Stan Development Team
CmdStanR: the R interface to CmdStan.
Details
CmdStanR (cmdstanr package) is a lightweight interface to Stan (mc-stan.org) for R users. It provides the necessary objects and functions to compile a Stan program and run Stan's algorithms from R via CmdStan, the shell interface to Stan (mc-stan.org/users/interfaces/cmdstan).
Getting started
CmdStanR requires a working version of CmdStan. If
you already have CmdStan installed see cmdstan_model() to get
started, otherwise see install_cmdstan() for help with installation.
The vignette Getting started with CmdStanR
demonstrates the basic functionality of the package.
Comparison with RStan
The RStan interface (rstan package) is an in-memory interface to Stan and relies on R packages like Rcpp and inline to call C++ code from R. On the other hand, the R code in this package does not directly call any C++ code, instead relying on CmdStan for compilation, running algorithms, and writing results to output files.
Both forms of interfacing with Stan have advantages and disadvantages. An
in-memory interface like RStan is able to offer more advanced features than
CmdStanR (for example the rstan::log_prob() and rstan::grad_log_prob()
methods) but keeping up with Stan releases is more complicated for RStan,
often requiring non-trivial changes to the rstan package and always
requiring new CRAN releases of rstan and StanHeaders. With
CmdStanR, the latest features in Stan will be available from R immediately
after updating CmdStan, which can be done with the install_cmdstan()
function. We also anticipate that running Stan via external processes will
have the advantage of playing nicer with R (and RStudio) and result in fewer
unexpected crashes than when using RStan.
Another difference between RStan and CmdStanR is the license. RStan is GPL-3 while the license for CmdStanR (like Stan) is BSD-3, which is a bit more permissive.
See also
The CmdStanR website (mc-stan.org/cmdstanr) for online documentation and tutorials.
The Stan and CmdStan documentation:
Stan documentation: mc-stan.org/users/documentation
CmdStan User’s Guide: mc-stan.org/docs/cmdstan-guide
Examples
# \dontrun{ library(cmdstanr) library(posterior) library(bayesplot) color_scheme_set("brightblue") # Set path to cmdstan # (Note: if you installed CmdStan via install_cmdstan() with default settings # then setting the path is unnecessary but the default below should still work. # Otherwise use the `path` argument to specify the location of your # CmdStan installation.) set_cmdstan_path(path = NULL)#># Create a CmdStanModel object from a Stan program, # here using the example model that comes with CmdStan file <- file.path(cmdstan_path(), "examples/bernoulli/bernoulli.stan") mod <- cmdstan_model(file)#>mod$print()#> data { #> int<lower=0> N; #> int<lower=0,upper=1> y[N]; #> } #> parameters { #> real<lower=0,upper=1> theta; #> } #> model { #> theta ~ beta(1,1); // uniform prior on interval 0,1 #> y ~ bernoulli(theta); #> }# Data as a named list (like RStan) stan_data <- list(N = 10, y = c(0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1)) # Run MCMC using the 'sample' method fit_mcmc <- mod$sample( data = stan_data, seed = 123, chains = 2, parallel_chains = 2 )#> Running MCMC with 2 parallel chains... #> #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1 / 2000 [ 0%] (Warmup) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 100 / 2000 [ 5%] (Warmup) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 200 / 2000 [ 10%] (Warmup) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 300 / 2000 [ 15%] (Warmup) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 400 / 2000 [ 20%] (Warmup) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 500 / 2000 [ 25%] (Warmup) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 600 / 2000 [ 30%] (Warmup) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 700 / 2000 [ 35%] (Warmup) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 800 / 2000 [ 40%] (Warmup) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 900 / 2000 [ 45%] (Warmup) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1000 / 2000 [ 50%] (Warmup) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1001 / 2000 [ 50%] (Sampling) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1100 / 2000 [ 55%] (Sampling) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1200 / 2000 [ 60%] (Sampling) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1300 / 2000 [ 65%] (Sampling) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1400 / 2000 [ 70%] (Sampling) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1500 / 2000 [ 75%] (Sampling) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1600 / 2000 [ 80%] (Sampling) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1700 / 2000 [ 85%] (Sampling) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1800 / 2000 [ 90%] (Sampling) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 1900 / 2000 [ 95%] (Sampling) #> Chain 1 Iteration: 2000 / 2000 [100%] (Sampling) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1 / 2000 [ 0%] (Warmup) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 100 / 2000 [ 5%] (Warmup) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 200 / 2000 [ 10%] (Warmup) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 300 / 2000 [ 15%] (Warmup) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 400 / 2000 [ 20%] (Warmup) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 500 / 2000 [ 25%] (Warmup) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 600 / 2000 [ 30%] (Warmup) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 700 / 2000 [ 35%] (Warmup) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 800 / 2000 [ 40%] (Warmup) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 900 / 2000 [ 45%] (Warmup) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1000 / 2000 [ 50%] (Warmup) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1001 / 2000 [ 50%] (Sampling) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1100 / 2000 [ 55%] (Sampling) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1200 / 2000 [ 60%] (Sampling) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1300 / 2000 [ 65%] (Sampling) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1400 / 2000 [ 70%] (Sampling) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1500 / 2000 [ 75%] (Sampling) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1600 / 2000 [ 80%] (Sampling) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1700 / 2000 [ 85%] (Sampling) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1800 / 2000 [ 90%] (Sampling) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 1900 / 2000 [ 95%] (Sampling) #> Chain 2 Iteration: 2000 / 2000 [100%] (Sampling) #> Chain 1 finished in 0.0 seconds. #> Chain 2 finished in 0.0 seconds. #> #> Both chains finished successfully. #> Mean chain execution time: 0.0 seconds. #> Total execution time: 0.1 seconds.#> # A tibble: 2 x 10 #> variable mean median sd mad q5 q95 rhat ess_bulk ess_tail #> <chr> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> #> 1 lp__ -7.28 -7.00 0.739 0.342 -8.80 -6.75 1.00 815. 621. #> 2 theta 0.254 0.235 0.123 0.123 0.0809 0.485 1.00 752. 589.#> # A draws_array: 1000 iterations, 2 chains, and 2 variables #> , , variable = lp__ #> #> chain #> iteration 1 2 #> 1 -6.8 -6.8 #> 2 -7.3 -6.8 #> 3 -7.1 -7.0 #> 4 -7.1 -8.5 #> 5 -7.1 -7.8 #> #> , , variable = theta #> #> chain #> iteration 1 2 #> 1 0.30 0.230 #> 2 0.13 0.199 #> 3 0.16 0.165 #> 4 0.37 0.074 #> 5 0.15 0.103 #> #> # ... with 995 more iterations#> # A draws_df: 1000 iterations, 2 chains, and 2 variables #> lp__ theta #> 1 -6.8 0.30 #> 2 -7.3 0.13 #> 3 -7.1 0.16 #> 4 -7.1 0.37 #> 5 -7.1 0.15 #> 6 -7.5 0.12 #> 7 -7.2 0.38 #> 8 -6.8 0.22 #> 9 -7.0 0.34 #> 10 -6.8 0.22 #> # ... with 1990 more draws #> # ... hidden reserved variables {'.chain', '.iteration', '.draw'}#>#> Processing csv files: /var/folders/h6/14xy_35x4wd2tz542dn0qhtc0000gn/T/RtmpGraDrG/bernoulli-202012171337-1-4e507c.csv, /var/folders/h6/14xy_35x4wd2tz542dn0qhtc0000gn/T/RtmpGraDrG/bernoulli-202012171337-2-4e507c.csv #> #> Checking sampler transitions treedepth. #> Treedepth satisfactory for all transitions. #> #> Checking sampler transitions for divergences. #> No divergent transitions found. #> #> Checking E-BFMI - sampler transitions HMC potential energy. #> E-BFMI satisfactory for all transitions. #> #> Effective sample size satisfactory. #> #> Split R-hat values satisfactory all parameters. #> #> Processing complete, no problems detected.fit_mcmc$cmdstan_summary()#> Input files: /var/folders/h6/14xy_35x4wd2tz542dn0qhtc0000gn/T/RtmpGraDrG/bernoulli-202012171337-1-4e507c.csv, /var/folders/h6/14xy_35x4wd2tz542dn0qhtc0000gn/T/RtmpGraDrG/bernoulli-202012171337-2-4e507c.csv #> Inference for Stan model: bernoulli_model #> 2 chains: each with iter=(1000,1000); warmup=(0,0); thin=(1,1); 2000 iterations saved. #> #> Warmup took (0.0070, 0.0060) seconds, 0.013 seconds total #> Sampling took (0.016, 0.015) seconds, 0.031 seconds total #> #> Mean MCSE StdDev 5% 50% 95% N_Eff N_Eff/s R_hat #> #> lp__ -7.3 3.1e-02 0.74 -8.8 -7.0 -6.8 586 18908 1.0 #> accept_stat__ 0.92 5.0e-03 0.14 0.61 0.97 1.0 7.3e+02 2.4e+04 1.0e+00 #> stepsize__ 1.0 9.0e-02 0.090 0.93 1.1 1.1 1.0e+00 3.2e+01 2.6e+13 #> treedepth__ 1.4 1.2e-02 0.52 1.0 1.0 2.0 1.9e+03 6.0e+04 1.0e+00 #> n_leapfrog__ 2.6 4.0e-01 1.5 1.0 3.0 7.0 1.4e+01 4.5e+02 1.0e+00 #> divergent__ 0.00 nan 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 nan nan nan #> energy__ 7.8 4.0e-02 1.0 6.8 7.4 10.0 6.9e+02 2.2e+04 1.0e+00 #> #> theta 0.25 4.5e-03 0.12 0.081 0.23 0.49 755 24361 1.00 #> #> Samples were drawn using hmc with nuts. #> For each parameter, N_Eff is a crude measure of effective sample size, #> and R_hat is the potential scale reduction factor on split chains (at #> convergence, R_hat=1).# For models fit using MCMC, if you like working with RStan's stanfit objects # then you can create one with rstan::read_stan_csv() # stanfit <- rstan::read_stan_csv(fit_mcmc$output_files()) # Run 'optimize' method to get a point estimate (default is Stan's LBFGS algorithm) # and also demonstrate specifying data as a path to a file instead of a list my_data_file <- file.path(cmdstan_path(), "examples/bernoulli/bernoulli.data.json") fit_optim <- mod$optimize(data = my_data_file, seed = 123)#> Initial log joint probability = -9.51104 #> Iter log prob ||dx|| ||grad|| alpha alpha0 # evals Notes #> 6 -5.00402 0.000103557 2.55661e-07 1 1 9 #> Optimization terminated normally: #> Convergence detected: relative gradient magnitude is below tolerance #> Finished in 0.1 seconds.fit_optim$summary()#> # A tibble: 2 x 2 #> variable estimate #> <chr> <dbl> #> 1 lp__ -5.00 #> 2 theta 0.2# Run 'variational' method to approximate the posterior (default is meanfield ADVI) fit_vb <- mod$variational(data = stan_data, seed = 123)#> ------------------------------------------------------------ #> EXPERIMENTAL ALGORITHM: #> This procedure has not been thoroughly tested and may be unstable #> or buggy. The interface is subject to change. #> ------------------------------------------------------------ #> Gradient evaluation took 1.4e-05 seconds #> 1000 transitions using 10 leapfrog steps per transition would take 0.14 seconds. #> Adjust your expectations accordingly! #> Begin eta adaptation. #> Iteration: 1 / 250 [ 0%] (Adaptation) #> Iteration: 50 / 250 [ 20%] (Adaptation) #> Iteration: 100 / 250 [ 40%] (Adaptation) #> Iteration: 150 / 250 [ 60%] (Adaptation) #> Iteration: 200 / 250 [ 80%] (Adaptation) #> Success! Found best value [eta = 1] earlier than expected. #> Begin stochastic gradient ascent. #> iter ELBO delta_ELBO_mean delta_ELBO_med notes #> 100 -6.262 1.000 1.000 #> 200 -6.263 0.500 1.000 #> 300 -6.307 0.336 0.007 MEDIAN ELBO CONVERGED #> Drawing a sample of size 1000 from the approximate posterior... #> COMPLETED. #> Finished in 0.1 seconds.fit_vb$summary()#> # A tibble: 3 x 7 #> variable mean median sd mad q5 q95 #> <chr> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> #> 1 lp__ -7.18 -6.94 0.588 0.259 -8.36 -6.75 #> 2 lp_approx__ -0.515 -0.221 0.692 0.303 -2.06 -0.00257 #> 3 theta 0.263 0.246 0.115 0.113 0.106 0.481#># Specifying initial values as a function fit_mcmc_w_init_fun <- mod$sample( data = stan_data, seed = 123, chains = 2, refresh = 0, init = function() list(theta = runif(1)) )#> Running MCMC with 2 sequential chains... #> #> Chain 1 finished in 0.0 seconds. #> Chain 2 finished in 0.0 seconds. #> #> Both chains finished successfully. #> Mean chain execution time: 0.0 seconds. #> Total execution time: 0.2 seconds.fit_mcmc_w_init_fun_2 <- mod$sample( data = stan_data, seed = 123, chains = 2, refresh = 0, init = function(chain_id) { # silly but demonstrates optional use of chain_id list(theta = 1 / (chain_id + 1)) } )#> Running MCMC with 2 sequential chains... #> #> Chain 1 finished in 0.0 seconds. #> Chain 2 finished in 0.0 seconds. #> #> Both chains finished successfully. #> Mean chain execution time: 0.0 seconds. #> Total execution time: 0.2 seconds.fit_mcmc_w_init_fun_2$init()#> [[1]] #> [[1]]$theta #> [1] 0.5 #> #> #> [[2]] #> [[2]]$theta #> [1] 0.3333333 #> #># Specifying initial values as a list of lists fit_mcmc_w_init_list <- mod$sample( data = stan_data, seed = 123, chains = 2, refresh = 0, init = list( list(theta = 0.75), # chain 1 list(theta = 0.25) # chain 2 ) )#> Running MCMC with 2 sequential chains... #> #> Chain 1 finished in 0.0 seconds. #> Chain 2 finished in 0.0 seconds. #> #> Both chains finished successfully. #> Mean chain execution time: 0.0 seconds. #> Total execution time: 0.2 seconds.fit_optim_w_init_list <- mod$optimize( data = stan_data, seed = 123, init = list( list(theta = 0.75) ) )#> Initial log joint probability = -11.6657 #> Iter log prob ||dx|| ||grad|| alpha alpha0 # evals Notes #> 6 -5.00402 0.000237915 9.55309e-07 1 1 9 #> Optimization terminated normally: #> Convergence detected: relative gradient magnitude is below tolerance #> Finished in 0.1 seconds.fit_optim_w_init_list$init()#> [[1]] #> [[1]]$theta #> [1] 0.75 #> #># }
