Two forms accepted inside nlmixr2targets

The native nlmixr2 DSL syntax for a compartment initial value is cmt(0) <- value inside a model({...}) block. Inside tar_nlmixr() and tar_nlmixr_multimodel() you may also write cmt(initial) <- value, which nlmixr2targets translates back to cmt(0) <- value before nlmixr2 ever sees the model. The cmt(initial) form is a workaround that exists only for use through nlmixr2targets; it is not a form that nlmixr2 itself understands, so it will fail if you call nlmixr2est::nlmixr() directly on a model that still contains cmt(initial).

Both forms below produce the same fit when routed through tar_nlmixr():

# Form 1: native nlmixr2 DSL syntax (works in nlmixr2 directly and
# inside nlmixr2targets)
model({
  d / dt(central) <- -kel * central
  central(0) <- 0          # initial value at time 0
  cp <- central / vc
  cp ~ add(cpaddSd)
})

# Form 2: `cmt(initial) <- value` -- a `nlmixr2targets`-only
# workaround. Use this only when something prevents the natural
# `central(0) <- 0` form from being walked by `targets` (see the
# "Known limitation" section below). `nlmixr2targets` rewrites this
# back to `central(0) <- 0` before passing the model to nlmixr2.
model({
  d / dt(central) <- -kel * central
  # nlmixr2targets-only; not understood by bare nlmixr2
  central(initial) <- 0
  cp <- central / vc
  cp ~ add(cpaddSd)
})

What tar_nlmixr() does behind the scenes

targets walks every function in the user’s environment with codetools::findGlobals() and rejects replacement-style assignments whose target is not a symbol – which is exactly what central(0) <- 0 looks like. To allow the natural DSL syntax, tar_nlmixr() walks the captured object expression at construction time and rewrites every cmt(0) <- value inside model({...}) to cmt(initial) <- value. The rewrite is reversed at runtime before the model is handed to nlmixr2, so the fit you get is identical.

The rewrite mutates the function binding in place in the environment where it was found, so if you later print

body(my_model)

at the REPL after calling tar_nlmixr(), you will see central(initial) <- 0 rather than the originally-typed central(0) <- 0. This is the only user-visible side effect.

Pipe forms

Both pipe forms below also work, including with cmt(0):

tar_nlmixr(
  name = m1,
  object = pheno |> model({
    central(0) <- 0
  }, append = TRUE),
  data  = nlmixr2data::pheno_sd,
  est   = "saem"
)

tar_nlmixr(
  name = m2,
  object = pheno |> ini(cpaddSd = 0.3),
  data  = nlmixr2data::pheno_sd,
  est   = "saem"
)

A runtime delayed-eval wrapper restores cmt(0) before nlmixr2’s pipe handlers see the parsed body.

Known limitation: env functions never routed through tar_nlmixr()

targets walks every function in the analysed environment, not just the ones referenced by a target. If you define

sketch <- function() {
  ini({
    a <- 1
  })
  model({
    central(0) <- 0
  })
}

in the same environment but never pass sketch to tar_nlmixr(), targets’ static analysis will still try to walk its body and will report a codetools::findGlobals() error. The workaround is either:

• pass the function through tar_nlmixr() (the construction-time rewriter cleans it up), or
• write the manual central(initial) <- 0 form by hand. Because cmt(initial) is only meaningful when nlmixr2targets is the one parsing the model, a function written this way is not usable in a bare nlmixr2 workflow – it only fits if it is routed through tar_nlmixr() / tar_nlmixr_multimodel().

This case is pinned by a test in tests/testthat/test-tar_nlmixr.R.

Summary

• cmt(0) <- value is the native nlmixr2 DSL syntax. Prefer it.
• cmt(initial) <- value is a nlmixr2targets-only workaround: nlmixr2targets rewrites it back to cmt(0) <- value before nlmixr2 sees the model. Bare nlmixr2 does not understand cmt(initial); a model written that way only fits when routed through tar_nlmixr() / tar_nlmixr_multimodel().
• Inside tar_nlmixr(), the package quietly rewrites cmt(0) forms in env to cmt(initial) (to survive targets’ static analysis) and back again at evaluation time.
• After tar_nlmixr(), body(my_model) will show the rewritten form; this is cosmetic and reversed at runtime.
• Pipe forms work too via a runtime wrapper.
• Functions in env that contain cmt(0) but are never routed through tar_nlmixr() need the manual cmt(initial) workaround – with the caveat that they then only fit through nlmixr2targets.