The peekbankr package allows you to access data in Peekbank, an open database of developmental eye-tracking data, from R. Data are retrieved from the versioned peekbank dataset on Redivis; the get_ functions return tidy tables without you having to write queries. The package vignette provides examples of the data loading functions and what the resulting data look like.
Installation
# install.packages("remotes")
remotes::install_github("peekbank/peekbankr")The first data request will open a browser window to authorize Redivis access (free account). For non-interactive use, set a REDIVIS_API_TOKEN environment variable instead.
Usage
Here’s a simple workflow for using peekbankr to get data from a single study.
library(tidyverse)
library(peekbankr)
con <- connect_to_peekbank() # pins the current database version
aoi_timepoints <- get_aoi_timepoints(connection = con, dataset_name = "pomper_saffran_2016")
administrations <- get_administrations(connection = con, dataset_name = "pomper_saffran_2016")
ps_data <- aoi_timepoints %>%
left_join(administrations)Database versions
Peekbank is released in named versions (e.g. 2026.1). By default connect_to_peekbank() uses the latest release and prints which one that is; pass db_version = "2025.1" (or a Redivis version tag like "v1.2") to pin an earlier release for reproducibility. get_db_info() lists the available versions.
Data files
Raw data, processed intermediates, and per-dataset READMEs live in the companion peekbank_files dataset:
get_readmes(datasets = "pomper_saffran_2016") # dataset documentation
stimuli <- download_stimuli(con, datasets = "reflook_v4") # stimulus imagesDevelopment
After making changes, run roxygen2::roxygenise() to update exports and documentation, and testthat::test_local() for the offline test suite.
Running the full test suite requires Redivis credentials: Without them the network tests skip. Copy .Renviron.template to .Renviron, fill in a personal API token from your Redivis workspace settings, and set PEEKBANK_NETWORK_TESTS=true.
