How to make your data analysis life easier using Positron, Raycast, and Espanso

Links and resources from my time on Posit’s Data Science Lab in January 2026
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Author

Andrew Heiss

Published

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

On January 13, 2026, I was on Posit’s Data Science Lab to talk about my Positron settings and other neat workflow-y things I use to make my life easier.

I’ll post the video here once it’s up.

This isn’t a standard blog post—it’s mostly just a list of the stuff we talked about, with lots of different links to other resources.

Positron stuff

Favorite Positron extensions:

My custom Positron settings (these all live in settings.json):

Click to expand
{
    // Editor settings
    // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    // Fonts
    // Use GitHub's Monaspace (https://github.com/githubnext/monaspace) and enable ligatures
    "editor.fontFamily": "'Monaspace Argon Var'",
    "editor.fontSize": 12.5,
    "editor.fontLigatures": "'ss01', 'ss02', 'ss03', 'ss04', 'ss05', 'ss06', 'ss07', 'ss08', 'calt', 'dlig', 'liga'",

    // Highlight modified/unsaved tabs
    "workbench.editor.highlightModifiedTabs": true,

    // Add some rulers
    "editor.rulers": [
        80,
        100
    ],

    // Indent with two spaces, but only for R
    "[r]": {
        "editor.tabSize": 2,
        "editor.formatOnPaste": false,
    },
    "[quarto]": {
        "editor.tabSize": 2,
        "editor.defaultFormatter": "quarto.quarto"
    },

    // Nicer handling of end-of-document newlines, via
    // https://rfdonnelly.github.io/posts/sane-vscode-whitespace-settings/
    "files.insertFinalNewline": true,
    "editor.renderFinalNewline": "dimmed",
    "editor.renderWhitespace": "trailing",
    "files.trimFinalNewlines": true,

    // General editor settings
    "editor.detectIndentation": false,
    "editor.showFoldingControls": "always",
    "window.newWindowDimensions": "inherit",
    "editor.scrollBeyondLastLine": false,
    "window.title": "${activeEditorFull}${separator}${rootName}",
    "editor.tabSize": 4,
    "editor.wordWrap": "on",
    "editor.multiCursorModifier": "ctrlCmd",
    "editor.snippetSuggestions": "top",

    // Hide things from the file panel
    "files.exclude": {
        "**/.Rhistory": true,
        "**/.Rproj": true,
        "**/.Rproj.user": true,
        "**/renv/library": true,
        "**/renv/local": true,
        "**/renv/staging": true
        // "**/_freeze": true,
        // "**/.quarto/**": true
    },
    // Hide things from the global search menu and watcher
    "files.watcherExclude": {
        "**/.Rproj/*": true,
        "**/.venv/*": true,
        "**/renv/library": true,
        "**/renv/local": true,
        "**/renv/staging": true,
        "*/_freeze/*": true,
        "*/.quarto": true
    },

    // Sign git commits
    "git.enableCommitSigning": true,


    // Extension-specific settings
    // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    // Markdown linting settings (idk if this stuff even works with Quarto though)
    "markdownlint.config": {
        "default": true,
        "MD012": { "maximum": 2 },
        "MD025": false,
        "MD041": false
    },

    // Wrap at 80 columns with the "Rewrap" extension
    "rewrap.wrappingColumn": 80,

    // Don't phone home for the "YAML" extension
    "redhat.telemetry.enabled": false,

    // Positron things
    "git.confirmSync": false,
    "git.suggestSmartCommit": false,
    "positron.r.quietMode": true,
    "better-comments.highlightPlainText": true,
    "workbench.startupEditor": "newUntitledFile",
    "workbench.editor.empty.hint": "hidden",
    "remote.autoForwardPortsSource": "hybrid",
    "projectManager.tags": [
        "Personal",
        "Research",
        "Teaching"
    ],
    "window.confirmBeforeClose": "keyboardOnly",
    "plots.darkFilter": "off",
    "workbench.keybindings.rstudioKeybindings": true,
    "positron.assistant.enable": true,
    "dataExplorer.summaryCollapsed": true,
    "editor.defaultFormatter": "Posit.air-vscode",
    "python.locator": "js",
    "python.enableAutoReload": false,
    "workbench.editor.pinnedTabsOnSeparateRow": true,
    "positron.assistant.inlineCompletions.enable": {
        "*": false
    },
    "inlineChat.lineNaturalLanguageHint": false,

    // Miscellaneous settings
    "latex-workshop.view.pdf.color.dark.backgroundColor": "#272822",
    "latex-workshop.latex.autoBuild.run": "never",

    "files.associations": {
        "renv.lock": "json"
    },
    "editor.guides.bracketPairs": "active",
    "diffEditor.ignoreTrimWhitespace": false,
    "terminal.integrated.commandsToSkipShell": [
        "language-julia.interrupt"
    ],
    "githubPullRequests.createOnPublishBranch": "never",

    "projectManager.openInNewWindowWhenClickingInStatusBar": true,
    "[dockercompose]": {
        "editor.insertSpaces": true,
        "editor.tabSize": 2,
        "editor.autoIndent": "advanced",
        "editor.quickSuggestions": {
            "other": true,
            "comments": false,
            "strings": true
        },
        "editor.defaultFormatter": "redhat.vscode-yaml"
    },
    "[github-actions-workflow]": {
        "editor.defaultFormatter": "redhat.vscode-yaml"
    },
    "[yaml]": {
        "editor.defaultColorDecorators": "auto"
    },
    "markdownTablePrettify.extendedLanguages": [
        "quarto"
    ],
    "editor.copyWithSyntaxHighlighting": false,
    "workbench.settings.showAISearchToggle": false,
    "workbench.preferredDarkColorTheme": "Monokai",
    "workbench.colorTheme": "Monokai",
    // "workbench.colorTheme": "Monokai Pro (Filter Spectrum)",
    // Override the terminal background color to match the editor background
    "workbench.colorCustomizations": {
        "[Monokai Pro (Filter Spectrum)]": {
            "terminal.background": "#222222",
            "panel.background": "#222222"
        },
        "[Monokai Classic]": {
            "terminal.background": "#272822",
            "panel.background": "#272822"
        }
    },
    "workbench.iconTheme": "material-icon-theme",
    "workbench.productIconTheme": "fluent-icons",
    "pastum.defaultConvention": "snake_case",
    "git.autofetch": true,
    "window.newWindowProfile": "Default",
    "terminal.integrated.detectLocale": "on",
    "claudeCode.preferredLocation": "panel",
    "material-icon-theme.folders.associations": {
        "renv": "Packages",
        "_freeze": "Archive",
        "_targets": "Components",
        "resource": ""
    },
    "spellright.language": [
        "en"
    ],
    "spellright.documentTypes": [
        "markdown",
        "latex",
        "quarto"
    ],
    "workbench.activityBar.location": "top"
}

My Positron keyboard shortcuts (these all live in keybindings.json):

Click to expand
[
    {
        "key": "shift+cmd+d",
        "command": "editor.action.copyLinesDownAction",
        "when": "editorFocus"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+alt+`",
        "command": "workbench.action.terminal.new",
        "when": "terminalProcessSupported || terminalWebExtensionContributedProfile"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+shift+`",
        "command": "-workbench.action.terminal.new",
        "when": "terminalProcessSupported || terminalWebExtensionContributedProfile"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+shift+`",
        "command": "workbench.action.terminal.toggleTerminal",
        "when": "terminal.active"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+`",
        "command": "-workbench.action.terminal.toggleTerminal",
        "when": "terminal.active"
    },
    {
        "key": "shift+cmd+c",
        "command": "-editor.action.commentLine",
        "when": "config.rstudio.keymap.enable && editorTextFocus"
    },
    {
        "key": "alt+cmd+q",
        "command": "rewrap.rewrapComment",
        "when": "editorTextFocus"
    },
    {
        "key": "alt+q",
        "command": "-rewrap.rewrapComment",
        "when": "editorTextFocus"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+d",
        "command": "-editor.action.deleteLines",
        "when": "editorTextFocus"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+. cmd+r",
        "command": "r.createNewFile"
    },
    // create reprex from selection
    {
        "key": "cmd+. cmd+shift+r",
        "command": "workbench.action.executeCode.console",
        "when": "editorTextFocus",
        "args": {
            "langId": "r",
            "code": "reprex::reprex_selection()",
            "focus": false
        }
    },
    {
        "key": "shift+alt+cmd+l",
        "command": "editor.action.insertCursorAtEndOfEachLineSelected",
        "when": "editorTextFocus"
    },
    {
        "key": "shift+alt+i",
        "command": "-editor.action.insertCursorAtEndOfEachLineSelected",
        "when": "editorTextFocus"
    },
    // Keybindings inspired by Emil Hvitfeldt
    // https://emilhvitfeldt.com/post/positron-key-bindings/
    {
        "key": "cmd+. cmd+1",
        "command": "workbench.action.focusActiveEditorGroup"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+. cmd+2",
        "command": "workbench.action.positronConsole.focusConsole"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+. cmd+shift+v",
        "command": "workbench.action.positronConsole.clearConsole"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+. cmd+3",
        "command": "workbench.action.terminal.focus"
    },
    // {
    //     "key": "cmd+. cmd+shift+b",
    //     "command": "workbench.action.terminal.clear"
    // },
    {   // Restart terminal
        "key": "cmd+shift+9",
        "command": "runCommands",
        "args": {
            "commands": [
                "workbench.action.terminal.kill",
                "workbench.action.terminal.new"
            ]
        }
    },
    // My stuff again ↓
    {
        "key": "cmd+. cmd+q",
        "command": "quarto.newDocument"
    },
    {
        "key": "shift+cmd+n",
        "command": "-r.createNewFile"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+. cmd+m",
        "command": "workbench.action.files.newUntitledFile",
        "args": { "languageId": "markdown" }
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+shift+k",
        "command": "editor.action.deleteLines",
        "when": "editorTextFocus"
    },
    {
        "key": "shift+alt+cmd+ctrl+t",
        "command": "workbench.action.tasks.runTask",
        "args": "Open in Typora"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+alt+shift+i",
        "command": "editor.action.insertSnippet",
        "when": "editorTextFocus && editorLangId == quarto",
        "args": {
            "snippet": "```\n\n\n\n$0```{r}"
        }
    },
]

Positron connections pane

General tutorial

Real life use cases:

Example with DuckDB and {connections}; the same general process works with any other database backend, like SQLite, MySQL, Spark, PostgreSQL, etc.:

library(tidyverse)

# Use nicer DuckDB Connections Pane features
# options("duckdb.enable_rstudio_connection_pane" = TRUE)

# Connect to a database
db_file <- "my_fancy_database.duckdb"
con <- connections::connection_open(duckdb::duckdb(), db_file)

# Add stuff to it
copy_to(
  con,
  gapminder::gapminder,
  name = "gapminder",
  overwrite = TRUE,
  temporary = FALSE
)

# Get stuff out of it
gapminder_2007 <- tbl(con, I("gapminder")) |>
  filter(year == 2007) |>
  collect()

# All done
connections::connection_close(con)

Workflow tips and tricks

General things I use

My /uses page

macOS Quick Actions

Open a folder in Positron from macOS Finder with Quick Actions

Raycast

Download Raycast (both macOS and Windows)

Helpful resources:

My setup:

  • My custom Raycast scripts (neat things like getting a random.org seed, toggling a webcam light)

  • My extension settings (there’s no easy way to share these details other than screenshots 🤷‍♂️). The ◆ symbol here stands for ⌘⌥^⇧ (or mashing the whole corner of my keyboard).

  • Custom quicklinks:

    • Search my repositories on Github
      • https://github.com/search?q=user%3Aandrewheiss%20{argument name="Search"}&type=code
    • Open my “Movies to watch” note in Obsidian
      • obsidian://open?path=%2FUsers%2Fandrew%2FObsidian%2FNotes%2F%E2%80%A2%20Goals%2FMovies%20to%20watch.md

  • Other neat features:

Espanso

Download Espanso (macOS, Windows, and Linux)

All my shortcuts and settings

Some things I do with it:

  • Typographic things like:

    • ;comm for ⌘, ;shift for ⇧, ;opt for ⌥
    • ;times for a true multiplication sign ×, ;minus for a true subtraction sign −
    • ;prime1 and ;prime2 for ′ and ″ (like 5′ 11″)

  • …and date things like:

    • ;dt for “2026-01-13”
    • ;dz for “2026-01-13T11:06”
    • ;dm for “2026-01-13 11:06:05”
    • ;date for “January 13, 2026”

  • …and longer words with repeated letters that I always mess up, like these:

    • insttn for “institution”
    • consttal for “constitutional”
    • entrepal for “entrepreneurial”

  • …and code snippets like ;dplyrsum for inserting this R code to disable {dplyr}’s grouping messages:

    options(dplyr.summarise.inform = FALSE)

  • …or running a {targets} pipeline with ;tarm:

    targets::tar_make()

  • …or adding Quarto chunk metadata like disabling warnings and messages with ;wm:

    #| warning: false
#| message: false

  • …and adding figure dimensions with ;figw or ;figh:

    #| fig-width: 
#| fig-height:

  • …and lots of other Quarto things like panel tabsets (;;pan), slideshow columns (;;col), includes (;;include), conditional content (;;visible), callouts (;;call), etc.:

  • …and creating boilerplate Quarto YAML front matter with ;;qmd:

Citation

BibTeX citation:
@online{heiss2026,
  author = {Heiss, Andrew},
  title = {How to Make Your Data Analysis Life Easier Using {Positron,}
    {Raycast,} and {Espanso}},
  date = {2026-01-13},
  url = {https://www.andrewheiss.com/blog/2026/01/13/dsl-positron-workflow/},
  langid = {en}
}
For attribution, please cite this work as:
Heiss, Andrew. 2026. “How to Make Your Data Analysis Life Easier Using Positron, Raycast, and Espanso.” January 13, 2026. https://www.andrewheiss.com/blog/2026/01/13/dsl-positron-workflow/.