Installing Ruby on Rails on Ubuntu 20.04

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

• Deploy a new Ubuntu 20.04 Vultr cloud server.
• Set up a non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Verify that your server is up to date.

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.