, Oct 14 2025, 21:38:21) [Clang 20.1.4 ]
   numpy:          /Users/jenny/.cache/uv/archive-v0/sOvaIEdUN_ZKNyRfHJb6x/lib/python3.12/site-packages/numpy
   numpy_version:  2.4.1
   
   NOTE: Python version was forced by py_require()
   /Users/jenny/.cache/uv/archive-v0/sOvaIEdUN_ZKNyRfHJb6x/lib/python3.12/site-packages/pydub/utils.py:170: RuntimeWarning: Couldn't find ffmpeg or avconv - defaulting to ffmpeg, but may not work
     warn("Couldn't find ffmpeg or avconv - defaulting to ffmpeg, but may not work", RuntimeWarning)
   Module(markitdown)
   [1] 0
   [1] 0
   NULL
   ** libs
   using C compiler: ‘Apple clang version 17.0.0 (clang-1700.6.3.2)’
   using SDK: ‘MacOSX26.2.sdk’
   clang -arch arm64 -std=gnu2x -I"/Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/4.5-arm64/Resources/include" -DNDEBUG   -I/opt/R/arm64/include    -fPIC  -falign-functions=64 -Wall -g -O2  -c chunk.c -o chunk.o
   clang -arch arm64 -std=gnu2x -dynamiclib -Wl,-headerpad_max_install_names -undefined dynamic_lookup -L/Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/4.5-arm64/Resources/lib -L/opt/R/arm64/lib -o ragnar.so chunk.o -F/Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/4.5-arm64 -framework R
   installing to /private/tmp/Rtmp0IAoz1/devtools_install_15d1b591676c9/00LOCK-ragnar/00new/ragnar/libs
   ** checking absolute paths in shared objects and dynamic libraries
─  DONE (ragnar) (381ms)
Overwriting method convert(<character>, <ragnar::MarkdownDocument>)

══ Building ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Setting env vars:
• CFLAGS    : -Wall -pedantic -fdiagnostics-color=always
• CXXFLAGS  : -Wall -pedantic -fdiagnostics-color=always
• CXX11FLAGS: -Wall -pedantic -fdiagnostics-color=always
• CXX14FLAGS: -Wall -pedantic -fdiagnostics-color=always
• CXX17FLAGS: -Wall -pedantic -fdiagnostics-color=always
• CXX20FLAGS: -Wall -pedantic -fdiagnostics-color=always
── R CMD build ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
✔  checking for file ‘/Users/jenny/tmp/ragnar/DESCRIPTION’ ...
─  preparing ‘ragnar’:
✔  checking DESCRIPTION meta-information ...
─  cleaning src
─  installing the package to build vignettes
✔  creating vignettes (22.4s)
─  cleaning src
─  checking for LF line-endings in source and make files and shell scripts (543ms)
─  checking for empty or unneeded directories
─  building ‘ragnar_0.3.0.9000.tar.gz’
   
══ Checking ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Setting env vars:
• _R_CHECK_CRAN_INCOMING_REMOTE_               : FALSE
• _R_CHECK_CRAN_INCOMING_                      : FALSE
• _R_CHECK_FORCE_SUGGESTS_                     : FALSE
• _R_CHECK_PACKAGES_USED_IGNORE_UNUSED_IMPORTS_: FALSE
• NOT_CRAN                                     : true
── R CMD check ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
─  using log directory ‘/private/tmp/Rtmp0IAoz1/file15d1b5f34378b/ragnar.Rcheck’
─  using R version 4.5.1 (2025-06-13)
─  using platform: aarch64-apple-darwin20
─  R was compiled by
       Apple clang version 16.0.0 (clang-1600.0.26.6)
       GNU Fortran (GCC) 14.2.0
─  running under: macOS Tahoe 26.2
─  using session charset: UTF-8
─  using options ‘--no-manual --as-cran’
✔  checking for file ‘ragnar/DESCRIPTION’
─  this is package ‘ragnar’ version ‘0.3.0.9000’
─  package encoding: UTF-8
✔  checking package namespace information ...
─  checking package dependencies ... INFO (2.1s)
   Imports includes 21 non-default packages.
   Importing from so many packages makes the package vulnerable to any of
   them becoming unavailable.  Move as many as possible to Suggests and
   use conditionally.
✔  checking if this is a source package
✔  checking if there is a namespace
✔  checking for executable files (337ms)
✔  checking for hidden files and directories ...
✔  checking for portable file names ...
✔  checking for sufficient/correct file permissions
✔  checking whether package ‘ragnar’ can be installed (8.8s)
─  used C compiler: ‘Apple clang version 17.0.0 (clang-1700.6.3.2)’
─  used SDK: ‘MacOSX26.2.sdk’
✔  checking installed package size ...
✔  checking package directory ...
✔  checking for future file timestamps (35.7s)
✔  checking ‘build’ directory ...
✔  checking DESCRIPTION meta-information ...
W  checking top-level files ...
   A complete check needs the 'checkbashisms' script.
   See section ‘Configure and cleanup’ in the ‘Writing R Extensions’
   manual.
✔  checking for left-over files ...
✔  checking index information ...
✔  checking package subdirectories (608ms)
✔  checking code files for non-ASCII characters ...
✔  checking R files for syntax errors ...
✔  checking whether the package can be loaded (875ms)
✔  checking whether the package can be loaded with stated dependencies (789ms)
✔  checking whether the package can be unloaded cleanly (812ms)
✔  checking whether the namespace can be loaded with stated dependencies (769ms)
✔  checking whether the namespace can be unloaded cleanly (856ms)
✔  checking loading without being on the library search path (987ms)
✔  checking whether startup messages can be suppressed (1.7s)
✔  checking dependencies in R code (1.7s)
✔  checking S3 generic/method consistency (862ms)
✔  checking replacement functions (751ms)
✔  checking foreign function calls (836ms)
✔  checking R code for possible problems (6.3s)
✔  checking Rd files ...
✔  checking Rd metadata ...
✔  checking Rd line widths ...
✔  checking Rd cross-references ...
✔  checking for missing documentation entries (805ms)
✔  checking for code/documentation mismatches (2.3s)
✔  checking Rd \usage sections (1.1s)
✔  checking Rd contents ...
✔  checking for unstated dependencies in examples ...
✔  checking line endings in shell scripts
✔  checking line endings in C/C++/Fortran sources/headers ...
✔  checking pragmas in C/C++ headers and code ...
✔  checking compilation flags used ...
✔  checking compiled code ...
✔  checking installed files from ‘inst/doc’ ...
✔  checking files in ‘vignettes’ ...
✔  checking examples (4.2s)
✔  checking for unstated dependencies in ‘tests’ ...
─  checking tests ...
    [11s/21s] OKthat.R’
   * checking for unstated dependencies in vignettes ... OK
   * checking package vignettes ... OK
   * checking re-building of vignette outputs ... OK
   * checking for non-standard things in the check directory ... OK
   * checking for detritus in the temp directory ... OK
   * DONE
   
   Status: 1 WARNING
   See
     ‘/private/tmp/Rtmp0IAoz1/file15d1b5f34378b/ragnar.Rcheck/00check.log’
   for details.
   
── R CMD check results ────────────────────────────────────────── ragnar 0.3.0.9000 ────
Duration: 1m 39.6s

❯ checking top-level files ... WARNING
  A complete check needs the 'checkbashisms' script.
  See section ‘Configure and cleanup’ in the ‘Writing R Extensions’
  manual.

0 errors ✔ | 1 warning ✖ | 0 notes ✔
Error: R CMD check found WARNINGs
Execution halted

 *  The terminal process "/bin/zsh '-l', '-c', ''/Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/4.5-arm64/Resources/bin/R' --quiet --no-restore --no-save -e 'devtools::check()''" terminated with exit code: 1.