Changes the current Ruby.

• Updates $PATH.
  • Also adds RubyGems bin/ directories to $PATH.
• Correctly sets $GEM_HOME and $GEM_PATH.
  • Users: gems are installed into ~/.gem/$ruby/$version.
  • Root: gems are installed directly into /path/to/$ruby/$gemdir.
• Additionally sets $RUBY, $RUBY_ENGINE, $RUBY_VERSION and $GEM_ROOT.
• Optionally sets $RUBYOPT if second argument is given.
• Calls hash -r to clear the command-lookup hash-table.
• Fuzzy matching of Rubies by name.
• Defaults to the system Ruby.
• Supports bash and zsh.
• Small (~80 LOC).
• Has tests.

• Does not hook cd.
• Does not install executable shims.
• Does not require Rubies be installed into your home directory.
• Does not automatically switch Rubies upon login or when changing directories.
• Does not require write-access to the Ruby directory in order to install gems.

wget https://github.com/downloads/postmodern/chruby/chruby-0.2.3.tar.gz
tar -xzvf chruby-0.2.3.tar.gz
cd chruby-0.2.3/
make install

All releases are PGP signed for security. Instructions on how to import my PGP key can be found on my blog. To verify that a release was not tampered with:

wget https://github.com/downloads/postmodern/chruby/chruby-0.2.3.tar.gz.asc
gpg --verify chruby-0.2.3.tar.gz.asc chruby-0.2.3.tar.gz

chruby can also be installed with homebrew:

brew install https://raw.github.com/postmodern/chruby/master/homebrew/chruby.rb

Once chruby has been installed, you will probably want to install additional Rubies. This can be done with the ruby-build utility or manually:

• MRI
• JRuby
• Rubinius

Add the following lines to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.profile file:

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

RUBIES=(/opt/rubies/*)

Add the following to /etc/profile.d/chruby.sh or /etc/profile:

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

RUBIES=(
  /opt/ruby-1.9.3-p327
  /opt/jruby-1.7.0
  /opt/rubinius-2.0.0-rc1
)

If you are migrating from another Ruby manager, set RUBIES accordingly:

If you wish to set a default Ruby, simply call chruby in ~/.bashrc:

chruby 1.9.3

List available Rubies:

$ chruby
   ruby-1.9.3-p327
   jruby-1.7.0
   rubinius-2.0.0-rc1

Select a Ruby:

$ chruby 1.9.3
$ chruby
 * ruby-1.9.3-p327
   jruby-1.7.0
   rubinius-2.0.0-rc1
$ echo $PATH
/home/hal/.gem/ruby/1.9.3/bin:/opt/ruby-1.9.3-p327/lib/ruby/gems/1.9.1/bin:/opt/ruby-1.9.3-p327/bin:/usr/lib64/qt-3.3/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/home/hal/bin:/home/hal/bin
$ echo $GEM_HOME
/home/hal/.gem/ruby/1.9.3
$ echo $GEM_PATH
/home/hal/.gem/ruby/1.9.3:/opt/ruby-1.9.3-p327/lib/ruby/gems/1.9.1

Switch to JRuby in 1.9 mode:

$ chruby jruby --1.9
$ ruby -v
jruby 1.7.0 (1.9.3p203) 2012-10-22 ff1ebbe on OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM 1.7.0_09-icedtea-mockbuild_2012_10_17_15_53-b00 [linux-amd64]

Switch back to system Ruby:

$ chruby system
$ echo $PATH
/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/home/hal/bin

Switch to an arbitrary Ruby on the fly:

$ chruby_use /path/to/ruby

Select a Ruby within a cron job:

30 18 * * *   bash -lc "chruby 1.9.3 && /path/to/script"

• RVM
• rbenv
• rbfu
• ry
• ruby-version

yeah chruby is nice, does the limited thing of switching really good, the only hope it never grows

-- Michal Papis of RVM

I just looooove chruby For the first time I'm in total control of all aspects of my Ruby installation.

-- Marius Mathiesen

• mpapis for reviewing the code.