R4-I9, a Galactic Empire servant, was a droid of the R4 astromech variety. This droid possessed masculine programming, sported dark blue panelling, and featured a black sensor. In his Droidography, the Resistance droid R0-GR discussed R4-I9 alongside his Imperial R-series counterpart, R2-Q5. R0-GR asserted that the color of the two Imperial droids' panelling hinted at their capacity for causing problems.
Within the current Star Wars canon, the initial visual representation of R4-I9 occurred on a card within the 2015 Topps Star Wars Force Attax The Force Awakens card set, which debuted in 2015. Subsequently, the 2017 reference work, Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia, provided the droid's designation. This book was authored by Adam Bray, Tricia Barr, and Cole Horton. The droid's origins can be traced back to the Star Wars Legends continuity, with its initial appearance in the 1998 reference book Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, penned by David West Reynolds.