Goodbye gem and Ruby installation issues.
Hello Ruby on Mac.
Without Ruby on Mac: Spend hours or days trying to get your Rails, Jekyll, iOS, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Cocoapods, 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, whether you're having trouble with your existing setup, or installing Ruby for the first time.
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🥇
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.
Everything worked perfectly. As a software developer for 35 years I can say I'm very impressed at what you have been able to put together. It seems pretty much bullet-proof. Bravo!
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 tried using AI, searching Google, 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. And you're not sure if you can trust AI to not make things worse or unsafe.
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Or maybe you followed outdated advice to use Rosetta, "arch -x86_64", or "LDFLAGS", and now you're getting errors like these about incompatible architecture: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
Perhaps you used Migration Assistant to transfer files from your Intel Mac to your Apple Silicon Mac, and you didn't realize it would mess up your development environment.
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, blindly trusting AI, 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. Built by hand by a trusted expert.
Meet your lifesaver, Ruby on Mac
Ruby on Mac is the fastest, safest, easiest, and most reliable way to set up, restore, and maintain 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 you 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 on any Apple Silicon 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 gives 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:
-
The fastest and most reliable way to install Ruby on a Mac
- Ruby on Mac Ultimate installs Ruby faster than most other version managers when using their default settings. It's twice as fast as rbenv and asdf!
-
Reset Mode
- If your existing dev environment is not working, Ruby on Mac 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.
-
Web Development Tools
- By default, Ruby on Mac installs all the tools you'll need to get started right away: Homebrew, Command Line Tools, Ruby 4.x and 3.4.11, chruby, ruby-install, Bundler, Cocoapods, Jekyll, Rails, Git, GitHub CLI, Heroku CLI, Node, Nodenv, Postgres, Redis, and Yarn. You also have the option to skip some of these tools.
-
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".
-
Choose your preferred Ruby version manager
- The first time you run Ruby on Mac Ultimate, it will ask you to choose between chruby, mise, asdf, 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.
-
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.
-
Manage and maintain your dev setup with the rom CLI
- Ruby on Mac Ultimate comes with a CLI to make it easy to run the script regularly to keep your system up to date. You can also easily install additional Ruby versions, uninstall versions you no longer need, and many more helpful and time-saving commands coming soon.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Easily customize macOS preferences
- Ruby on Mac Ultimate comes with a YAML file that makes it super easy to set 20+ macOS preferences.
-
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.
-
License can be activated on 4 Macs at a time
- You can run Ruby on Mac Ultimate on 4 Macs at the same time.
-
Automatic updates of the Ruby on Mac software
- Each time you run Ruby on Mac, it will check to see if there's a new version available. If so, it will prompt you to update, and if you say yes, it will automatically download and install the latest version for you.
-
Faster gem installation
- Ruby on Mac 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.
-
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.
-
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.
People love Ruby on Mac 💜
It worked like a charm. I was actually shocked. I texted multiple friends about it.
I had all kinds of problems that I didn't know how to fix. I had tried asdf
and rvm and probably another couple. I kept getting SSL errors for gems and
all kinds of crap. Ruby on Mac just worked first try without reset mode.
It was magic.
Thank you!
It really was a life saver, not sure what other option I would have had other
than to completely erase my computer start from scratch. That’s something
I would not have done, I just would have not build projects and told the devs
that I can’t help with testing. Really a dead-end blocker when this stuff doesn’t work.
Having had a Mac for many years, I think my system was clogged by some old
configurations and pre M-1 builds. So various projects did not build for me
and devs tried to help me but also could not figure it out. I spent many
hours trying to understand how it works, but to no avail.
The Ruby on Mac reset did it though and so far things are working smoothly.
Thanks for building this helpful tool.
Praise God for this tool! Thank you for developing it. This saved us weeks worth of troubleshooting and configuring everything. We may have never been able to figure it all out.
My setup now starts with Ruby on Mac - it helps to get the machine into a state where I can just go about my day with RVM instead of fighting with the Mac's unfortunate default state. It's a serious time saver with some extra value add nuggets.
Creator of RVM
My local dev environment had become increasingly sloppy over the years — lots
of migrations from computer to computer, permissions issues, etc. I spent a
lot of time remedying things on my own, and I am so glad I found Ruby on Mac
when I did.
I couldn't be more impressed with the product and am very appreciative
of Moncef and the fantastic customer support. Ruby on Mac is well worth it.
As a new MacOs user, I had already given up on what to do as I
couldn't even run flutter. Spent over 3 days trying to figure out
how to get ruby to work and why Cocoapods won't even install.
Your RubyOnMac script helped me overcome a major headache and I just
can't thank you enough. I am from a low purchasing power country and
your discount code helped soften the financial blow to my earnings.
Thank You once again for developing such a wonderful tool.
Yes, it did work. A co-worker had discovered it. We are both iOS App Developers
and recently inherited a very large app to maintain. It used 19 different
frameworks all managed by CocoaPods which in turn is based upon Ruby. Though
we have the latest Macs and MacOS, the Ruby included by Apple is older than
current and that used by the framework developers.
Thankfully, I was able to “reset” my Ruby Stack using your tooling and saved
probably a WEEK or more of “headbanging” getting all the dependencies sorted out.
The iOS app went from having literally dozens of errors to a clean compile once
that was done. Worth every cent.
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.
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!
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.
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
Thanks a lot, running "rom setup unity" and letting unity build to a clean folder made my game build again :) I was really frustrated over this stuff, but now I am super happy that I found rom!!!
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
The unfathomable and horrible number of hours I would have spent in utter disappointment trying to do this all by myself are goners! And I can resume the Jekyll journey in peace now 😎 Thank you again.
I was having some issues with react native environment setup. I use a M1 macbook and it was too hard to build a react native environment. I tried different versions of react native and ruby with no success. This was before rubyonmac :) The rubyonmac solved 99% of the issues with ruby and cocoapods dependencies. The only thing I had to do was to execute a "bundle install" and "pod install" inside the ios directory of my react native project and I was ready to go.
When I first purchased Ruby on Mac, it was smooth as silk, installed quickly and easily, no issues at all. I purchased it because I just bought my first apple computer (MacBook Pro) so learn flutter/dart to develop for android/iOS so I’m new to the MacOS. Ruby on Mac seemed like the best solution for getting ruby and having cocoa pods installed plus I felt that I wasn’t “going it alone” because you made it clear that I could address any issues or concerns to you directly, and that’s what made my choice for me. Thank you for building this tool.
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!
Yes, it worked! I had a cocoapods project I couldn’t get building on my M1 mac no matter what I did, and this finally solved the issue.
Everything worked perfectly. As a software developer for 35 years I can say I'm very impressed at what you have been able to put together. It seems pretty much bullet-proof. Bravo!
Trusted by 2500+ people at these companies and universities from all over the world
Join 2534 others who got unstuck right away.
Save hours whether you're setting up a new Mac, or having issues with your existing setup.
Ruby on Mac Ultimate
The fastest, safest, easiest, and most reliable way to set up, restore, and maintain a proper Ruby dev environment on a Mac.
See the full list of features.
What’s included
- Run a single command, and get a complete Ruby dev setup in 15 minutes or less
- Reset mode to clean up your dev setup in 1 minute
- Automatically installs the latest Ruby 4.x and 3.4.x
- Install the latest Ruby patch versions as old as 2.6.10 on Sequoia and higher.
- Set your preferred Ruby version manager — mise, asdf, chruby, frum, rbenv or rvm
- Set the default gems you want installed for each Ruby version
- Keeps Rubygems up to date
- Painlessly install MySQL and the mysql2 gem (no more "dyld missing symbol called" errors!)
- Built in support for YJIT and Jemalloc
- Support for Unity and iOS Resolver issues related to Cocoapods
- rom CLI to keep your dev setup up to date and perform common actions.
- Set up a new Mac in minutes with all your dev tools, Mac apps, fonts, macOS preferences, Git preferences, and GitHub repos.
- Comprehensive documentation and troubleshooting guide
- Save $10,000+ and 100+ hours by not writing and maintaining 10,000+ lines of code yourself
Pay once, own it forever
$149 USD
Plus local taxes.
Get back on track with Ruby on Mac30-day money-back guarantee.
Please review the FAQs prior to purchase. If anything isn’t clear, email me.
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 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 3 Macs: my main M4 MacBook Air, and my spare M1 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, October 2022, June 2023, June 2024, October 2024, March 2025, October 2025, July 2026, and September 2026. 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 as soon as possible after 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 the same day it’s released, without having to update any tools manually.
Ruby on Mac Ultimate also installs Ruby faster than most other version managers, and twice as fast as rbenv and asdf.
The best part is that Ruby on Mac Ultimate supports all the popular version managers: mise, 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 Ruby on Mac fix issues with my 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?
The following are not covered by the guarantee:
- Unsupported macOS versions
- Unsupported Ruby versions
- Intel Macs
- Using Ruby on Mac 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 Ruby on Mac fix issues with my projects?
The short answer is “it depends.”
If you haven’t yet run Ruby on Mac, and you’re not able to install a particular Ruby version, or 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. Note that only the Ultimate version of Ruby on Mac supports Ruby versions that have reached end of life (older than 3.3) (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 project from running, such as bugs in your code and outdated gems/dependencies.
If after running Ruby on Mac, you still 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.
For help with existing projects, here are your choices:
- Book a consultation with me.
- Figure things out on your own with the help of the Ruby on Mac documentation (see the section called “Issues with existing projects”) 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 that’s separate from the one preinstalled by Apple.
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.
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 Apple Silicon Mac, this will only work if the latest version of those gems is compatible with Apple Silicon.
Below are some gems that are not fully compatible with Apple Silicon. 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 Apple Silicon 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 Apple Silicon Macs
- How To Update Gems In Your Gemfile
- How and Why to Upgrade the Ruby Version in Your Project
If you prefer personalized help, book a consultation with me.
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 the latest Ruby patch versions as old as 2.6.10 (on Apple Silicon Macs running macOS Sequoia and higher). 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.
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 Golden Gate (macOS 27), Tahoe (macOS 26), and Sequoia. It might also work on Sonoma or earlier, but it’s not guaranteed since Homebrew and Apple only support that last 3 macOS versions.
Older macOS versions might work, but I do not provide support for versions older than Sequoia, 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 all Apple Silicon chips (M1 and later). Intel and Rosetta are no longer supported because Homebrew no longer supports Intel as of September 2026.
Which versions of Ruby will I be able to install?
The short answer is that the latest patch versions (the 3rd digit) below are always guaranteed to work. Older patch versions will most likely work for Ruby versions that haven’t reached end of life (versions 3.3 and higher), but it’s definitely not guaranteed for Ruby versions older than that. For example, Ruby 2.7.0 and 2.7.1 definitely cannot be installed on macOS Sequoia and higher. Same with Ruby versions 2.4.0 through 2.4.4.
This does not mean that you can’t work on your project anymore. A lot of people get stuck because they think they absolutely have to use the exact version that a project is using. That is not true at all. The solution is to update the project to use the latest patch version, which is a very easy and safe change to make. Please read this guide for more details:
How and Why to Upgrade the Ruby Version in Your Project
Latest patch versions:
- 4.0.7
- 3.4.11
- 3.3.12
- 3.2.11 (requires Ruby on Mac Ultimate)
- 3.1.7 (requires Ruby on Mac Ultimate)
- 3.0.7 (requires Ruby on Mac Ultimate)
- 2.7.8 (requires Ruby on Mac Ultimate)
- 2.6.10 (requires Ruby on Mac Ultimate)
If you need more help getting your legacy project up and running, book a consultation with me.
You have another question?
Check out the full FAQ.
Who created Ruby on Mac?
Hi there! I'm Moncef Belyamani, the Ruby on Mac guy.
Over the past 14 years, I've written tutorials that have helped hundreds of thousands of people who were struggling to get their Ruby projects up and running. That experience led me to launch Ruby on Mac in February 2022. It's the fastest, safest, and most reliable way to set up, restore, and maintain a proper Ruby dev environment on a Mac.
I've helped teams and companies save 3 to 7 work-months per year through automation, speeding up test suites, eliminating and reducing unnecessary meetings, improving developer happiness and productivity, and improving code quality and maintainability.
Get peace of mind that you'll always have a working Ruby dev setup.
30-day money-back guarantee.