How To Install RVM (Ruby Version Manager) In Ubuntu Via PPA

Ruby Version (enVironment) Manager (or simply RVM) is a tool that manages Ruby application environments and enables switching between them.

RVM has not been packaged for recent Ubuntu versions (it's only available for Ubuntu 12.04, but it's a very old RVM version) and to install or update it, you must run a script. To make things easier, WebUpd8 reader Rael G.C. has packaged RVM for Ubuntu and uploaded it to a PPA, for easy installation and of course, automatic updates.

Here's what the PPA package does:

• installs the latest stable RVM;
• mixed-mode installation is used: usable by all users on the system, with isolated rubies / gemsets in user's $HOME (see more here);
• all sudoers are automatic added to rvm group automatically;
• all sudoers get local gemsets enabled;

Rael's packaging is available on GitHub so if you want to report bugs, make suggestions and so on, see THIS page.

Install RVM (Ruby Version Manager) in Ubuntu via PPA

1. To add Rael's PPA and install RVM in Ubuntu (and derivatives), use the following commands:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:rael-gc/rvm
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install rvm

2. In order to always load RVM, you need to set GNOME Terminal (or whatever terminal emulator you use) to run Bash as login shell. To do this for GNOME Terminal, from its menu select Edit > Profile Preferences and on the Title and Command tab, enable "Run command as login shell".

3. Restart your session (logout and login).

Now you can start using RVM - for instance, install the latest Ruby using:

rvm install ruby

For how to use RVM, see its GitHub page or run "man rvm".

Thanks to Rael for the tip and info!