R Academy · Lesson

Introduction to Shiny Apps

Build interactive web applications in R to share data insights with stakeholders.

Lesson 2 of 310 steps

Introduction to Shiny Apps is a free R Academy lesson on CoddyKit. This is lesson 2 of 3. Any 3 lessons of this learning path are free to read in full — after that, CoddyKit PRO unlocks every lesson, plus hands-on practice with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the R Academy learning path, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app. The R Academy course includes 3 lessons in total.

What Is Shiny?

Introduction to Shiny Apps

Shiny is an R package that allows you to build interactive web applications directly from R. It is widely used for data visualization and reporting.

Installing and Loading Shiny

Before using Shiny, install and load the package.

install.packages('shiny')
library(shiny)

Basic Structure of a Shiny App

A Shiny app consists of two main parts:

UI (User Interface): Defines the layout and appearance.
Server: Contains the logic and computations.

Creating a Simple Shiny App

Use shinyApp() to create a basic interactive application.

library(shiny)
ui <- fluidPage(
  titlePanel('Hello Shiny!'),
  sidebarLayout(
    sidebarPanel(sliderInput('num', 'Choose a number:', 1, 100, 50)),
    mainPanel(textOutput('value'))
  )
)
server <- function(input, output) {
  output$value <- renderText({ paste('You selected:', input$num) })
}
shinyApp(ui = ui, server = server)

Adding Reactive Elements

Reactive expressions update automatically when inputs change.

server <- function(input, output) {
  reactive_text <- reactive({ paste('Your number squared is:', input$num^2) })
  output$value <- renderText({ reactive_text() })
}

Creating Interactive Plots

Use renderPlot() to display interactive plots.

server <- function(input, output) {
  output$plot <- renderPlot({
    hist(rnorm(input$num), col='blue', main='Random Histogram')
  })
}

Running a Shiny App

Save your script as app.R and run it using shiny::runApp().

Deploying a Shiny App

Shiny apps can be deployed online using shinyapps.io or hosted on a Shiny server.

Shiny Apps Summary

Summary

In this lesson, you learned:

How to create and structure a Shiny app.
How to use reactive elements for interactivity.
How to deploy a Shiny app online.

Introduction to Shiny Apps — illustration 10

Free to start

Learn R with an AI tutor — free

Write and run real code in your browser, get instant help from a 24/7 AI tutor, and pick up where you left off on the web or in the app.

Courses: 43
Lessons: 159

Start learning free View the full course

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the “Introduction to Shiny Apps” lesson free?

Yes — any 3 lessons of the R Academy learning path, including “Introduction to Shiny Apps”, are free to read in full here on the web. After that, CoddyKit PRO unlocks every lesson, plus interactive practice with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. The R Academy course includes 3 lessons in total.

What will I learn in “Introduction to Shiny Apps”?

Build interactive web applications in R to share data insights with stakeholders. You practise R Academy with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.

Do I need any experience to start R Academy?

No prior experience is required. R Academy on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace. This is lesson 2 of 3.

How long does the “Introduction to Shiny Apps” lesson take?

Most CoddyKit lessons take about 5–10 minutes. Each one is bite-sized and interactive, so you make steady progress and pick up exactly where you left off across the web and the app.

Can I write and run code in this R Academy lesson?

Yes. Every R Academy lesson includes a built-in code editor, so you write and run real code right in your browser and get instant AI feedback — no local setup required.

All lessons in this course

← Back to R Academy