How do I install an older R package? [duplicate]

Question

This question already has an answer here:

• Installing older version of R package 6 answers

I am trying to install the R package bigrf using the following command:

install.packages('bigrf')

However, I receive this error:

Warning in install.packages: package 'bigrf' is not available (for R version 3.0.2).

I understand that the package was not built for R version 3.0.2, but is it not possible for me to install it regardless with the understanding that it might not have complete forward compatibility?

Answer 1

The safest thing to do would be to download the last version that the package was built for (link) and run the code on that version.

The easiest way to rebuild a package from source is using R-Studio.

They have a good walkthrough. You will need to use the devtools package as well.