Installing Ruby on Rails: A Beginner’s Guide

Ruby on Rails, often referred to as Rails, is a powerful and popular web application framework known for its simplicity, elegance, and developer-friendly features. If you’re just starting your journey in web development and want to explore the world of Rails, the first step is to install it on your machine. In this article, we will guide you through the process of installing Ruby on Rails on your system, whether you’re using Windows, macOS, or Linux.

Prerequisites

Before diving into the installation process, it’s important to ensure that you have the necessary prerequisites. The two primary requirements are:

1. Ruby: Rails is built on top of the Ruby programming language. You need to have Ruby installed on your machine. It’s recommended to use Ruby version 2.7 or higher.
2. RubyGems: RubyGems is a package manager for Ruby. It comes bundled with Ruby 1.9.2 and later, so you likely won’t need to install it separately.

Installing Rails on Windows

Installing Ruby on Rails on Windows can be a bit different from other platforms. The recommended way to set up Rails on Windows is by using the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and installing Rails within that environment. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Install WSL:

• Open PowerShell as an administrator.
• Run the following command to enable WSL and install a Linux distribution (e.g., Ubuntu):
  dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart
• After the installation is complete, reboot your computer.

1. Install Ubuntu on WSL:

• Open the Microsoft Store and search for “Ubuntu.”
• Choose a version and click “Install.”
• Launch Ubuntu and follow the initial setup instructions to create a user account.

1. Update Ubuntu and Install Dependencies:

• Run the following commands to update the package list and install dependencies:
  “`
  sudo apt update
  sudo apt upgrade
  sudo apt install -y git curl libsqlite3-dev

1. Install Ruby:

• To install Ruby, you can use a tool like Rbenv or RVM. Follow the instructions on their respective websites to set up Ruby.

1. Install Rails:

• After you’ve installed Ruby, you can use the gem package manager to install Rails:
  gem install rails

1. Verify Installation:

• Run the following command to ensure Rails is installed correctly:
  rails -v

Installing Rails on macOS and Linux

Installing Rails on macOS and Linux is relatively straightforward. Here are the general steps:

1. Install Ruby:

• Both macOS and Linux come with a pre-installed version of Ruby. However, you may want to use a version manager like Rbenv or RVM to manage your Ruby versions. This allows you to easily switch between Ruby versions when needed.

1. Install Rails:

• Once you have Ruby installed, you can install Rails using the gem package manager:
  gem install rails

1. Verify Installation:

• To confirm that Rails is installed, run the following command:
  rails -v

Updating Rails

After you’ve successfully installed Rails, it’s important to keep it up to date. You can update Rails to the latest version by running the following command:

gem update rails

Conclusion

Installing Ruby on Rails is the first step towards building web applications with this powerful framework. Whether you’re on Windows, macOS, or Linux, the installation process is manageable with the right guidance. Once Rails is set up on your machine, you’ll be ready to dive into web development and explore the vast capabilities of Ruby on Rails. Good luck on your journey, and happy coding!