Files

The Files tab is where your scripts, data and projects live. You can browse, create, search, import and share files, and organize your work into projects.

Files tab showing project directory contents

Files tab showing project directory contents, in dark mode

Files tab showing project directory contents, on a tablet

Files tab showing project directory contents, on a tablet, in dark mode

Browsing Files

Files opens in your open project, whose name shows under “Files” in the title. Each row shows a name, a file’s size and date, and a three-dot button with the row’s actions. Tap a folder to go into it.

The breadcrumb bar shows where you are, starting at Projects, such as Projects › hw1 › data. Tap any part of it to jump there; tap Projects to see all your projects. Inside a folder, the back arrow and the Back gesture go up one level.

Browsing a nested directory

Browsing a nested directory, in dark mode

Project Selector

At the top of your project, the Projects section below your files lists every project, most recently opened first, with an Active chip on the open one. A project inside a folder names that folder, as in “STAT 101 • 3 files”. To switch, choose Open from a project’s three-dot menu, or tap it and then Enter Project. The last row, Browse the Projects Folder, shows the Projects folder. The folder icon in the toolbar shows or hides the section.

Creating and Managing Files

Tap the three-dot menu in the toolbar to create files and folders. The same menu holds Search in Files, Recent Files, Add Files…, Import Data…, Copy Files Back from R and Refresh, each described below.

The Files screen with the toolbar’s three-dot menu open, listing Search in Files and Recent Files, then New R Script, New Folder, Add Files…, Import Data… and Copy Files Back from R, then Refresh

The Files screen with the toolbar’s three-dot menu open, listing Search in Files and Recent Files, then New R Script, New Folder, Add Files…, Import Data… and Copy Files Back from R, then Refresh, in dark mode

To make something new, choose:

  • New R Script: creates a .R file in the current folder. You name it in a dialog titled “New File”; the .R extension is added if you leave it out, so clean_data becomes clean_data.R. The new file starts with a comment line that holds its name. Tap it to open it in the Editor.
  • New Folder: creates a folder where you are.
  • Add Files…: copies files from elsewhere into this folder (see Sharing Files).

A name can’t start with a dot or contain a slash (/) or colon (:), and spaces at either end are dropped. If something of that name is already there, even with different capitals, the dialog says so.

The New File dialog that New R Script opens, with clean_data typed in the File name field and Cancel and Create buttons

The New File dialog that New R Script opens, with clean_data typed in the File name field and Cancel and Create buttons, in dark mode

To rename or delete a file or folder, tap the three-dot button on its row:

  • Rename: opens a dialog with the current name. If you leave off the extension, the file keeps its own, so clean for helpers.R gives clean.R.
  • Delete: asks first. For a folder, it warns that everything in it goes too, and if R has a newer copy that isn’t in the project yet, it says that goes too. A file open in the Editor keeps its tab and your text, so you can save it again.

The confirmation for deleting the datasets folder, titled “Delete datasets?”, warning that the folder and all its contents will be permanently deleted, with Cancel and a red Delete button

The confirmation for deleting the datasets folder, titled “Delete datasets?”, warning that the folder and all its contents will be permanently deleted, with Cancel and a red Delete button, in dark mode

Deletion is permanent. There is no trash or undo.

Some files have more in the same menu:

  • Run Script, on an .R file: runs the script as it is saved on the device, in the Console, and records it in History like anything else run there. In the Tab Bar and Sidebar layouts the app switches to the Console to show it.
  • Open in Editor, on a CSV or TSV file, since tapping one opens the import wizard instead.
  • Import Dataset, on a CSV, TSV or Excel file (see Data Import Wizard).
  • Load into R, on an .rds, .RData or .rda file (see below).
  • Share, on any file (see Sharing Files).

The three-dot menu of analysis.R open in the Files list, with Run Script, Share, Rename and Delete

The three-dot menu of mtcars.csv open in the Files list, with Open in Editor, Import Dataset, Share, Rename and Delete

The three-dot menu of analysis.R open in the Files list, with Run Script, Share, Rename and Delete, in dark mode

The three-dot menu of mtcars.csv open in the Files list, with Open in Editor, Import Dataset, Share, Rename and Delete, in dark mode

Opening Files

Tapping a row does what suits the file:

  • Folders open, showing their contents.
  • Scripts and other text files (.R, .Rmd, .qmd, .txt, .md, .json, .yml, .html, .log and the like) open in the Editor. The Editor opens files up to 1 MB; a larger one is refused with a message saying so.
  • Data files (.csv, .tsv, .xlsx, .xls) open the import wizard. To edit a CSV or TSV as text, choose Open in Editor from its menu.
  • Images (PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP and BMP) and SVG files open in a full-screen preview that you can pinch to zoom.
  • R data files offer to Load into R. For an .rds file, the dialog suggests a variable name from the file’s name; change it if you like, tap Load, and the Console runs readRDS() into that variable. An .RData or .rda file’s objects keep their own names: Load adds them all to R’s workspace, replacing any with the same names.
  • Anything else, such as a PDF, is handed to an app on your device that opens that type of file. If there is none, a message says “No app on this device can open” the file.

Here is the Load into R dialog for cars.rds, which suggests the name cars:

The Load cars.rds into R dialog, explaining that readRDS() reads the file into a variable in R, with the suggested variable name cars and Cancel and Load buttons

The Load cars.rds into R dialog, explaining that readRDS() reads the file into a variable in R, with the suggested variable name cars and Cancel and Load buttons, in dark mode

Recent Files

Tap the three-dot menu and choose Recent Files to open a sheet listing files you have recently opened or saved in the Editor, so you can get back to them without going through folders.

Recent files list

Recent files list, in dark mode

Files and R

R doesn’t work in your storage folder. It has a folder of its own in memory, /home/web_user, holding a copy of your open project, and webRoid keeps the two in step:

  • When a project opens, or R starts or restarts, R’s folder is emptied and filled with the project’s files. Files larger than 5 MB are left out, and so is anything past the first 50 MB of the project, filled smallest file first. The Console names what was left out.
  • When you save in the Editor, make, rename, delete or add something in Files, or import data, that one file changes in R’s copy too, so source("helpers.R") straight after a save runs what you saved. If R is running code, the change reaches R once it finishes.
  • Changes made in other apps reach R when you tap Refresh in Files, or come back to webRoid.
  • Files your code writes, with write.csv(), ggsave() or saveRDS(), are copied into the project after every command, however you ran it, and the Console or the Editor’s output panel says “Copied 1 file from R to project storage”. A command that runs past the time limit has its files copied once it finishes.

That last copy is Copy Files Back Automatically, which is on unless you turn it off. A file larger than 10 MB can’t be copied, and the Console names it. If a copy fails, the Console says so, and webRoid tries again after the next command.

If a file changed both in the project and in R, neither copy is written over. R’s version is saved beside the project’s with “(from R)” in its name, such as data (from R).csv, and webRoid tells you.

With the automatic copy turned off, choose Copy Files Back from R in the three-dot menu to copy what R has written that the project doesn’t have yet. It never deletes anything, and says how many files it copied.

The Files list after Copy Files Back from R, with the new cars.rds among the files and the message “Copied 1 file from R.” at the bottom

The Files list after Copy Files Back from R, with the new cars.rds among the files and the message “Copied 1 file from R.” at the bottom, in dark mode

When R Is Busy

Restart R, a project switch and a change of storage folder all empty R’s folder. When R is free, webRoid first copies R’s new files into the project, and asks only if it can’t copy them all.

While R is running code, nothing can be copied out of it, so webRoid asks first, under the title “R is still running code”. It says which files are already in your project, and that the ones the code is writing now can’t be saved yet. For a switch, Wait goes on once the code finishes: the Console says “Switching R to hw2 once the running code finishes.” with a Cancel Switch button, and code you run meanwhile is turned away. Restart and Switch, or Restart Anyway for Restart R, stops the code now, and files that are only in R are lost. Cancel changes nothing.

If R’s session stops, or webRoid closes while R is running code, there is no chance to ask. The R Session Stopped screen, or the Console when you next open webRoid, says what was lost.

Data Import Wizard

webRoid includes a guided import wizard for bringing tabular data into your R environment. It reads CSV, TSV, and other delimited text files, and Excel workbooks (.xlsx, .xls) once the readxl package is installed.

To start an import:

  1. Tap the three-dot menu and choose Import Data… (the Environment screen’s menu has the same thing as Import Dataset…)
  2. The Android file picker opens, filtered to common data file types (CSV, TSV, Excel, plain text)
  3. Select a file, and the import wizard sheet appears

R reads files from its copy of your project (see Files and R), so a file you pick from outside the project is first copied into it: into the folder you are viewing in Files, or else the project’s top level. If the same file is already there, it is used as it is. A file larger than 5 MB can’t be imported this way, and the wizard says so.

The wizard has three tabs:

Preview
Shows a scrollable table preview of the detected data. A summary card at the top displays the auto-detected delimiter (comma, tab, semicolon, or pipe), whether a header row was found, and the total row count. An Excel workbook has no preview; readxl reads it when you import.

Import wizard Preview tab showing detected CSV data

Import wizard Preview tab showing detected CSV data, in dark mode
Options
Lets you override the auto-detected settings. You can change the delimiter, toggle the header row on or off, set the variable name for the data frame, and adjust other import parameters. For an Excel workbook there is a Sheet field instead of a delimiter: a sheet name or number, or blank for the first sheet. A variable name that R would not take as it stands, such as my data, is written in backticks in the code, and a note under the field says so. The name cannot be left blank: the field asks for one, and Import stays off until you give it.

Import wizard Options tab with delimiter and header settings

Import wizard Options tab with delimiter and header settings, in dark mode
Code
Displays the generated R code that will perform the import: a read.csv() call, or readxl::read_excel() for a workbook. You can edit the code directly before running it. Tap Import to execute the code and load the data into your R session.

Import wizard Code tab showing generated R code

Import wizard Code tab showing generated R code, in dark mode

Navigation buttons at the bottom let you move between steps, and you can also tap the tab labels directly to jump to any step.

Once the import succeeds, the wizard shows an Imported screen that names the variable the data is in, with two buttons:

  • View Data opens it in the Data Frame Viewer. If you edited the code to fill a different variable from the one named in Options, the screen says only that the import code ran, and View Data is left out.
  • Done closes the wizard. In the Tab Bar and Sidebar layouts it also switches to the Console. Swiping the sheet away closes it without switching.

The import wizard for mtcars.csv on its Imported screen, with a check mark, the message “The data is in R as mtcars.” and View Data and Done buttons

The import wizard for mtcars.csv on its Imported screen, with a check mark, the message “The data is in R as mtcars.” and View Data and Done buttons, in dark mode

Excel files (.xlsx, .xls) require the readxl package. If it is not installed, the wizard says so in place of its steps: install readxl from the Packages tab, then open the file again.

The import wizard opened on grades.xlsx, showing in place of its steps the message “Excel files are read with the readxl package, which is not installed. Install readxl from the Packages tab, then open this file again.”

The import wizard opened on grades.xlsx, showing in place of its steps the message “Excel files are read with the readxl package, which is not installed. Install readxl from the Packages tab, then open this file again.”, in dark mode

Projects

A project is a folder for one piece of work, such as a course or an assignment. The open project is where Files starts and what R works in (see Files and R), and each project keeps its own Editor tabs.

webRoid marks a project’s folder with a small hidden file, .webroid-project, which holds the project’s description and the date it was made. You won’t see it in webRoid. If you see it on a computer, leave it there: without it, the folder is a plain folder.

Projects list showing active and available projects

Projects list showing active and available projects, in dark mode

Projects list showing active and available projects, on a tablet

Projects list showing active and available projects, on a tablet, in dark mode

To create a new project:

  1. Tap the + button next to the Projects header, or choose New Project from the three-dot menu in the Projects folder to make it in the folder you are viewing.
  2. Enter a name and an optional description. The dialog says where the project goes, such as “It goes in Projects.”
  3. Tap Create.

The folder gets exactly the name you typed. A name can’t be (Default), start or end with a dot, use any of / \ : * ? " < > |, or already be taken there. A project from an earlier version keeps its name even if its folder is spelled differently (homework-3 for Homework 3), until you rename it with Edit….

The New Project dialog with Homework 3 typed as the project name, an empty Description (optional) field, and Cancel and Create buttons

The New Project dialog with Homework 3 typed as the project name, an empty Description (optional) field, and Cancel and Create buttons, in dark mode

If R is running code when you switch projects, webRoid asks first.

Tap a project to see its details: its description, its folder (such as Projects › Fall 2026 › STAT 101 › hw1), when it was created and last opened, and its files. Enter Project opens it. Edit… renames the project and its folder, or changes its description. Delete deletes the project and every file in its folder, after asking; tabs with unsaved changes stay open in the Editor. The default project can’t be renamed or deleted.

Detail sheet for the active (Default) project, marked Active, showing when it was created and last opened, that it holds 5 files, and its files listed by path, such as datasets/summary.R

Detail sheet for the Survey Analysis project, which is not the active one, showing its description “Customer satisfaction survey, spring wave”, when it was created and last opened, its two files clean.R and responses.csv, and the Enter Project button at the bottom

Detail sheet for the active (Default) project, marked Active, showing when it was created and last opened, that it holds 5 files, and its files listed by path, such as datasets/summary.R, in dark mode

Detail sheet for the Survey Analysis project, which is not the active one, showing its description “Customer satisfaction survey, spring wave”, when it was created and last opened, its two files clean.R and responses.csv, and the Enter Project button at the bottom, in dark mode

Folders of Projects

Projects can sit in plain folders inside Projects, so a course or term can have a folder of its own:

Projects/
├── default/          (Default), a project
└── Fall 2026/        a plain folder
    └── STAT 101/     a plain folder
        ├── hw1/      a project
        └── hw2/      a project

To see them, tap Projects in the breadcrumbs, or Browse the Projects Folder. Projects have the project icon and “Project • 3 files”; plain folders have the folder icon and “Folder”, or how many projects they hold; a file here is “Not in a project”. Tap the open project to go back into it, another project to see its details, or a plain folder to go in. Back goes up one folder, and from the top of Projects, back into your project.

Here the three-dot menu has New Project (made in the folder you are viewing), New Folder, Add Files…, Recent Files and Refresh. A project’s own menu has Open, Details, Edit…, Make a Plain Folder and Delete, and a plain folder’s has Make a Project, Rename and Delete.

Make a Project turns a plain folder into a project, keeping everything in it, such as an RStudio project copied from your computer. It isn’t offered for a folder that holds projects, or one more than four folders inside Projects. Make a Plain Folder turns a project back: its files stay, and webRoid deletes the hidden file, so the folder leaves the Projects list. If it was the open project, (Default) opens instead.

Deleting a plain folder deletes the projects in it too, and the question says how many. A folder that holds the open project can’t be deleted.

Projects are found from their folders. If you reinstall webRoid or clear its data, then choose the same storage folder again, your projects come back with their descriptions, though not their open tabs. To take a project to another phone or a computer, copy its whole folder, hidden files included. If it arrives as a plain folder, choose Make a Project on it.

Sharing Files

To send a file to someone, or to an app such as mail or Drive, choose Share from its three-dot menu. The Editor has Share too, for a tab with its unsaved changes.

To bring files in, choose Add Files… from the three-dot menu and pick up to 20 files of any kind for the folder you are viewing. You can also share scripts and data files to webRoid from another app, or open them with webRoid from an app such as Files by Google. These go into the top folder of your open project, and a message says where, such as “Added hw1.R to hw1.” A file already in your storage folder opens where it is. A script then opens in the Editor, and an .rds, .RData or .rda file offers Load into R. A CSV or TSV file asks whether to Import Dataset or Open in Editor, and an Excel file offers Import Dataset, each with Not Now to leave it.

The Added grades.csv dialog over the Console after grades.csv was shared to webRoid, asking whether to import it as a dataset or open it in the Editor, with Import Dataset, Not Now and Open in Editor buttons

The Added grades.csv dialog over the Console after grades.csv was shared to webRoid, asking whether to import it as a dataset or open it in the Editor, with Import Dataset, Not Now and Open in Editor buttons, in dark mode

If the same file is already there, nothing is copied; if a different one has that name, the new one gets another name, and the message says which. A file over 100 MB isn’t added, and R can’t read one over 5 MB from the project.

Text shared to webRoid, such as code selected in a browser, opens in a new Editor tab (see Opening and saving files).

Storage Location

When you first open webRoid, it asks you to choose a storage folder for your scripts, plots and projects. You can see the folder in your device’s file manager and other apps.

Storage folder selection during onboarding

Storage folder selection during onboarding, in dark mode

Once a folder is selected, a confirmation appears showing the chosen path.

Storage folder selected with confirmation

Storage folder selected with confirmation, in dark mode

If you would rather not pick a folder, Use App Storage, below Choose Folder, keeps your files in webRoid’s own folder instead. It needs no folder picker, but it is deleted if you uninstall webRoid. It shows up as webRoid in the system Files app and in other apps’ file pickers, which is how you copy files out of it before uninstalling. You can choose another folder later in Settings > Storage Location, which asks first; your projects stay in the old folder, and choosing it again brings them back.

Files shows changes you make in webRoid straight away. For changes made in another app, tap Refresh in the three-dot menu, or just come back to webRoid.