In this article, I’ll compare the most popular version managers for Ruby on a Mac: Chruby, Rbenv, and RVM, as well as Asdf, a version manager for multiple languages, and Frum, a band new version manager written in Rust. I’ll make recommendations based on what you’re most likely to need.
Pre-installed Ruby is Not for Developers
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Folks who are new to Ruby are delighted to discover that Ruby comes pre-installed on macOS. They’re often disappointed when a more experienced developer tells them, “Don’t use the Mac system Ruby.” I’ve written elsewhere about the reasons. In short, the system Ruby is there for macOS, not for you. It’s fine for running utility scripts, but for development, the system Ruby is out of date and, if you’re not careful, installation of gems can lead to headaches (including system security violations).
Homebrew’s One Ruby Problem
Homebrew is the package manager that has become a near-standard for adding developer software to macOS. Homebrew makes it easy to install a new Ruby version to avoid relying on the system Ruby. But there are two problems with Homebrew. First, Homebrew’s Ruby version can be automatically and unexpectedly replaced by a newer version when other Homebrew packages are installed (a problem solved by brew pin ruby). More importantly, Homebrew only lets you install one version of Ruby. If you’re developing or maintaining more than one project in Ruby, you’ll likely need to switch among Ruby versions. That’s where you’ll need a version manager.
Asdf for Multiple Languages
Asdf is a version manager that accommodates multiple languages. If you’re using Ruby to develop web applications with Rails 6, you’ll need to install Node and Yarn to build a Rails starter application. (Rails 7 may eliminate the need for Node, but that’s not yet certain at this time.)
So, for a Rails developer, Asdf is an ideal version manager. It will also serve you well if you develop applications in Python, Elixir, or many other languages (see a list of supported languages). Is there a downside to using Asdf? Just two. It uses shims to intercept common commands, which can make troubleshooting difficult. Also, it can be a little slow for some operations. If you’re developing in multiple languages, I recommend you try Asdf to see if you like it. Switch to Frum, the Ruby-only version manager written in Rust, if you find Asdf slows you down.
Ruby-only Version Managers
If you only intend to develop applications using Ruby, choose among the four Ruby-only version managers: Chruby, Frum, Rbenv, and RVM. Differences among the four lie in speed, complexity, and how each switches Ruby versions. Let’s look at the oldest first: RVM.
RVM
RVM was the first popular version manager for Ruby. It’s still maintained and widely used. RVM modifies the system cd command to set environment variables when you change directories. To override the cd command, the RVM installation script changes the shell configuration file (the ~/.zshrc file on newer Macs).
RVM properly displays environment variables to reveal the Ruby and gem version and location, which can help diagnose problems. However, RVM includes additional features such as gemsets. Gemsets are no longer needed, since Bundler was added to the core Ruby to manage gem dependencies. The additional complexity isn’t needed, so many developers have switched to a newer version manager such as Rbenv, Chruby, or Frum.
Continue reading A Comparison of Ruby Version Managers for macOS on SitePoint.
