Setting Up a Ruby Programming Environment on macOS

Ruby is a dynamic programming language you can use to write anything from simple scripts to games and web applications. It was first released in Japan in 1993, but gained popularity in 2005 as a language for server-side web development. Ruby is designed to be easy to use and fun for beginners, but powerful enough to create complex systems. It’s a great choice for beginners and experienced developers alike.

Ruby is already included in a default macOS installation, although it won’t be the most recent version. You may run into compatibility issues when following tutorials or attempting to use other projects if you use it.

In this tutorial, you’ll set up a Ruby programming environment on your local macOS machine using Homebrew, and you’ll test your environment out by writing a simple Ruby program.

Prerequisites

You will need a macOS computer running El Capitan or higher with administrative access and an internet connection.

Step 1 — Using the macOS Terminal

You’ll use the command line interface (CLI) to install Ruby and run various commands related to developing Ruby applications. The command line is a non-graphical way to interact with your computer. Instead of clicking buttons with your mouse, you’ll type commands as text and receive text-based feedback. The command line, also known as a shell, lets you automate many tasks you do on your computer daily, and is an essential tool for software developers.

To access the CLI, you’ll use the Terminal application provided by macOS. Like any other application, you can find it by going into Finder, navigating to the Applications folder, and then into the Utilities folder. From here, double-click the Terminal application to open it up. Alternatively, you can use Spotlight by holding down the COMMAND key and pressing SPACE to find Terminal by typing it out in the box that appears.

macOS Terminal

If you’d like to get comfortable using the command line, take a look at An Introduction to the Linux Terminal. The CLI on macOS is very similar, and the concepts in that tutorial are directly applicable.

Now that you have the Terminal running, let’s install some prerequisites you’ll need for Ruby.

Step 2 — Installing Xcode’s Command Line Tools

Xcode is an integrated development environment (IDE) that is comprised of software development tools for macOS. You won’t need Xcode to write Ruby programs, but Ruby and some of its components will rely on Xcode’s Command Line Tools package.

Execute this command in the Terminal to download and install these components:

You’ll be prompted to start the installation, and then prompted again to accept a software license. Then the tools will download and install automatically.

Step 3 — Installing and Setting Up Homebrew

While the CLI on macOS has a lot of the functionality you’d find in Linux and other Unix systems, it does not ship with a good package manager. A package manager is a collection of software tools that work to automate software installations, configurations, and upgrades.

To install Homebrew, type this command into your Terminal window:

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

Step 4 — Installing Ruby

With Homebrew installed, install Ruby with the following command:

To check the version of Ruby that you installed, type:

Step 5 — Creating a Program

Create a file called hello.rb:

Type the following code into the file:

Run the program:

Conclusion

This small program proves that you have a working development environment. You can use this environment to continue exploring Ruby and build larger, more interesting projects.

Source: digitalocean.com

Create a Free Account

Register now and get access to our Cloud Services.

Posts you might be interested in:

Moderne Hosting Services mit Cloud Server, Managed Server und skalierbarem Cloud Hosting für professionelle IT-Infrastrukturen

Apache Airflow on Ubuntu 24.04 with Nginx and SSL

Apache, Tutorial

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing and configuring the Cohere Toolkit on Ubuntu 24.04. It includes environment preparation, dependency setup, and key commands to run language models and implement Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) workflows. Ideal for developers building AI applications or integrating large language models into their existing projects.

Moderne Hosting Services mit Cloud Server, Managed Server und skalierbarem Cloud Hosting für professionelle IT-Infrastrukturen

Install Ruby on Rails on Debian 12 – Complete Guide

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing and configuring the Cohere Toolkit on Ubuntu 24.04. It includes environment preparation, dependency setup, and key commands to run language models and implement Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) workflows. Ideal for developers building AI applications or integrating large language models into their existing projects.

Moderne Hosting Services mit Cloud Server, Managed Server und skalierbarem Cloud Hosting für professionelle IT-Infrastrukturen

Install VeraCrypt on Ubuntu 24.04 for Secure Encryption

Security, Tutorial

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing and configuring the Cohere Toolkit on Ubuntu 24.04. It includes environment preparation, dependency setup, and key commands to run language models and implement Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) workflows. Ideal for developers building AI applications or integrating large language models into their existing projects.