PathLab SEM on your own computer

PathLab SEM runs on your computer and opens in your web browser, in the same way as bibliometrix::biblioshiny(). Your data never leave your computer.

Install (once)

From r-universe (recommended), in R:

install.packages("pathlab", repos = c("https://bartonessel.r-universe.dev", "https://cloud.r-project.org"))
pathlab::run()

Or from the installer bundle:

1. Install R (version 4.2 or newer) from https://cloud.r-project.org. RStudio is optional but convenient: https://posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop/.

2. Unzip PathLab_0.17.16_install.zip (right-click, then Extract All) and keep the files together.

3. Install PathLab SEM: in RStudio, open install_pathlab.R and click Source (top right of the editor). In R without RStudio, run source(file.choose()) and pick install_pathlab.R.

   This also installs the R packages PathLab uses (seminr, lavaan, jmv, caret, bibliometrix, quanteda and others). The first installation can take 10 to 30 minutes. On Windows and macOS the packages arrive ready-built; on Linux some are compiled, which needs the usual system libraries (for example libcurl, libxml2, libgsl).

   Without the installer, the same in two lines (do not use RStudio's "Install from package archive", which skips the packages PathLab needs):

   install.packages("remotes")
   remotes::install_local("pathlab_0.17.16.tar.gz")
   

Start

pathlab::run()

The app opens in your browser. R waits while the app runs: press Esc (RStudio) or Ctrl+C (console) to stop it. To keep using R while the app runs, start it with pathlab::run(background = TRUE) and stop it with pathlab::stop_app().

In RStudio or Positron

• RStudio: open the Addins menu (toolbar) and choose Start PathLab SEM (web browser) or Start PathLab SEM in the Viewer (the Viewer pane). R stays free while the app runs; Stop PathLab SEM in the same menu stops it.
• Positron (and RStudio): type pathlab::run() in the Console. pathlab::run(viewer = TRUE) shows the app in the Viewer pane instead of the browser; the browser gives it more room.
• RStudio Server and Posit Cloud (RStudio in a web browser): pathlab::run() works the same way and opens the app at the address RStudio forwards to it.

Save your work with the app's Save button. A project lives in memory while the app runs; saved .plj files open again later.

If something is missing

pathlab::check_setup()      # lists missing packages, Java and Quarto
pathlab::install_extras()   # optional packages: WEKA learners, audio/video, PDF documents

Optional extras:

• WEKA learners (Machine learning) need a 64-bit Java, for example Eclipse Temurin (https://adoptium.net), and then pathlab::install_extras().
• Word reports need Quarto (https://quarto.org/docs/get-started/).

Cite

citation("pathlab")

Essel, H. B. (2026). PathLab SEM (Version 0.17.16) [Computer software].

Licence

GPL-3 (GNU General Public License, version 3): you may use, share and change PathLab SEM; versions you share must stay under the same licence. See https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html.