name: gt description: >- R table formatting with gt, kableExtra, modelsummary. Publication-quality tables: gt() grammar-of-tables, fmt_() formatting, tab_() structure, gtsave() export. Use when execution language is R. Python equivalent: great-tables (use when execution language is Python). autoload: never metadata: audience: research-coders domain: r-library library-version: "gt 1.3.0" skill-last-updated: "2026-05-13" tags: ["r", "tables", "gt", "kableExtra", "modelsummary", "formatting"]

gt Skill

R table formatting ecosystem for publication-quality tables. Covers gt 1.3.0 for grammar-of-tables construction (gt(), fmt_() number formatting, tab_() structure, cols_*() column operations, gtsave() export), kableExtra 1.4.0 for knitr/kable HTML and LaTeX table styling in Quarto documents, and modelsummary 2.6.0 for formatting regression output from lm/glm/fixest/plm models into publication tables. Use when execution language is R and the task involves creating formatted data tables, summary tables, or regression tables for reports or papers. Python counterpart: the great-tables skill (same author, same grammar of tables) — use it when execution language is Python. For visualization (charts/plots), use ggplot2 instead. For document structure and rendering, use quarto instead.

What is gt?

gt implements a grammar of tables for R, analogous to ggplot2's grammar of graphics but for tabular output:

Declarative: Build tables by layering formatting, structure, and style
Pipeline-friendly: Chain operations with |> (data frame in, gt table out)
Rich formatting: Number formatting (fmt_number, fmt_percent, fmt_currency), conditional styling, color scales, icons, images in cells
Structured: Table header, column spanners, row groups, summary rows, footnotes, source notes
Export: HTML, PNG, LaTeX, Word, RTF via gtsave()

kableExtra extends knitr's kable() for HTML and LaTeX table styling:

Lightweight alternative when gt is overkill (simple summary tables in Quarto)
Row/column styling, striped rows, scroll boxes, grouped rows
Tight integration with Quarto's knitr engine

modelsummary formats regression output into publication-ready tables:

Supports 100+ model classes (lm, glm, fixest, plm, survey, etc.)
Side-by-side model comparison with custom coefficient labels
Output to gt, kableExtra, HTML, LaTeX, Word, markdown, PNG
Robust/clustered SEs via vcov argument (no re-fitting needed)
Already covered in depth by the r-stats skill (reporting.md) and referenced by fixest -- this skill provides the table-formatting perspective

Version Notes

gt 1.3.0: Stable release. Full grammar-of-tables API. fmt_*() family for number formatting, tab_*() for structural elements, cols_*() for column operations, opt_*() for table options.
kableExtra 1.4.0: Stable release. kbl() replaces knitr::kable() as the recommended entry point. Full HTML and LaTeX styling support.
modelsummary 2.6.0: Supports gt and kableExtra as output backends. The default output backend in modelsummary 2.x is tinytable — request a gt object explicitly with output = "gt". See r-stats skill reporting.md for comprehensive modelsummary coverage.
knitr 1.51: Provides the underlying kable() function that kableExtra extends.

How to Use This Skill

Reference File Structure

| File | Purpose | When to Read | |------|---------|--------------| | quickstart.md | Basic gt() table, headers/footers/source notes, simple formatting | Starting out or need a quick table | | formatting.md | fmt_*() family, conditional styling, spanners, row groups, summary rows | Detailed formatting and structure | | modelsummary-tables.md | Regression tables via modelsummary(), customization, multi-model comparison | Formatting regression output | | export.md | gtsave(), kableExtra in Quarto, inline tables in .qmd, output formats | Saving or embedding tables |

Reading Order

Quick data table? Start with quickstart.md
Complex formatting? Read formatting.md
Regression table? Read modelsummary-tables.md
Saving or embedding? Read export.md
Simple Quarto table? Read export.md (kableExtra section)

Related Skills

| Skill | Relationship | |-------|-------------| | ggplot2 | Visualization (charts/plots) -- use ggplot2 for figures, gt for tables | | quarto | Document rendering -- gt/kableExtra tables render in .qmd documents | | fixest | Regression output -- fixest models feed into modelsummary/gt tables. fixest's own etable() is an alternative to modelsummary for fixest-only output | | r-stats | Regression output -- lm/glm models feed into modelsummary/gt tables. r-stats reporting.md has comprehensive modelsummary coverage | | plm | Panel model output -- plm models feed into modelsummary/gt tables | | data-scientist | Methodology guidance for what to present in tables |

Python counterpart: Use the great-tables skill for Python table formatting. The great-tables package (version 0.21.0, by the same author as gt, implementing the same grammar of tables) is DAAF's Python table-formatting tool — load that skill when execution language is Python. Note surface differences from gt: method chaining instead of |>, 0-based cols_merge pattern indices, Polars expressions in grand_summary_rows, and HTML/LaTeX export in-process (but no working PNG export in the container). For regression tables in Python, great-tables has no modelsummary equivalent — use pyfixest's etable() or statsmodels' summary().

Quick Decision Trees

"I need to make a table"

What kind of table?
+-- Data summary table (descriptive stats, crosstabs)
|   +-- Simple (few rows/columns, minimal formatting)
|   |   +-- In a Quarto doc? --> kableExtra kbl() in ./references/export.md
|   |   +-- Standalone? --> gt() in ./references/quickstart.md
|   +-- Complex (conditional formatting, row groups, summary rows)
|       +-- gt() in ./references/formatting.md
+-- Regression table (model coefficients)
|   +-- Single model --> ./references/modelsummary-tables.md
|   +-- Multiple models side-by-side --> ./references/modelsummary-tables.md
|   +-- fixest models only --> Consider fixest etable() (see fixest skill)
|       OR modelsummary() for more customization
+-- Frequency / cross-tabulation table
|   +-- gt() with row groups --> ./references/formatting.md
+-- Table with color scales or conditional formatting
    +-- gt tab_style() or data_color() --> ./references/formatting.md

"Which package should I use?"

Choosing a table package?
+-- Publication-quality data table with rich formatting
|   +-- gt() (most flexible, best output quality)
+-- Regression table (multiple models, SEs, goodness-of-fit)
|   +-- modelsummary() (purpose-built for this)
+-- Simple table in a Quarto document
|   +-- kableExtra kbl() (lightweight, integrates with knitr)
+-- Quick console output (not for publication)
|   +-- print() or knitr::kable() (no extra packages needed)
+-- LaTeX table for a journal submission
    +-- gt() with gtsave("file.tex") OR modelsummary(output = "latex")

File-First Execution in Research Workflows

In DAAF research pipelines, tables are generated through script files in scripts/stage8_analysis/, not interactively. This ensures auditability and reproducibility.

The pattern:

Write table code to scripts/stage8_analysis/{step}_{table-name}.R
Execute via bash {BASE_DIR}/scripts/run_with_capture.sh {script_path}
Output gets appended to the script as comments
Use gtsave() to save tables to the project output directory

See agent_reference/SCRIPT_EXECUTION_REFERENCE.md for the mandatory file-first execution protocol.

Quick Reference

Essential Setup

library(gt)
library(kableExtra)
library(modelsummary)

Basic gt Table

tbl <- df |>
  gt() |>
  tab_header(
    title = "Table Title",
    subtitle = "Subtitle or description"
  ) |>
  tab_source_note("Source: Dataset name, year.") |>
  fmt_number(columns = where(is.numeric), decimals = 2)

Core gt Operations

| Operation | Code | |-----------|------| | Create table | gt(df) or df |> gt() | | Title/subtitle | tab_header(title, subtitle) | | Source note | tab_source_note("Source: ...") | | Footnote | tab_footnote(footnote, locations) | | Format numbers | fmt_number(columns, decimals) | | Format percent | fmt_percent(columns, decimals) | | Format currency | fmt_currency(columns, currency) | | Format date | fmt_date(columns, date_style) | | Column spanner | tab_spanner(label, columns) | | Row group | gt(groupname_col = "group_var") | | Summary row | summary_rows(groups, fns, columns) | | Conditional style | tab_style(style, locations) | | Column labels | cols_label(col1 = "Label 1") | | Hide columns | cols_hide(columns) | | Column width | cols_width(col1 ~ px(150)) | | Save | gtsave(tbl, "file.html") |

kableExtra Quick Pattern

df |>
  kbl(format = "html", digits = 2, caption = "Table Title") |>
  kable_styling(bootstrap_options = c("striped", "hover", "condensed")) |>
  add_header_above(c(" " = 1, "Group A" = 2, "Group B" = 2))

modelsummary Quick Pattern

modelsummary(
  list("Model 1" = fit1, "Model 2" = fit2),
  stars = c("*" = 0.05, "**" = 0.01, "***" = 0.001),
  coef_rename = c("x1" = "Education", "x2" = "Experience"),
  gof_map = c("nobs", "r.squared", "adj.r.squared"),
  output = "gt"
)

Topic Index

| Topic | Reference File | |-------|---------------| | Basic gt table creation | ./references/quickstart.md | | tab_header, tab_source_note | ./references/quickstart.md | | tab_footnote | ./references/quickstart.md | | Simple number formatting | ./references/quickstart.md | | cols_label column renaming | ./references/quickstart.md | | fmt_number, fmt_percent, fmt_currency | ./references/formatting.md | | fmt_date, fmt_integer | ./references/formatting.md | | Conditional formatting (tab_style) | ./references/formatting.md | | Color scales (data_color) | ./references/formatting.md | | Column spanners (tab_spanner) | ./references/formatting.md | | Row groups | ./references/formatting.md | | Summary rows | ./references/formatting.md | | Grand summary | ./references/formatting.md | | Column width and alignment | ./references/formatting.md | | Merge cells | ./references/formatting.md | | modelsummary basic usage | ./references/modelsummary-tables.md | | Multi-model comparison | ./references/modelsummary-tables.md | | Coefficient renaming and omission | ./references/modelsummary-tables.md | | Custom statistics rows | ./references/modelsummary-tables.md | | Robust/clustered SEs in tables | ./references/modelsummary-tables.md | | fixest models in modelsummary | ./references/modelsummary-tables.md | | Stars and significance formatting | ./references/modelsummary-tables.md | | gtsave to HTML/PNG/LaTeX | ./references/export.md | | kableExtra in Quarto | ./references/export.md | | Inline tables in .qmd | ./references/export.md | | Output format comparison | ./references/export.md |

Citation

When gt is used as a primary table-formatting tool, include in the report's Software & Tools references:

Iannone, R., Cheng, J., Schloerke, B., Hughes, E., Lauer, A., & Seo, J. (2024). gt: Easily Create Presentation-Ready Display Tables. R package version 1.3.0. https://gt.rstudio.com/

Cite when: gt produces tables included in the report or deliverables. Do not cite when: Only used for quick exploratory tables not included in deliverables.

For modelsummary citation (when used for regression tables):

Arel-Bundock, V. (2022). "modelsummary: Data and Model Summaries in R." Journal of Statistical Software, 103(1), 1-23.

For kableExtra citation (when used for Quarto table styling):

Zhu, H. (2024). kableExtra: Construct Complex Table with kable and Pipe Syntax. R package version 1.4.0.

gt : Grammaire des tableaux pour R

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