How To Upgrade Ruby Version

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As a Ruby developer, it’s important to keep your Ruby version up-to-date to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and performance improvements. In this post, we’ll go through the process of upgrading your Ruby version step by step, using the Ruby Version Manager (RVM) and rbenv, the two most popular Ruby version management tools.

Upgrading Ruby with RVM

RVM makes it easy to install and manage multiple versions of Ruby, allowing you to switch between them as needed. Here’s how to upgrade your Ruby version using RVM:

  1. First, make sure RVM is up-to-date by running:

    rvm get stable

  2. List the available Ruby versions with the following command:

    rvm list known

    This command will show you a list of Ruby versions that are available for installation. Find the version you want to upgrade to and make a note of it.

  3. Install the new Ruby version using the rvm install command followed by the version number. For example, to install Ruby 2.7.1, run:

    rvm install 2.7.1

  4. Set the new Ruby version as your default:

    rvm use 2.7.1 --default

  5. To confirm that you’re now using the new version, run:

    ruby -v

If you want to switch back to a previous Ruby version, you can use the rvm use command followed by the version number, like so:

rvm use 2.6.5

Upgrading Ruby with rbenv

rbenv is another popular Ruby version management tool that provides an easy way to switch between different Ruby versions. Here’s how to upgrade your Ruby version using rbenv:

  1. First, update the rbenv and ruby-build plugins:

    brew update
brew upgrade rbenv ruby-build

  2. Install the new Ruby version using the rbenv install command followed by the version number. For example, to install Ruby 2.7.1, run:

    rbenv install 2.7.1

  3. Set the new Ruby version as your default:

    rbenv global 2.7.1

  4. To confirm that you’re now using the new version, run:

    ruby -v

If you want to switch back to a previous Ruby version, you can use the rbenv global command followed by the version number, like so:

rbenv global 2.6.5

Conclusion

Keeping your Ruby version up-to-date is important for ensuring the security, stability, and performance of your applications. Using a version management tool like RVM or rbenv makes it easy to install and switch between Ruby versions. Follow the steps in this guide to upgrade your Ruby version and enjoy the benefits of the latest features and improvements.