diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 812f617..9bf65a3 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ export(error)
 export(format_output)
 export(from_dcf)
 export(git_resource)
+export(http_resource)
 export(impl_data)
 export(impl_data_derive)
 export(impl_data_info)
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@ importFrom(tools,toRd)
 importFrom(utils,.DollarNames)
 importFrom(utils,available.packages)
 importFrom(utils,capture.output)
+importFrom(utils,download.file)
 importFrom(utils,download.packages)
 importFrom(utils,getCRANmirrors)
 importFrom(utils,head)
diff --git a/R/class_resource.R b/R/class_resource.R
index c6333d2..55f5c0d 100644
--- a/R/class_resource.R
+++ b/R/class_resource.R
@@ -262,6 +262,23 @@ git_resource <- class_git_resource <- new_class(
   )
 )
 
+#' Package `http(s)` Archive Resource Class
+#'
+#' A web-based reference to an R package file. Most often this will be used
+#' to resolve an http url into a source code archive.
+#'
+#' @family resources
+#' @export
+http_resource <- class_http_resource <- new_class(
+  "http_resource",
+  #' @inheritParams remote_resource
+  parent = remote_resource,
+  properties = list(
+    #' @param http_url The git repository url
+    http_url = class_character
+  )
+)
+
 #' [`resource`] from `character`
 #'
 #' Attempt to find any suitable package sources.
@@ -277,6 +294,9 @@ method(convert, list(class_character, class_resource)) <-
     all_resource_type_names <- vcapply(all_resource_types, class_desc)
 
     # create an empty list to populate with discovered resources
+    env <- environment()
+    env  # appease lintr
+
     resources <- list()
     length(resources) <- length(all_resource_types)
 
@@ -289,7 +309,7 @@ method(convert, list(class_character, class_resource)) <-
         return()
       }
 
-      resources[[idx]] <<- resource
+      env$resources[[idx]] <- resource
       idx
     }
 
@@ -418,6 +438,15 @@ method(convert, list(class_character, class_install_resource)) <-
     stop(fmt("Cannot convert string '{from}' into {.cls to}"))
   }
 
+method(convert, list(class_character, class_http_resource)) <-
+  function(from, to, ...) {
+    if (grepl("^https?://.*\\.(tar\\.(gz|bz2?|xz)|zip|tgz)$", from)) {
+      return(to(http_url = from))
+    }
+
+    stop(fmt("Cannot convert string '{from}' into {.cls to}"))
+  }
+
 method(convert, list(class_character, class_source_archive_resource)) <-
   function(from, to, ...) {
     if (file.exists(from) && endsWith(from, ".tar.gz")) {
@@ -476,7 +505,8 @@ method(convert, list(class_repo_resource, class_install_resource)) <-
       pkgs = from@package,
       lib = lib_path,
       repos = from@repo,
-      quiet = quiet
+      quiet = quiet,
+      INSTALL_opts = "--install-tests"
     )
 
     pkg_dir <- list.files(lib_path, full.names = TRUE)
@@ -513,6 +543,8 @@ method(convert, list(class_repo_resource, class_source_archive_resource)) <-
 
     package <- x[[1, 1]]
     path <- x[[1, 2]]
+
+    # TODO: archive may be other formats, ctrl-f bz
     version <- gsub("^.*/[^_]*_(.*)\\.tar\\.gz$", "\\1", path)
 
     source_archive_resource(
@@ -557,7 +589,30 @@ method(convert, list(class_repo_resource, class_cran_repo_resource)) <-
     )
   }
 
-method(convert, list(class_local_source_resource, class_install_resource)) <-
+#' @importFrom utils download.file
+method(convert, list(class_http_resource, class_source_archive_resource)) <-
+  function(from, to, ..., policy = opt("policy"), quiet = opt("quiet")) {
+    assert_permissions(c("write", "network"), policy@permissions)
+
+    # download package to a temporary directory
+    filename <- gsub(".*/", "", from@http_url)
+    destfile <- tempfile()
+    dir.create(destfile, recursive = TRUE)
+    destfile <- file.path(destfile, filename)
+
+    download.file(from@http_url, destfile = destfile, quiet = TRUE)
+
+    # propagate downloaded file as new source archive resource
+    source_archive_resource(path = destfile)
+  }
+
+method(
+  convert,
+  list(
+    class_local_source_resource | class_source_archive_resource,
+    class_install_resource
+  )
+) <-
   function(from, to, ..., policy = opt("policy"), quiet = opt("quiet")) {
     assert_permissions("write", policy@permissions)
 
@@ -570,7 +625,8 @@ method(convert, list(class_local_source_resource, class_install_resource)) <-
       lib = lib_path,
       repos = NULL,
       type = "source",
-      quiet = quiet
+      quiet = quiet,
+      INSTALL_opts = "--install-tests"
     )
 
     pkg_dir <- list.files(lib_path, full.names = TRUE)
diff --git a/R/utils_rd.R b/R/utils_rd.R
index 17905dd..65c0543 100644
--- a/R/utils_rd.R
+++ b/R/utils_rd.R
@@ -78,6 +78,8 @@ rd_sexpr <- function(
 #' @describeIn utils-rd
 #' Generate a badge, using shields.io and caching svg images for display in
 #' html output.
+#'
+#' @importFrom utils download.file
 rd_badge <- local({
   cache <- NULL
 
diff --git a/man/cran_repo_resource.Rd b/man/cran_repo_resource.Rd
index 784355d..9b33b7a 100644
--- a/man/cran_repo_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/cran_repo_resource.Rd
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ is also a CRAN mirror, please follow instructions in
 \seealso{
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/git_resource.Rd b/man/git_resource.Rd
index e43a1c3..e2ec418 100644
--- a/man/git_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/git_resource.Rd
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ A reference to a listing in an R package git source code repository.
 \seealso{
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/http_resource.Rd b/man/http_resource.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e9ef283
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/http_resource.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/class_resource.R
+\name{http_resource}
+\alias{http_resource}
+\title{Package \code{http(s)} Archive Resource Class}
+\usage{
+http_resource(
+  package = NA_character_,
+  version = NA_character_,
+  id = next_id(),
+  md5 = NA_character_,
+  http_url = character(0)
+)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{package}{\code{character(1L)} Package name. Optional, but should be
+provided if possible.}
+
+\item{version}{\code{character(1L)} Package version, provided as a string.}
+
+\item{id}{\code{integer(1L)} optional id used for tracking resources
+throughout execution. Generally not provided directly, as new objects
+automatically get a unique identifier. For example, the package source
+code from a \code{\link[=repo_resource]{repo_resource()}} may be downloaded to add a
+\code{\link[=source_archive_resource]{source_archive_resource()}} and add it to a new \code{\link[=multi_resource]{multi_resource()}}.
+Because all of these represent the same package, they retain the same
+\code{id}. Primarily the \code{id} is used for isolating temporary files.}
+
+\item{md5}{\code{character(1L)} md5 digest of the package source code tarball.
+This is not generally provided directly, but is instead derived when
+acquiring resources.}
+
+\item{http_url}{The git repository url}
+}
+\description{
+A web-based reference to an R package file. Most often this will be used
+to resolve an http url into a source code archive.
+}
+\seealso{
+Other resources: 
+\code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
+\code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{install_resource}()},
+\code{\link{local_resource}()},
+\code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
+\code{\link{mock_resource}()},
+\code{\link{multi_resource}()},
+\code{\link{remote_resource}()},
+\code{\link{repo_resource}()},
+\code{\link{resource}()},
+\code{\link{source_archive_resource}()},
+\code{\link{source_code_resource}()},
+\code{\link{unknown_resource}()}
+}
+\concept{resources}
diff --git a/man/install_resource.Rd b/man/install_resource.Rd
index 66e7700..7ddfb51 100644
--- a/man/install_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/install_resource.Rd
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ An installed version of a package, as would be found in a package library.
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
 \code{\link{mock_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/local_resource.Rd b/man/local_resource.Rd
index 0e45f7c..a001ca1 100644
--- a/man/local_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/local_resource.Rd
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ from files locally on the filesystem.
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
 \code{\link{mock_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/local_source_resource.Rd b/man/local_source_resource.Rd
index a56f26f..7738754 100644
--- a/man/local_source_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/local_source_resource.Rd
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ process, yet may be informative for metric assessment.
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{mock_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/mock_resource.Rd b/man/mock_resource.Rd
index ed651b2..778b119 100644
--- a/man/mock_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/mock_resource.Rd
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ a custom data simulation method.
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/multi_resource.Rd b/man/multi_resource.Rd
index 47d1d41..d43dc80 100644
--- a/man/multi_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/multi_resource.Rd
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ can successfully derive the expected data.
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/remote_resource.Rd b/man/remote_resource.Rd
index 49095b3..b1af097 100644
--- a/man/remote_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/remote_resource.Rd
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ Abstract Class for Remote Package Resources
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/repo_resource.Rd b/man/repo_resource.Rd
index 0e99f60..b0c4498 100644
--- a/man/repo_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/repo_resource.Rd
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ A reference to a listing in an R package repository.
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/resource.Rd b/man/resource.Rd
index 0d3578d..0646f87 100644
--- a/man/resource.Rd
+++ b/man/resource.Rd
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ package.
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/source_archive_resource.Rd b/man/source_archive_resource.Rd
index 370b3de..c67dd86 100644
--- a/man/source_archive_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/source_archive_resource.Rd
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ The extracted source code from a package's build archive.
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/source_code_resource.Rd b/man/source_code_resource.Rd
index dc2e3d0..5db0244 100644
--- a/man/source_code_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/source_code_resource.Rd
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ A union of all package resource classes that have local source code.
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
diff --git a/man/unknown_resource.Rd b/man/unknown_resource.Rd
index 12bacbf..3284f06 100644
--- a/man/unknown_resource.Rd
+++ b/man/unknown_resource.Rd
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ commonly when a package object is reconstructed from a \code{PACKAGES} file.
 Other resources: 
 \code{\link{cran_repo_resource}()},
 \code{\link{git_resource}()},
+\code{\link{http_resource}()},
 \code{\link{install_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_resource}()},
 \code{\link{local_source_resource}()},
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-convert-to-pkg.R b/tests/testthat/test-convert-to-pkg.R
index c631651..e1ff430 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-convert-to-pkg.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-convert-to-pkg.R
@@ -1,36 +1,83 @@
-test_that("convert(from = character, to = class_pkg) can discover resources", {
-  expected <- simpleError("downloading ...")
-  class(expected) <- c("test_suite_signal", class(expected))
+test_that(
+  paste0(
+    "convert(<character>, <class_pkg>) can discover repo resources from ",
+    "package names"
+  ),
+  {
+    expected <- simpleError("downloading ...")
+    class(expected) <- c("test_suite_signal", class(expected))
 
-  # intercept download package call and instead of doing a slow download, just
-  # signal that we hit our download call
-  with_mocked_bindings(
-    available.packages = function(...) {
-      cbind(
-        Package = "fake.pkg",
-        Version = "1.0",
-        MD5sum = "abcdef",
-        Repository = "acme.org"
-      )
-    },
-    download.packages = function(...) {
-      signalCondition(expected)
-    },
-    code = {
-      # specify a policy that will force pkg to attempt re-download
-      policy <- policy(
-        accepted_resources = list(class_source_archive_resource),
-        source_resources = list(class_repo_resource),
-        permissions = TRUE
-      )
+    # intercept download package call and instead of doing a slow download, just
+    # signal that we hit our download call
+    with_mocked_bindings(
+      available.packages = function(...) {
+        cbind(
+          Package = "fake.pkg",
+          Version = "1.0",
+          MD5sum = "abcdef",
+          Repository = "acme.org"
+        )
+      },
+      download.packages = function(...) {
+        signalCondition(expected)
+      },
+      code = {
+        # specify a policy that will force pkg to attempt re-download
+        policy <- policy(
+          accepted_resources = list(class_source_archive_resource),
+          source_resources = list(class_repo_resource),
+          permissions = TRUE
+        )
 
-      expect_error(
-        pkg("fake.pkg", policy = policy),
-        class = class(expected)[[1L]]
-      )
-    }
-  )
-})
+        expect_error(
+          pkg("fake.pkg", policy = policy),
+          class = class(expected)[[1L]]
+        )
+      }
+    )
+  }
+)
+
+
+test_that(
+  paste0(
+    "convert(<character>, <class_pkg>) can discover repo resources from ",
+    "package archive urls"
+  ),
+  {
+    expected <- simpleError("installing ...")
+    class(expected) <- c("test_suite_signal", class(expected))
+
+    # intercept download package call and instead of doing a slow download, just
+    # signal that we hit our download call
+    with_mocked_bindings(
+      install.packages = function(...) {
+        signalCondition(expected)
+      },
+      download.file = function(...) {
+        NULL
+      },
+      code = {
+        # use policy that will attempt to download & install http resource
+        policy <- policy(
+          accepted_resources = list(class_install_resource),
+          source_resources = list(class_source_archive_resource, http_resource),
+          permissions = TRUE
+        )
+
+        expect_error(
+          pkg("http://repo.com/src/contrib/fake.pkg.tar.gz", policy = policy),
+          class = class(expected)[[1L]]
+        )
+
+        expect_error(
+          pkg("https://repo.com/src/contrib/fake.pkg.tar.gz", policy = policy),
+          class = class(expected)[[1L]]
+        )
+      }
+    )
+  }
+)
 
 test_that("convert(from = class_pkg, to = class_pkg)", {
   p <- random_pkg()