# Install brew-gem with Homebrew Install RubyGems as Homebrew formulae. Version 1.3.4 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-27. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:brew-gem ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install brew-gem ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:brew-gem - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 1.3.4 - **Source summary:** Install RubyGems as Homebrew formulae - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Last updated:** 2026-05-27T00:14:05Z - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - brew-gem (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 1.3.4 ## 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 Notes 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. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/brew-gem.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/brew-gem.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - cross-ecosystem install command graph