RubyGems - Ruby Package Utility

RubyGems is a package utility for Ruby, which installs Ruby software packages and keeps them up-to-date.

Usage Syntax

$ gem command [arguments...] [options...]

Check to see whether RubyGems is installed −

$ gem --version
0.9.0

Here is a list of all important commands for RubyGems −

Sr.No.	Command & Description
1	build Builds a gem from a gemspec.
2	cert Adjusts RubyGems certificate settings.
3	check Checks installed gems.
4	cleanup Cleans up old versions of installed gems in the local repository.
5	contents Displays the contents of the installed gems.
6	dependency Shows the dependencies of an installed gem.
7	environment Displays RubyGems environmental information.
8	help Provides help on the 'gem' command.
9	install Installs a gem into the local repository.
10	list Displays all gems whose name starts with STRING.
11	query Queries gem information in local or remote repositories.
12	rdoc Generates RDoc for pre-installed gems.
13	search Displays all gems whose name contains STRING.
14	specification Displays gem specification (in yaml).
15	uninstall Uninstalls a gem from the local repository.
16	unpack Unpacks an installed gem to the current directory.
17	update Updates the named gem (or all installed gems) in the local repository.

Following is the list of common options −

Sr.No.	Command & Description
1	--source URL Uses URL as the remote source for gems.
2	-p, --[no-]http-proxy [URL] Uses HTTP proxy for remote operations.
3	-h, --help Gets help on this command.
4	--config-file FILE Uses this config file instead of default.
5	--backtrace Shows stack backtrace on errors.
6	--debug Turns on Ruby debugging.

This is a list of the options, which use most of the time when you use RubyGems while installing any Ruby package −

Sr.No.	Command & Description
1	-v, --version VERSION Specifies version of gem to install.
2	-l, --local Restricts operations to the LOCAL domain (default).
3	-r, --remote Restricts operations to the REMOTE domain.
4	-b, --both Allows LOCAL and REMOTE operations.
5	-i, --install-dir DIR Where to install.
6	-d, --[no-]rdoc Generates RDoc documentation for the gem on install.
7	-f, --[no-]force Forces gem to install, bypassing dependency checks.
8	-t, --[no-]test Runs unit tests prior to installation.
9	-w, --[no-]wrappers Uses bin wrappers for executables.
10	-P, --trust-policy POLICY Specifies gem trust policy.
11	--ignore-dependencies Do not install any required dependent gems.
12	-y, --include-dependencies Unconditionally installs the required dependent gems.

This will install 'SOAP4R', either from local directory or remote server including all the dependencies −

gem install soap4r --include-dependencies

This will install 'rake', only from remote server −

gem install rake --remote

This will install 'rake' from remote server, and run unit tests, and generate RDocs −

gem install --remote rake --test --rdoc --ri