I’m getting lost trying to figure out where to download Ruby gems from. There seem to be multiple popular sources available and I can’t decide which one is best.
Gemcutter looks pretty modern and has a clean interface. Should I stick with that one for all my gem installations?
My main worry is ending up with outdated or buggy gem versions. If I don’t explicitly set a source when installing, could I accidentally get an old release instead of the newest one?
Also, why do we even have multiple gem repositories in the first place? Wouldn’t it be simpler to have just one official source?
Hit this same issue three years ago with legacy Rails apps. The confusion’s just Ruby history - stick with RubyGems.org and you’re good. Here’s what clicked for me: gem versioning happens in your Gemfile.lock, not which repo you use. Worried about wrong versions? Focus on proper dependency management with Bundler instead of repo-hopping. The ecosystem moved to RubyGems.org because it’s more secure, reliable, and has better tooling than the old fragmented mess. Quick check: run gem sources -l - should only show RubyGems.org by default.
don’t stress about it! gemcutter is now rubygems.org, that’s the standard! rubyforge is gone for good. when u do gem install, it gets the latest from rubygems.org by default, so you’ll be good! the old multiple repos? just past growing pains.
This question feels a bit outdated as the Ruby ecosystem has standardized around RubyGems.org, which was previously known as Gemcutter. RubyForge is no longer operational, and GitHub primarily serves as a hosting platform for source code rather than a gem repository. By default, when you execute gem install, it retrieves gems from RubyGems.org, making it a reliable choice. The multiple repositories existed in the past due to different platforms emerging at various times, but now RubyGems.org is the go-to. It’s understandable to be cautious about outdated versions, but relying on the default source and running bundle update can help you stay up to date without issues.
Had the exact same confusion when I started with Ruby! The whole thing’s way simpler now - RubyGems.org is what Gemcutter turned into after becoming the official repo. RubyForge died in 2014, so forget about that. You don’t need to mess with sources anymore unless you’re dealing with private gems or corporate repos. The gem command just pulls from RubyGems.org by default, and I’ve never gotten stuck with old versions. The multiple repo mess happened because Ruby was still figuring out distribution early on. RubyForge was first, then Gemcutter showed up with better tools, so everyone migrated. GitHub hosts source code but gems get published to RubyGems.org.