If you're new to Ruby and don't have an idea of what Ruby is on a generic level, you can refer to my previous article.
Let's get into installing Ruby on our local environment.
Installing Ruby
Ruby is easy to work with and a beginner-friendly language. But sometimes installing the language on your system and setting up the local environment for development, might tend to be serious to many folks who are doing it for the first time. This article clearly covers how to install and use Ruby.
- Installing Ruby on Unix Based OS - macOS and Linux
- Installing Ruby on Windows
Installing Ruby on Unix Based OS - macOS and Linux
- Using RVM
Ruby Version Manager(RVM) is a command-line tool that helps in installing, managing, and working with multiple Ruby environments.
Steps:
- Open your Terminal
- Install the GPG keys
- Install RVM
- Install the Ruby version using RVM
Install the GPG keys
gpg2 --recv-keys 409B6B1796C275462A1703113804BB82D39DC0E3 7D2BAF1CF37B13E2069D6956105BD0E739499BDB
GPG keys allow for the secure transmission of information between parties and can be used to verify that the origin of a message is genuine.
bash: gpg2: command not found
If you face this, install gpg2 using the commands from here.
Install RVM
Type the following command in your terminal.
curl -sSL https://get.rvm.io | bash -s stable
After RVM is successfully installed, add the PATH to RVM in your .bashrc or .zshrc.
You also need to run the below command to start using RVM
source /home/USERNAME/.rvm/scripts/rvm
Here, USERNAME is the username of the current user on the system.
Install the Ruby version you want using the below command
rvm install ruby_version
Here ruby_version is the version of ruby you want to install, eg. 2.7.1
- Using
rbenv
Alternative to RVM, you can also use rbenv for installing and managing Ruby. There is a clear cut installation procedure on their documentation.
Installing Ruby on Windows
Although there is Ruby Installer for Windows to work with Ruby, it is recommended that you install and work with on Windows Sub System for Linux(WSL). Some dependencies may trigger errors when installing on Windows, so using WSL allows you to work on the business logic for the software you're developing and not having to fix gem incompatibilities.
What is WSL?
The Windows Subsystem for Linux lets developers run a GNU/Linux environment -- including most command-line tools, utilities, and applications -- directly on Windows, unmodified, without the overhead of a traditional virtual machine or dual-boot setup.
-Microsoft Docs
Microsoft Docs has clear documentation on enabling WSL and installing a Linux distribution. You can find the document here.
After installing the preferred Linux distribution, you can follow the same process done above for macOS and Linux.
Checking if Ruby is installed
$ ruby -v
ruby 2.7.1p83 (2020-03-31 revision a0c7c23c9c) [x86_64-linux]
This should print out the current Ruby version being used by the system. If you're using multiple Ruby versions,
$ rvm list
* ruby-2.3.0 [ x86_64 ]
=> ruby-2.7.1 [ x86_64 ]
# => - current
# =* - current && default
# * - default
You can access the Ruby Interactive Console(irb), by just giving irb
$ irb
2.7.1 :001 > puts " Hello WOrld"
Hello WOrld
=> nil
2.7.1 :002 >
Let me know in the comments if you use any other way to install Ruby for your local development :)
References:
- Microsoft Docs
- rvm.io