If you feel adventurous enough, you could also edit the startup section at the end of /usr/bin/R, i.e. add --no-save to the exec calls. However, if you need to save your workspace, remember to save.image().
If, like me, typing out a whole pair of brackets seems like too much effort to exit the repl you can try this:
exit <- structure(list(), class = "exit_command")
print.exit_command <- function(...) {
q("no") # exit without saving
}
This creates a new class, which causes R to exit when attempting to print said class. The upshot being that if you run exit in the R repl, the whole thing will exit (because it tries to print it).
NB: You can add it to ~/.Rprofile to load at the start of every session.
In this post, I've addressed 'should we or should we not' save workspace image?
I've written detailed answer to the following questions in the comments (make sure you read them all):
How to set never save workspace image?
what does it really mean when it says ‘save workspace image’.
Why you should (almost always) not save workspace image?
When should I save workspace image?
If not saving the workspace image, what should I do? What are the best practices?
In some other posts, I've discussed that might be useful for R users are: