| name | ruby |
| description | Ruby gem development with modern tooling, testing, and publishing. Use when working with .gemspec, Rakefile, or user asks about gem structure, RSpec for gems, Bundler, or gem publishing. Not for Rails apps (use rails skill). |
| compatibility | Requires Bundler. Optional: RuboCop, SimpleCov. |
| allowed-tools | ["mcp__acp__Read","mcp__acp__Edit","mcp__acp__Write","mcp__acp__Bash"] |
ABOUTME: Ruby gem development guide - structure, testing, linting, CI/CD, publishing
ABOUTME: Conventions for gemspec, RSpec, RuboCop, publishing with attestation
Ruby Gem Development
Quick Reference
bundle gem my_gem --test=rspec --ci=github --linter=rubocop
bundle install && bundle exec rspec && bundle exec rubocop -A
gem build my_gem.gemspec
gem push my_gem-1.0.0.gem --attestation
For Rails apps, use rails skill. See also: _AST_GREP.md, _PATTERNS.md, source-control
Version (determine, don't assume)
See ../_LANG_COMMON.md. Fetch the truth:
ruby -v
cat .ruby-version 2>/dev/null
curl -s https://endoflife.date/api/ruby.json | jq -r '.[0].latest'
Read .ruby-version / Gemfile / <gem>.gemspec (required_ruby_version) for the project's floor.
Pre-Commit Verification (MANDATORY)
make check && make test-e2e must pass (enforced by the pre-commit-gate hook; see ../_LANG_COMMON.md). What make check expands to for a gem:
bundle exec rubocop
bundle exec rspec
bundle exec bundler-audit check --update
Gem Structure
my_gem/
├── lib/my_gem.rb # Entry point
├── lib/my_gem/version.rb # VERSION constant
├── spec/ # RSpec tests
├── sig/ # RBS types (optional)
├── .github/workflows/ci.yml
├── .rubocop.yml
├── my_gem.gemspec
└── Gemfile
Entry Point (lib/my_gem.rb)
require_relative "my_gem/version"
require_relative "my_gem/client"
module MyGem
class << self
attr_writer :configuration
def configuration = @configuration ||= Configuration.new
def configure = yield(configuration) if block_given?
end
end
Gemspec
Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
spec.name = "my_gem"
spec.version = MyGem::VERSION
spec.required_ruby_version = ">= <current stable minus one>"
spec.metadata = {
"rubygems_mfa_required" => "true",
"source_code_uri" => "https://github.com/you/my_gem",
"changelog_uri" => "https://github.com/you/my_gem/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md"
}
spec.files = Dir.glob(%w[lib/**/* LICENSE.txt README.md CHANGELOG.md])
end
Testing & Quality
RSpec: describe/it with expect syntax, subject(:name), WebMock for HTTP, SimpleCov >= 90%.
RuboCop: rubocop-rspec + rubocop-performance, TargetRubyVersion set to the gem's required_ruby_version floor (do not hardcode from memory), NewCops: enable, max line 120, max method 10.
Thread safety: Mutex.new + @mutex.synchronize { ... } for shared state.
For detailed testing examples, CI config, HTTP client pattern, and publishing steps, see references/ruby-patterns.md.
Code Review Checklist
| Category | Checks |
|---|
| Structure | frozen_string_literal, ABOUTME headers, standard layout |
| Gemspec | required_ruby_version, rubygems_mfa_required, metadata URIs |
| Testing | RSpec expect syntax, SimpleCov >= 90%, WebMock, no real HTTP |
| Quality | RuboCop passes, thread-safe if async, custom error classes |
| CI | Matrix on the two latest stable Ruby minors (check endoflife.date, do not hardcode), ruby/setup-ruby, bundler-cache |
Resources