Goodbye gem and Ruby installation issues.
Hello Ruby on Mac.
Without Ruby on Mac: Spend days trying to get your Rails, Jekyll, iOS, Flutter, React Native, Unity, or other Ruby project working.
With Ruby on Mac: Run a single command and you'll be up and running in 15 minutes or less.
Join 1724 others who got unstuck right away.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I don’t know what to say. The documentation is thorough and this took less than 10 minutes on my Mac. At first I was like, this can’t be that easy.
I was skeptical because I really was trying to brute force a solution prior. I was doing all kinds of things (setting permissions on a folder, install this, install that, etc). I was just thinking that the script probably wouldn’t be able to perform as touted because of how old my files are and all the trial and error I was trying. I’m just so happy that it worked as advertised.
Paying for a tool to set up Ruby On Rails dev environments may seem ludicrous! Ruby on Mac has repeatedly saved me many hours of time & even made installing older versions of Ruby like 2.3.4 on a Mac M2 Pro a breeze. And Moncef offers great support and more🥇
Yes, it's a great product. I rarely ever leave reviews or provide feedback on products but I really was delighted with the script. I was attempting to build a site with Jekyll and was getting caught in a rat's nest of errors. I wasn't sure what needed to be done to resolve them and stack overflow posts were more confusing than helpful. Thanks!
Have you been struggling to install Rails, Jekyll, cocoapods, fastlane, ffi, mysql2, or some other Ruby gem? Or even just Ruby? You had no idea it would be this complicated, right?
You've been searching Google for days, asking questions on Stack Overflow, Reddit, and GitHub. Some say use "sudo", others say don't. RVM this, rbenv that. You run commands blindly, hoping something will work.
But nothing you've tried so far has worked.
Does this permissions error look familiar?
ERROR: While executing gem ... (Gem::FilePermissionError)
You don't have write permissions for the /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.6.0
How about this one after using "sudo" to install the gem?
ERROR: Failed to build gem native extension.
Or maybe you followed outdated advice to use Rosetta, "arch -x86_64", or "LDFLAGS", and now you're getting errors like these about incompatible architecture:
bundler: failed to load command: jekyll
incompatible architecture (have x86_64 need arm64e)
ld: symbol(s) not found for architecture x86_64
ld: symbol(s) not found for architecture arm64
Every fix you've tried so far ends in more misery that makes you want to give up.
You're not alone. Every day, hundreds of people — from beginners to those with 40 years of coding experience — struggle to install and use Ruby gems on a Mac.
This is what it sounds like when devs cry:
Hi I've been trying to get rails and postgresql installed for 2 days now and its been a nightmare, does anyone know of a step by step up to date tutorial to install rails on mac please? I've tried go rails, other websites and videos but keep getting errors and I find myself pasting fixes from stackoverflow to fix one issue then I run into another.
What if you already have a Ruby environment, but it's so old that you can't get started on that dream project of yours?
I’ve got an itch to work on a web app and a Mac that is many versions behind on Ruby, Rails, etc. I keep running into all sorts of problems as I try to update. Is there an easy way to blast away all this old cruft and start over short of reformatting the hard drive?
You know it's possible to use Ruby on a Mac, you just don't think YOU can do it.
But what if you could? What if you could run a single command in your Terminal, and it would automatically set up a proper Ruby development environment?
You'd be able to start working on your project minutes from now.
It's true, following outdated tutorials, and copying and pasting a bunch of commands by hand can leave your Mac in a hot mess. But there's a better way!
Stop struggling with Ruby. Let Ruby on Mac set everything up for you.
Meet your lifesaver, Ruby on Mac
Ruby on Mac is the fastest, easiest, and most reliable way to set up a proper Ruby dev environment on a Mac. Unlike other methods you might have tried, it can detect and automatically fix most common issues that can cause Ruby or gem installation to fail.
However, there might be issues it can't automatically fix the first time your run it in "normal" mode. The good news is that you can run it in "reset" mode, which will safely back up and clean everything up in 1 minute. Then when you run the script again in "normal" mode, it's guaranteed to reinstall everything from scratch successfully. You'll also get a comprehensive troubleshooting guide if you prefer to fix individual issues manually.
That alone will save you hours, maybe even days, that you would have spent backing up your computer, erasing your hard drive, and reinstalling macOS.
Even if you have a clean Mac, if you were to set everything up manually on your own, it would take at least an hour. You would have to follow several steps in the right order to get Ruby properly installed. And then you would need to install and configure several other dev tools.
Ruby on Mac automates the whole process for you in minutes, with a perfect result every time.
Ruby on Mac uses a specific recipe to guarantee a successful installation whether you have an Intel Mac or an Apple Silicon M1/M2 Mac. It also detects whether you're using Bash, zsh, or Fish, and configures your shell automatically. No other solution does this.
Ruby on Mac comes in two flavors: Prime and Ultimate. All versions of Ruby on Mac give you a complete Ruby development setup so you can use Rails, Jekyll, Cocoapods, Flutter, React Native, and other projects that require Ruby. Read more about the features below, starting with Ruby on Mac Prime:
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Reset Mode
- If your existing dev environment is not working, Ruby on Mac Prime can safely back it up, then clean it up in less than 60 seconds using reset mode. You can then reinstall everything from scratch by running Ruby on Mac in normal mode.
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Web Development Tools
- Ruby on Mac Prime installs all the tools you'll need to get started right away: Homebrew, Command Line Tools, Ruby 3.2.2 and 3.1.4, chruby, ruby-install, Bundler, Cocoapods, Jekyll, Rails, Git, GitHub CLI, Heroku CLI, Node, Nodenv, Postgres, Redis, and Yarn.
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Keeps your system up to date and secure
- Ruby on Mac Prime comes with a terminal shortcut that makes it easy to run the script safely over and over by typing "rom". Each time the script runs, it only installs what you don't already have, and if it finds a new version of an existing tool, it will update it.
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Faster gem installation
- Ruby on Mac Prime configures Ruby to install gems up to 4 times faster compared to other solutions. This can add up to minutes saved each time you install or update gems.
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Colorized output
- By using different colors for prompts, information, success, and failure, it makes it easier to see what's happening while the script is running.
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Easy Customization
- Ruby on Mac Prime comes with basic templates that let you customize which additional dev tools you want to install, and additional scripts you want to run.
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Personal, non-commercial use
- Ruby on Mac Prime only allows personal, non-commercial use. If you need Ruby on Mac for your job or business, you will need to buy the Ultimate version. As an employee, you should be able to ask your employer to buy it for you. As a business owner, you can write it off as an expense, or have your client pay for it.
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Free updates for one year
- Ruby on Mac Prime includes free updates for one year. After that, you can optionally buy an additional year of updates for $49, or buy Ultimate for unlimited updates. You can also upgrade to Ultimate (and pay only the difference), but the upgrade offer expires after one year has passed since your last Prime purchase.
With Ruby on Mac Ultimate, apart from the additional helpful and time-saving features below, an important difference is that it includes unlimited updates for a one-time cost, and it allows commercial use.
The Prime version is only for personal, non-commercial use, and only includes updates for one year, with an option to buy another year of updates.
Ultimate customers also get new features regularly, but Prime customers only get bug fixes and improvements to existing features.
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30-min consultation for personalized help ($150 value)
- While Ruby on Mac can take care of most Ruby issues, it can't fix all problems that are specific to a project. The most common source of issues are outdated gems and Ruby versions. If you need help getting your project up and running, Ruby on Mac Ultimate includes a free 30-min consultation with me, which is worth $150.
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The fastest way to install Ruby on a Mac
- Ruby on Mac Ultimate installs Ruby faster than any other version manager when using their default settings. It's twice as fast as rbenv and asdf! On my M1 Air, it installs Ruby 3.2.2 in 2:00 minutes, versus 2:29 with rvm, 2:40 with frum, 4:03 with rbenv, and 4:04 with asdf.
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Choose your preferred Ruby version manager
- The first time you run Ruby on Mac Ultimate, it will ask you to choose between asdf, chruby, frum, rbenv, or rvm. It will store your preference in "~/rubyonmac/.default-manager". To use a different manager, either remove or edit ".default-manager", then run Ruby on Mac again.
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Set the default gems you want installed in each Ruby version
- If you want certain gems to be installed automatically each time you install a Ruby version, you can list them one per line in ~/.default-gems and Ruby on Mac will take care of the rest. Ruby on Mac can also read from ~/.rbenv/default-gems if you previously used that rbenv feature.
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No more wasted time and frustration trying to install unsupported Ruby versions
- Ruby on Mac Ultimate keeps track of all the supported versions, and will let you know right away if you're trying to install a version that won't work on your computer, and will suggest supported versions to use instead. This will save you hours that you would have spent trying to figure out why a particular version didn't work, and looking up and trying workarounds that are not recommended or that won't work.
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Install Ruby 2.6.10, even on Apple Silicon without Rosetta!
- With Ruby on Mac Ultimate, installing 2.6.10 is as easy as running "rom install ruby 2.6.10".
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Install Ruby versions older than 2.6 on Apple Silicon with Rosetta
- With Ruby on Mac Ultimate, you can easily set up a separate Ruby dev environment under Rosetta, and then easily install old Ruby versions with one command using the rom CLI. For example, "rom install ruby 2.3.8".
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Manage your dev setup with the rom CLI
- Ruby on Mac Ultimate comes with a CLI to make it easy to run and update the script, install additional Ruby versions, uninstall versions you no longer need, and many more helpful and time-saving commands coming soon.
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Set up a new Mac in minutes with all your dev tools, fonts, Mac apps, macOS preferences, and GitHub repos
- Ruby on Mac Ultimate will save you an entire work day that you would have spent setting up your new Mac with everything you need. It comes with a Brewfile with hundreds of dev tools, fonts, and Mac apps. Choose the ones you want, and Ruby on Mac will install them all at once. Read the next 3 sections for details about setting your Git and macOS preferences, and cloning your GitHub repos.
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Git Config Setup
- Ruby on Mac Ultimate comes with a .gitconfig and .gitignore_global with common settings to get you started. Customize your Git name, email, and editor with a YAML file.
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Easily customize macOS preferences
- Ruby on Mac Ultimate comes with a YAML file that makes it super easy to set 20+ macOS preferences.
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Clone multiple GitHub repos at once
- Ruby on Mac Ultimate comes with a YAML file where you can specify which repos to clone and in which folder.
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Commercial use allowed
- You can use Ruby on Mac Ultimate for any type of project, whether personal or for your business or job. As an employee, you should be able to ask your employer to buy it for you. As a business owner, you can write it off as an expense, or have your client pay for it.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I don’t know what to say. The documentation
is thorough and this took less than 10 minutes on my Mac. At first I was like,
this can’t be that easy.
I was skeptical because I really was trying to brute force a solution prior.
I was doing all kinds of things (setting permissions on a folder, install this,
install that, etc). I was just thinking that the script probably wouldn’t be
able to perform as touted because of how old my files are and all the trial and
error I was trying.
I’m just so happy that it worked as advertised.
Dude, this rocks. I spent hours trying to get Jekyll to work on my new M2 Mac.
Every time I thought I had it something else would break. Your script fixed it
in about 10 minutes. Very clear instructions and it just works.
Totally worth twice the price, IMO (I bought the $129 option).
All I want to do is write a simple blog with an easy-to-use static site generator.
The whole purpose of using an SSG is so I can write _about_ code instead of
writing code just to publish a blog post. And WordPress is just obsolete IMO
for blogging.
Every single SSG I tried out had some issues. Thankfully your script resolved
the Jekyll issues for me. I was skeptical your tool would work so was really
pleasantly surprised that it did - perfectly.
Web Developer & Blogger, AtomicLotus.net
You saved the day. You deserve every penny of what I paid today. I had an environment using grunt and compass to compile sass and suddenly after MACOS Ventura it ceased to work. I have to say that I was very cynical about the product, mostly if it would work, but it did! All is good now! Thank you!
Designer
Wow, Ruby On Mac FTW! 🔥 If only I could get those 10 hours back from the last few days spent trying to get 2.6.10 installed on this MacBook Air M1. 😅 Now my legacy Rails 5.1.7 / Ruby 2.6.10 app is running nicely and I can begin the process of upgrading to Ruby 2.7.7 🚀
Just wanted to thank you for Ruby on Mac even though (or maybe especially since) I am not an engineer. I have not been able to run my portfolio site locally (Jekyll) since we bought an M1 Mac a long, long time ago. Parsing how to figure out wtf was not working and blindly copy/pasting commands into Terminal worked about as well as you expected, but I just purchased Ruby on Mac earlier today and for the first time was able to run my site locally again.
Senior Designer/Researcher, Nava
It totally worked. Thanks Moncef! I bought it because the last time I tried to get Ruby/Rails set up on new MacBook Pro it turned into a headache and I needed a developer to help me get it all done. I didn't want to bug a developer and with your tool I was able to get up-and-running all by myself. Totally worth the money.
So far, the outcome of using the script has been flawless. I've used one of your step-by-step guides in the past to setup an M1 Mac and was very happy with that, was also happy to learn along the way by taking the time and doing everything manually, but this time I didn't really want to take all the effort on my current Mac and I'm getting an M2 MBA in 2 weeks so figured it would be better to get the script and just make all this so much easier and faster.
Author of Exponential Happiness
I ran Ruby on Mac and it worked great! It fixed all my stuff immediately.
I know just enough about using the Terminal to be dangerous, and Ruby on Mac has already gotten me out of that danger more times than I can count. I don't understand how Ruby on Mac does what it does, but I am insanely grateful that it does it. Over the past few months, Ruby on Mac has become the utility that does the most regarding something I understand the least.
In a world where BMW owners are gonna pay to have heated seats and heated steering wheels, this was money well spent for me, and I love an app like this.
WOW! This is an excellent product. It resolved all my issues. I've been banging my head against the wall trying to figure this out for hours, and your product resolved everything in minutes. Thanks so much!
It was so weird. I had two Mac M1 already and could install Ruby myself. And then I had another one and spent probably 4 hours trying to do exactly same setup as before and it never worked. And then I just bought your solution and everything worked on the first try!
Creator of montaigne.io
Yes it worked very well. I bought it because without it all version managers failed to install ruby. Great tool!
While I don't run into problems with my ruby environment often, every time I do, getting out of the hole I've dug for myself is slow and frustrating. I'd been trying to fix an issue and clearly made things worse before they were getting better. I spent probably more than an hour before I realized I wanted to clean up the mess and start "fresh".
Ruby on Mac had me back to a clean starting point within 15 minutes and the confidence to move forward again. The documentation and troubleshooting were some of the best I've ever seen for a very technical product. Impressed!
Founder, Indy Hall; Author of Tiny MBA
I spent around 3 days trying to solve dependencies and version issues mixed with an M1 mac chip while working on a Rails app. I looked and tried and retried so many possible solutions from so many sources on the web... but nothing was working. Then I clicked on the logo menu of one of the numerous blog posts I read, and I saw exactly the words I was looking for: "Goodbye gem and Ruby installation issues. Hello Ruby on Mac."
At first I thought it was too good to be true, but after a background check, I decided to go for it. And man it worked so well I am ready to dive into my app development again. Thank you again!
Founder, Nova Pixels
Just a quick note to say thanks! Struggled for a day trying to get the Flutter development stack to work, which has dependency on cocoapods -> ruby which i have absolutely no interest in, but was causing builds to an iOS app to fail.
Your script worked as advertised and 15 minutes later i was deploying to iOS devices.
It worked! Thank you for your help! I don't usually like to pay to troubleshoot but this was definitely worth it!!!
Lecturer, Columbia University, SIPA
Yes Ruby on Mac worked for me. I bought it because when I tried setting up a bare react native project I kept getting Ruby errors probably since Im on M2. Even after following your guide. So I bought ruby on mac, ran reset mode, and it worked.
It did work exactly as expect, thank you. Honestly, since the introduction of Apple Silicon, setting up a Ruby dev environment has just become a real pain.
I have several projects that are locked into older versions of Ruby, for the time being, for various reasons, and Ruby 2.7.7 just wouldn't compile on my Mac Studio with Ventura with and Xcode 14. Whilst Googling issues I came across a post on your site and decided that $100 was a small price to pay to end the pain :)
Brilliant product!
I initially thought Ruby on Mac was expensive, but I wanted to use Ruby to build a site using Jekyll, and I had already spent several hours trying to get it to work, but couldn't. So I bought it, and Ruby on Mac got things working instantly and cleaned up my environment so I could focus on developing.
I love that Ruby on Mac just works, but the main reason I would recommend it to others is Moncef. I had a couple of extra issues due to the mess I've made playing with different Python environments and flags. Moncef even released a new version within 24 hours to help me.
I bought Ruby On Mac for all the reasons really that you outlined in the benefits. I have a project that I am doing using Swift and I wanted to use CocoaPods on an M1 Mac. I was able to get it running with rbenv but it still threw up permission errors now and then. I have a short time to complete the work for my Masters degree so I felt this was certainly worth the cost to get the environment up and running and move on with the project. I really love the automation and the clean up with ROM.
Yes, it's a great product. I rarely ever leave reviews or provide feedback on products but I really was delighted with the script. I was attempting to build a site with Jekyll and was getting caught in a rat's nest of errors. I wasn't sure what needed to be done to resolve them and stack overflow posts were more confusing than helpful. Thanks!
I’ve been banging my head on the wall for hours trying to solve a problem
with Ruby on my new M1 mac. I think it was all from an Intel Mac misconfiguration
which never bit me before.
I tried your script in normal mode, it failed and told me to run in reset mode.
I did and then ran your script again in normal mode. It worked beautifully.
Thanks for making such a great product. Great instructions too.
This is just a mail to thank you. As a beginner in the development field, I have been struggling for days to install proper ruby and proper rails on my Mac. Thanks to your script, it was all properly set in 10 minutes, this is fantastic!
Trusted by 1700+ people at these companies and universities from all over the world
Pricing
Get back on track with Ruby on Mac
The fastest, easiest, and most reliable way to set up Ruby on a Mac.
Join 1724 others who got unstuck right away.
30-day money-back guarantee.
When you buy Ruby on Mac today, you'll be supporting an independent developer and his family. 💜
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One year of updates included. After that, you can optionally buy an additional year of updates for $49, or buy Ultimate for unlimited updates.
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Use Ruby on Mac Prime on 1 Mac at a time.
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License allows personal, non-commercial use
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Run a single command, and get a complete Ruby dev setup in 15 minutes with the following tools:
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Homebrew, Command Line Tools, chruby, ruby-install, Ruby 3.2.2 and 3.1.4, Bundler, Cocoapods, Jekyll, Rails, Git, GitHub CLI, Heroku CLI, Node, Nodenv, Postgres, Redis, Yarn
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Easily install additional supported Ruby versions (3.1 and greater) with ruby-install
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If your dev setup is a mess, "reset" mode can safely back up and clean everything up in 1 minute.
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"rom" alias to easily run the script regularly to keep your dev setup up to date and secure
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Install gems 4x faster
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Keeps Rubygems up to date
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Comprehensive troubleshooting guide
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Basic customization with your own scripts and dev tools
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Save $5,000+ and 50+ hours by not writing and maintaining 2259 lines of code yourself
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Support within 48 hours
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License allows business or commercial use
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Choose your preferred version manager (asdf, frum, chruby, rbenv, rvm)
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Install Ruby versions older than 3.1
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Free 30-minute Zoom session to help you fix issues with your existing projects
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Automated updates to the latest version of Ruby on Mac
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Works with fish shell
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Support for work computers with device management and security software
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Support for Unity and iOS Resolver issues related to Cocoapods
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Everything in Prime
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Unlimited lifetime updates included for a one-time cost of $129.
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Use Ruby on Mac Ultimate on up to 4 Macs at a time.
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License allows business, commercial, or personal use
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Simply run "rom update" to get the latest version of Ruby on Mac
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30-minute consultation for personalized help ($150 value)
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Help fixing issues specific to existing projects
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Painlessly install MySQL and the mysql2 gem (no more "dyld missing symbol called" errors!)
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Install Ruby 2.6.10, 2.7.2+, 3.0.x, 3.1.x, and 3.2.x on Apple Silicon, without Rosetta!
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Install Ruby versions older than 2.6 (as old as 2.1) on Apple Silicon with Rosetta
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Install Ruby versions as old as 2.1 on Intel
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Install Ruby up to 2x faster than any other tool, and almost 3x faster than Prime
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Set your preferred Ruby version manager — asdf, chruby, frum, rbenv or rvm
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Set the default gems you want installed for each Ruby version
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Support for work computers with device management and security software
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Support for Unity and iOS Resolver issues related to Cocoapods
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rom CLI to maintain your dev setup and perform common actions. Features are being added regularly.
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The fastest and easiest way to set up a new Mac with all your dev tools, Mac apps, fonts, macOS preferences, and GitHub repos.
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Brewfile with hundreds of dev tools, Mac apps, and fonts
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Support for multiple Brewfiles
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Easily customize and set macOS preferences
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Git config setup
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Clone multiple GitHub repos at once in seconds
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Works with Fish shell and sets it up automatically
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Save $10,000+ and 100+ hours by not writing and maintaining 10,000+ lines of code yourself
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Priority Support
Team Pricing
FAQ
What makes Ruby on Mac special?
There are many ways to set up a working Ruby development environment on a Mac. I am in no way claiming that Ruby on Mac is the only way. Nor am I claiming that other approaches are wrong.
What I am claiming is that Ruby on Mac is the fastest and easiest way because it’s simple, it’s reliable, and it works perfectly every time.
‘Simple’ means all you have to do is run a single command, and Ruby on Mac will do all the hard work for you. ‘Reliable’ means it will work with any supported Intel and Apple Silicon Mac, and it will work every single time. I know it works because the script has been run successfully on thousands of Macs, from brand new Macs to ones with the messiest development environments.
It’s the same script I use to set up and maintain my personal Macs, and I test it several times per week on 4 Macs: my main M1 MacBook Air and Intel iMac that I use every day, and my spare Intel MacBook Air and M1 Mac Mini for testing various scenarios.
That’s not to say that there have never been any issues. Sometimes, there are bugs in the tools that Ruby on Mac depends on, and sometimes Apple and/or Homebrew make changes that break Ruby, as happened in September 2022, then again when Ventura was first released, and in June 2023. Each time this happened, I had a fix for Ruby on Mac customers within 24 hours, while others had to wait several days, weeks, or even years for the official fixes, or spend time trying to figure out the issue and how to fix it.
I also improve the scripts regularly, and sometimes I introduce bugs. Or maybe a customer has a unique scenario that I haven’t seen before. In those cases, I fix the bugs within minutes of discovering them.
Another thing that makes Ruby on Mac unique is that with most of the popular open-source version managers, you can’t install the latest version of Ruby as soon as it’s released. You have to wait for the maintainers to manually add the latest version, which sometimes takes several days. And then you have to remember to manually update the tool to pick up the latest versions.
Ruby on Mac automatically installs everything you need (and nothing you don’t), it configures Ruby in the best possible way, and you can install the latest version as soon as it’s released, without having to update any tools manually.
Ruby on Mac Ultimate also installs Ruby faster than any other version manager, and twice as fast as rbenv and asdf.
The best part is that Ruby on Mac Ultimate supports all the popular version managers: asdf, chruby, frum, rbenv, and rvm. If you have a strong preference for a particular tool, you can still use it, and you won’t have to deal with the installation issues that you would experience if you were to use it outside of Ruby on Mac.
Ruby on Mac is unique because it gives you the peace of mind that you will always have a working Ruby dev setup. This will save you months of your time, and thousands of dollars compared to troubleshooting issues yourself, maintaining your own script, or doing everything manually every time.
Is there a money-back guarantee?
The short answer is yes, but there are some important disclaimers! Make sure to carefully read this entire section, as well as the next three sections:
- What is not covered by the guarantee?
- Will the script fix issues with my legacy Ruby projects?
- How do I submit a refund request?
If Ruby on Mac doesn’t install all supported tools successfully even after cleaning everything up with “reset” mode, I will personally set up your Mac for you, or you can send me an email within 30 days and I’ll give you a full refund.
The first time you run any version of Ruby on Mac on a clean installation of a supported macOS (as provided by Apple), it is guaranteed to set up a working Ruby environment. One way to confirm this is that you should be able to create and run a brand new Jekyll or Rails project (using the instructions in these links).
If you already had development tools installed, Ruby on Mac is not guaranteed to work the first time you run it (although it might). If it doesn’t, you can use the “reset” mode to safely back up and clean up your dev setup in 1 minute. And when you run the script again in “normal” mode, it is guaranteed to install everything successfully.
Once Ruby on Mac installs everything successfully, it will prompt you to open the Post-Installation Guides. It’s very important to read all of it thorougly to avoid confusion and headaches.
What is not covered by the guarantee?
In addition to unsupported macOS versions, I can’t guarantee Ruby on Mac will work on a Mac that was provided by your employer with software or files preinstalled on it that didn’t come from Apple.
Ruby on Mac is also not guaranteed to fix issues that are specific to your existing projects. If Ruby on Mac installed everything successfully, but you still can’t run your existing project, that most likely means the issue is specific to your project. In that case, I can’t give you a refund, but I can certainly help you. Please read the next FAQ (below this one) for more details.
Will the script fix issues with my legacy Ruby projects?
The short answer is “it depends, but probably not.” At least not out of the box. What Ruby on Mac guarantees is that you’ll be able to install Ruby versions as old as 2.1.10 on your Mac (see caveats in Which versions of Ruby will I be able to install?). Beyond that, I can’t guarantee anything since there could be various things that are preventing your old project from running, such as bugs in your code and outdated gems/dependencies.
For help with existing projects, here are your choices:
- Use the free 30-minute consultation that comes with your purchase of Ruby on Mac Ultimate.
- If you’re a Prime customer, figure things out on your own with the help of the Ruby on Mac documentation (see the section called “Issues with existing projects” in the rom-prime-docs.html file) and/or with the tips in the FAQ below this one.
- Hire me or someone else to update your project for you.
Do you have any tips for getting legacy projects up and running?
I sure do. Below are some common scenarios and suggestions.
Depending on which version of Ruby your old project is using, it might not work out of the box. For example, after setting everything up properly with Ruby on Mac, if your project is configured to use Ruby 2.6.10, you might get an error similar to the ones below when running bundle install:
Your user account isn't allowed to install to the system RubyGems.
or
Your Ruby version is 3.1.4, but your Gemfile specified 2.6.10
The first error means that the current active version of Ruby is indeed 2.6.10, but it’s the one that came preinstalled on your Mac, which you never want to use. The second error means that your project is set up to use Ruby 2.6.10, but the current active version is 3.1.4.
In both cases, the solution is to either update your project to a newer version of Ruby (such as one of the versions Ruby on Mac installed for you), or buy Ruby on Mac Ultimate, which lets you install a proper version of 2.6.10. You will not be able to install Ruby versions older than 3.1.x with Ruby on Mac Prime.
Unless you prefer to get your project up and running with 2.6.10 first before updating to a newer version, I recommend trying to update your project directly to a newer version, and I have a free guide that explains how and why to upgrade the Ruby version in your project. If you have a proper Ruby dev setup, try this first before buying Ruby on Mac.
The Ultimate version of Ruby on Mac also comes with a free 30-minute consultation if you need help updating your old projects.
Similarly, if you have an older project with outdated or unsupported gems, running bundle install or bundle exec pod install or bin/rails s might result in errors, even if you’re using a newer Ruby version. In most cases, updating those gems to the latest version is the solution. However, if you’re on an M1/M2 Mac, this will only work if the latest version of those gems is compatible with Apple Silicon.
Here are some gems that are not fully compatible with Apple Silicon (M1/M2). I recommend replacing them with more modern alternatives, or asking the maintainers if they’re willing to update them.
- therubyracer (read How to Install (Or Get Rid Of) therubyracer on M1 or M2 Macs)
- grpc (this fix has been proposed)
If you haven’t yet run Ruby on Mac, and you’re not able to install the latest version of a supported gem (meaning the gem says it works on Apple Silicon Macs), then Ruby on Mac is guaranteed to solve that problem. After running Ruby on Mac, if you can’t install the gems in your old project, or if you’re not able to run your project, that most likely means those errors are specific to your project, and not Ruby on Mac. I recommend updating any gems mentioned in the errors.
If you need help updating older projects, try these free guides I’ve written:
- How to Install (Or Get Rid Of) therubyracer on M1 or M2 Macs
- How To Update Gems In Your Gemfile
- How and Why to Upgrade the Ruby Version in Your Project
If you prefer personalized help, the Ultimate version of Ruby on Mac includes a 30-minute consultation with me (worth $150 on its own), among many other exclusive time-saving features. I also offer a “do it for you” service where I will update your legacy project for you. The price depends on the project, so contact me with details about your project and what your goal is.
How do I submit a refund request?
Please send an email to moncef@rubyonmac.dev and include the required info described below:
Since Ruby on Mac is a high-quality product that is guaranteed to set up a proper Ruby development environment, refund requests must include all the logs in the ~/rubyonmac/logs folder, as well as the specific issue you are running into. The logs will let me see what happened while Ruby on Mac was running, and if the errors are caused by Ruby on Mac or something wrong with your setup.
No refunds will be given if the logs are not provided and if you haven’t tried to fix things with reset mode.
I also cannot give a refund if you can’t run your legacy project. Ruby on Mac is only guaranteed to fix your dev setup such that you can install Ruby versions as old as 2.1.10. That alone is worth the price since no other tool can do this as easily as Ruby on Mac.
If your legacy project has a bug in it, or is using incompatible or outdated dependencies, that’s on you to fix it. Or you can hire me to update your project for you.
Do you support Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)?
Yes! If you visit from a country with low purchasing power, you should see a banner at the top with a coupon code you can use. If you don’t see a banner, try turning off your VPN. If you still don’t see the coupon, email me and I’ll give it to you.
I’m not a developer and/or I’m new to Mac, will I be able to use Ruby on Mac?
Absolutely! Ruby on Mac is designed to be beginner-friendly. Follow the detailed step-by-step instructions, and you’ll be up and running in minutes. If you get stuck and the documentation isn’t helpful, I’ll be happy to walk you through it personally over Zoom.
Which versions of macOS are supported?
Ruby on Mac runs on Sonoma, Ventura, and Monterey. It will probably also work on Big Sur, but it’s not guaranteed since Homebrew and Apple typically only support that last 3 macOS versions.
Older macOS versions might work, but I do not provide support for versions older than Monterey, and for beta or release candidate versions. No refunds will be given for script failures on unsupported OSes.
Which processors are supported?
Ruby on Mac runs on Intel, and all Apple Silicon chips (M1/M2).
Which versions of Ruby will I be able to install?
Ruby on Mac automatically installs the latest version of Ruby by default (currently 3.2.2), as well as 3.1.4. You’ll also be able to run a single command to install other Ruby versions. However, to install Ruby versions older than 3.1, you’ll need to buy Ruby on Mac Ultimate.
Ruby versions older than 2.3.0 require using version 14.x of Xcode or the command line tools. If you upgraded your Xcode and/or command line tools to version 15, and if you’re trying to run a project that’s using a Ruby version older than 2.3.0, I highly recommend updating your app to at least 2.3.8. Step-by-step instructions are at the end of this article: how and why to upgrade the Ruby version in your project.
If you need more help getting your legacy project up and running, the Ultimate version of Ruby on Mac includes a free 30-minute consultation. You also have the option to hire me to do it for you.
Note that the oldest 2.7.x version you can install on an Apple Silicon Mac is 2.7.2. If your project currently specifies 2.7.0 or 2.7.1, you should update your project to use 2.7.8.
To switch between versions, you’ll use the “chruby” tool by default. If you prefer using a different tool for switching between Ruby versions (such as asdf, frum, rbenv, or rvm), the Ultimate version of Ruby on Mac lets you set your preferred version manager.
All of this explained in the detailed documentation that comes with Ruby on Mac.
Can I purchase a license for my entire team?
Yes! The team license is available with the Ultimate version of Ruby on Mac. You can purchase a license that you can share with up to 25 people for a one-time fee of $599 USD.
Buy an Ultimate Team license for $599 USD
Can I upgrade from Prime to Ultimate?
Absolutely! In the Ruby on Mac documentation, you’ll find the coupon code to upgrade to Ultimate. The upgrade cost will be the difference between what you paid originally and the full cost of Ultimate at the time of the upgrade.
However, note that the upgrade offer is only available if less than 1 year has passed since your last Prime purchase.
Note that the price of Ultimate has increased several times in the past, and might again in the future, so it will cost more if you wait too long to upgrade.
Is there a student discount?
Yes! If you’re actively enrolled in an educational program, you can receive 20% off the full cost of Ruby on Mac. This discount can’t be combined with any other discounts.
This discount is intended for full-time or part-time students, including coding bootcamps like General Assembly.
To get your unique coupon code, email me at moncef@rubyonmac.dev with proof of enrollment.
You have another question?
Check out the full FAQ.
Who created Ruby on Mac?
Hi there! I'm Moncef Belyamani, a Ruby, Rails, and Automation consultant with 24 years of web development experience.
Eleven years ago, I wanted to start my first programming blog. I thought it would help me stand out as a developer. I wanted to use Octopress, a gem based on Jekyll.
Just like you, I ran into lots of problems. I spent hours searching for a solution. But then I figured out the exact step-by-step recipe for setting up Ruby on a Mac.
That was my first blog post, and it quickly became popular. People kept telling me it was by far the best resource they found. Over the past eleven years, I've helped hundreds of thousands of people set up Ruby on their Mac. In February 2022, I created Ruby on Mac, which automates the whole process, and fixes all the common errors people run into.
Knowing how painful it can be to set up and maintain Ruby properly on a Mac, I've made it as easy as possible.
Previously, I spent eight years in Civic Tech, working on open source projects that improved the lives of millions of people. I shaped Engineering best practices, and helped teams and companies save $100K per year by automating manual tasks, speeding up daily workflows and test suites, improving developer happiness, and reducing meetings.
Get back on track with Ruby on Mac.
Get peace of mind that you'll always have a working Ruby dev setup.
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