IntelliJ IDEA 2023.2 Help

Ruby version managers

The most popular way to install Ruby on Linux or macOS is using a version manager, for example, RVM or rbenv. Version managers allow you to install several Ruby versions on your machine and quickly switch between them. IntelliJ IDEA automatically detects interpreters installed on a local machine and maintained by the following version managers:

You can switch between Ruby interpreters (and gemsets for RVM and rbenv) on the Ruby SDK & Gems page for existing projects, and choose the desired interpreter when creating a new project.

Auto-switch a Ruby interpreter/gemset

Version managers support various types of configuration files used to auto-switch a project's Ruby version and gemset. For example, you can set the Ruby interpreter version to 2.6.3 and the gemset to sample_rails_app in one of the following ways:

  • Using the .ruby-version / .ruby-gemset files

    ruby-2.6.3
    sample_rails_app
  • Using the .versions.conf file

    ruby=2.6.3 ruby-gemset=sample_rails_app

If the corresponding Ruby version is installed and the gemset exists, IntelliJ IDEA automatically switches the project interpreter and gemset on the project opening.

Remote Ruby interpreters

IntelliJ IDEA allows you to use remote Ruby interpreters maintained using version manages. In this case, you have to specify a path to the version manager executable when configuring a remote interpreter. For instance, the following table lists typical paths for Linux.

Version manager

Executable path

RVM

Single-user mode: /home/jetbrains/.rvm/bin/rvm (for the jetbrains user)

Multi-user mode: /usr/local/rvm/bin/rvm

Mixed mode: /usr/share/rvm/bin/rvm

rbenv

/home/jetbrains/.rbenv/bin/rbenv (for the jetbrains user)

/usr/bin/rbenv

chruby

/usr/local/share/chruby/chruby.sh

asdf

/home/jetbrains/.asdf/bin/asdf (for the jetbrains user)

How to: Debug detecting of Ruby interpreters

If you have issues with detecting local Ruby interpreters maintained by your version manager, follow the steps below to help us determine the cause of the problem:

  1. Open IntelliJ IDEA and go to Help | Diagnostic Tools | Debug Log Settings.

  2. In the invoked dialog, specify a logger identifier for your version manager:

    • RVM: #org.jetbrains.plugins.ruby.version.management.rvm.RvmSdkRefresher

    • rbenv: #org.jetbrains.plugins.ruby.version.management.rbenv.RbenvSdkRefresher

    • chruby: #org.jetbrains.plugins.ruby.version.management.chruby.ChrubySdkRefresher

    • asdf: #org.jetbrains.plugins.ruby.version.management.asdf.AsdfSdkRefresher

    Custom Debug Log Configuration dialog

    Click OK.

  3. Restart IntelliJ IDEA.

  4. Open a log file and make sure it contains entries corresponding to your version manager, for example:

    2018-07-30 16:57:18,237 [7350] DEBUG - management.asdf.AsdfSdkRefresher - Refreshing sdks
  5. Create an issue and attach the logs.

Last modified: 26 June 2023