Install Ruby on Ubuntu

Choose a method

• Ruby version. If you need a version that is newer than the repository has, use rbenv or RVM.
• Development setup. For development with many projects, a version manager helps.
• Experience level. New users can start with the repository.

Method 1: The Ubuntu repository

1. Update the package lists

sudo apt update

2. Install Ruby

sudo apt install ruby-full

You can search for other Ruby packages:

apt search ruby

3. Check it

ruby --version

Pros: easy, nothing else to set up. Cons: the version may not be the latest, and you cannot manage several versions.

Method 2: rbenv

1. Install the dependencies

sudo apt install autoconf bison build-essential libssl-dev libreadline-dev libffi-dev zlib1g-dev libncurses5-dev libgdbm-dev libyaml-dev git curl

2. Clone rbenv

git clone https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv.git ~/.rbenv

3. Add rbenv to your shell

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.rbenv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'eval "$(rbenv init -)"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

4. Install ruby-build

git clone https://github.com/rbenv/ruby-build.git ~/.rbenv/plugins/ruby-build

5. Install a Ruby version

rbenv install 3.2.5

6. Set it as the global version

rbenv global 3.2.5

Check with ruby --version.

Pros: manages several Ruby versions; installs the latest versions. Cons: more setup, extra dependencies.

Method 3: RVM (Ruby Version Manager)

1. Install the GPG keys

gpg --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv-keys 409B6B3C0DDDFE3C7E1AC2B3D1B5BE3B 7D2BAF1CF37B13E2069D6956105BD0E739499BDB

(The key IDs change. Use the ones that are shown on the RVM website.)

2. Install RVM

curl -sSL https://get.rvm.io | bash -s stable

3. Load RVM

source /etc/profile.d/rvm.sh
source ~/.bashrc

4. Install a Ruby version

rvm install 3.2.5

5. Use it as the default

rvm use 3.2.5 --default

Pros: manages several Ruby versions and gives separate gem sets. Cons: the install is a bit more complex than rbenv, and adds more dependencies.

Quick recap

• sudo apt install ruby-full is the easy way.
• Use rbenv or RVM for the newest and for several versions.
• Check with ruby --version.