Installing Ruby on Rails on Ubuntu 20.04

Updated on 01 April, 2025
Learn how to install Ruby on Rails on Ubuntu 20.04. Follow this guide for an efficient setup of your web framework.
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Overview

Ruby on Rails or Rails is an open-source web framework written in Ruby. It enables developers to efficiently build server-side rendered web applications through a model-view-controller code structure.

Prerequisites

Install Dependencies

  1. Install build-essential.

     $ sudo apt-get install build-essential
  2. Install the developer dependencies.

     $ sudo apt-get install libssl-dev zlib1g-dev sqlite3 libsqlite3-dev
  3. Install Git and curl if not already installed.

     $ sudo apt-get install git curl

Install Nodejs & Yarn

Rails uses the Javascript runtime through Nodejs to build applications through its Asset Pipeline.

  1. Install the latest LTS version of Nodejs.

     $ curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
     $ sudo apt-get install nodejs
  2. Verify successful Nodejs installation.

     $ node -v
     v16.xx.x
  3. Install Yarn.

     $ curl -fsSL https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/pubkey.gpg | sudo apt-key add -
     $ echo "deb https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/ stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yarn.list
     $ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install yarn
  4. Verify successful Yarn installation.

     $ yarn -v
     1.2x.xx

Install rbenv

rbenv is a Ruby version manager used to install and manage Ruby environments.

  1. Install rbenv.

     $ curl -fsSL https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv-installer/raw/HEAD/bin/rbenv-installer | bash

    > This script automatically installs and updates rbenv.

  2. Add rbenv to the path.

     $ echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.rbenv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
     $ echo 'eval "$(rbenv init - bash)"' >> ~/.bashrc
     $ exec $SHELL
  3. Test that rbenv is installed correctly.

     $ curl -fsSL https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv-installer/raw/HEAD/bin/rbenv-doctor | bash
  4. Confirm audit results.

     $ Checking for `rbenv' in PATH: /home/user/.rbenv/bin/rbenv
     $ Checking for rbenv shims in PATH: OK

    > Verify PATH is correct by replacing user with your user name.

Install Ruby

  1. List the latest stable versions of Ruby.

     $ rbenv install -l
  2. Install Ruby with the desired version.

    Keep in mind, Rails requires Ruby 2.5.0 or greater.

     $ rbenv install 3.0.2 -v
  3. Set global Ruby version.

     $ rbenv global 3.0.2
  4. Confirm installation with similar output.

     $ ruby -v
     ruby 3.0.2pxxx
  5. Install Bundler using gem.

     $ gem install bundler

Installing Rails

  1. Install Rails using gem.

     $ gem install rails
  2. Confirm successful installation.

     $ rails -v
     Rails 6.x.x.x

Creating a Test Application

  1. Create a new Rails project.

     $ cd ~
     $ rails new hello-world
     $ cd hello-world
  2. Start Rails server.

     $ rails server --binding=0.0.0.0
  3. Navigate to your server's IP address at port 3000 in a web browser. For example:

     $ http://192.0.2.123:3000

You should see a working Rails server response.

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