# rush

Package website: [release](https://rush.mlr-org.com/) \|
[dev](https://rush.mlr-org.com/dev/)

*rush* is an R package for asynchronous and decentralized optimization.
It uses a database-centric architecture in which workers communicate
through a shared [`Redis`](https://redis.io/) database. To support
high-throughput workloads, rush combines sub-millisecond per-task
overhead with caching strategies that reduce database operations. The
package integrates with the `mlr3` ecosystem and serves as the backend
for asynchronous optimization algorithms in
[`bbotk`](https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=bbotk) and
[`mlr3tuning`](https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=mlr3tuning).

# Features

- Database-centric architecture for decentralized optimization without a
  central controller.
- Asynchronous communication between workers using
  [`Redis`](https://redis.io/).
- Sub-millisecond per-task overhead for high-throughput workloads.
- Efficient caching mechanism that minimizes database read/write
  operations.
- Task queue support for centralized tasks distribution when needed.
- Fast data transformation from Redis to
  [`data.table`](https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=data.table).
- Scales to large remote worker networks via the
  [`mirai`](https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=mirai) package.
- Worker logging directly into the Redis database using
  [`lgr`](https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=lgr).
- Minimal dependencies for lightweight integration.

## Install

Install the latest release from CRAN.

``` r

install.packages("rush")
```

Install the development version from GitHub.

``` r

pak::pak("mlr-org/rush")
```

And install
[Redis](https://redis.io/docs/latest/operate/oss_and_stack/install/install-stack/).

## Test with Redis

To test the package, set the `RUSH_TEST_USE_REDIS` environment variable
to `true`. The test suite deletes the Redis database before execution,
so never run it against a production server.

``` r

Sys.setenv(RUSH_TEST_USE_REDIS = "true")
```

# Citation

If you use rush, please cite our paper.

> Becker M, Bischl B (2026). “rush: Scalable Asynchronous Distributed
> Computing via Shared State in R.” *arXiv preprint arXiv:2606.21430*.
> <https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.21430>.

``` R
@misc{becker2026rush,
  title = {rush: {{Scalable Asynchronous Distributed Computing}} via {{Shared State}} in {{R}}},
  shorttitle = {rush},
  author = {Becker, Marc and Bischl, Bernd},
  year = 2026,
  month = jun,
  number = {arXiv:2606.21430},
  eprint = {2606.21430},
  primaryclass = {cs.DC},
  publisher = {arXiv},
  doi = {10.48550/arXiv.2606.21430},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv}
}
```

# Related Work

- [future](https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=future)
- [mirai](https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=mirai)
- [batchtools](https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=batchtools)
- [crew](https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=crew)
- [rrq](https://github.com/mrc-ide/rrq)

# Package index

## Manager

- [`Rush`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/Rush.md) : Rush
- [`rsh()`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/rsh.md) : Syntactic Sugar
  for Rush Manager Construction

## Worker

- [`RushWorker`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/RushWorker.md) :
  Rush Worker

## Plan

- [`rush_plan()`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/rush_plan.md) :
  Create Rush Plan
- [`rush_available()`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/rush_available.md)
  : Rush Available
- [`rush_config()`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/rush_config.md) :
  Get Rush Config
- [`remove_rush_plan()`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/remove_rush_plan.md)
  : Remove Rush Plan

## Worker Loop

- [`start_worker()`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/start_worker.md)
  : Start a worker
- [`AppenderRedis`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/AppenderRedis.md)
  : Log to Redis Database

## Misc

- [`get_hostname()`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/get_hostname.md)
  : Get the computer name of the current host
- [`rush`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/rush-package.md)
  [`rush-package`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/rush-package.md) :
  rush: Rapid Asynchronous and Distributed Computing
- [`store_large_object()`](https://rush.mlr-org.com/reference/store_large_object.md)
  : Store Large Objects

# Articles

### Get Started

- [rush - Quick Reference](https://rush.mlr-org.com/articles/rush.md):
- [rush - Asynchronous and Distributed
  Computing](https://rush.mlr-org.com/articles/tutorial.md):
- [Rush Manager](https://rush.mlr-org.com/articles/manager.md):
- [Error Handling and
  Debugging](https://rush.mlr-org.com/articles/error_handling.md):