The R packages dplyr and sf import the operator %>% from the R package magrittr.
Help is available by using the following command:
?'%>%'
Of course the package must be loaded before by using e.g.
library(sf)
The documentation of the magrittr forward-pipe operator gives a good example: When functions require only one argument, x %>% f is equivalent to f(x)
%>% is similar to pipe in Unix. For example, in
a <- combined_data_set %>% group_by(Outlet_Identifier) %>% tally()
the output of combined_data_set will go into group_by and its output will go into tally, then the final output is assigned to a.
This gives you handy and easy way to use functions in series without creating variables and storing intermediate values.
My understanding after reading the link offered by G.Grothendieck is that %>% is an operator that pipes functions. This helps readability and productivity as it's easier to follow the flow of multiple functions through these pipes than going backwards when multiple function are nested.
Source: Stackoverflow.com