macOS
Homebrewverified ยท 100%
brew install brew-gemprovider-native install command
brew / rank 2080
Install brew-gem with Homebrew
Install RubyGems as Homebrew formulae. Version 1.3.4 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-27.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Install RubyGems as Homebrew formulae
Project links
Commands and aliases
- brew-gem
history
Project history and usage
brew-gem is a small bridge between RubyGems and Homebrew: it generates Homebrew formulae that install Ruby gems as self-contained Cellar packages.
Project history
The sportngin/brew-gem repository was created in February 2014, with early v0.2.x releases following within weeks. The README explains the core idea: generate a stub formula that runs `gem install` into the formula prefix so the resulting package and dependencies live under Homebrew's Cellar.
The project explicitly limits its purpose to standalone Ruby command-line tools, not development libraries. That philosophy made it a pragmatic workaround for Ruby CLI tools that users wanted to manage with `brew list`, `brew upgrade`, and Homebrew-style uninstalls.
Adoption history
brew-gem remained a niche packaging helper but has persisted unusually long for a glue tool. GitHub metadata and Homebrew formula data show current activity and a stable 1.3.x line, while Homebrew analytics reported several thousand installs over the prior year at lookup time.
How it is used
Users run commands such as `brew gem install heroku`, optionally choosing a specific gem version or Homebrew-installed Ruby. Installed gems are listed with a `gem-` prefix, making Ruby CLI tools visible to normal Homebrew workflows.
Why package nerds care
brew-gem matters because it captures a recurring package-manager problem: language package managers are good at libraries, while OS/package managers are good at executable lifecycle management. It is a compact example of turning language-level packages into system-level formulae without maintaining a formula by hand for every gem.
Timeline
- 2014: Repository created and v0.2.0 released.
- 2014: v0.3.0 released with early Homebrew integration improvements.
- 2018: v0.9.0 release addressed compatibility with newer Homebrew behavior.
- 2026: Homebrew stable version reported as 1.3.4.
Related projects
- RubyGems supplies the upstream packages that brew-gem wraps.
- Homebrew supplies the formula and Cellar lifecycle model.
- Shell completion handling in the README links the tool to bash and zsh completion packaging.
Sources
security posture
No protected-tool coverage found yet
No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for brew-gem. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.
Install behavior
- No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
brew-gem | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-08-03
manager version1.3.4
manager updated2026-05-27
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:brew-gem |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.3.4 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/sportngin/brew-gem |
| Repository | https://github.com/sportngin/brew-gem |
| Last updated | 2026-05-27T00:14:05Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation