Unicorn restart issue with capistrano

Question

We're deploying with cap and using a script that send USR2 to the unicorn process to reload and it usually works but every once in a while it will fail. When that happens looking in the unicorn log reveals that it's looking for a Gemfile in an old release directory that no longer exists.

Exception :

/usr/local/lib/ruby/gems/1.9.1/gems/bundler-1.0.21/lib/bundler/definition.rb:14:in `build': /var/www/railsapps/inventory/releases/20111128233407/Gemfile not found (Bundler::GemfileNotFound)

To clarify that's not the current release but an older one that's since been removed.

When it works it does seem to work correctly - ie it does pickup the new code - so I don't think it's somehow stuck referring to the old release.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

You should set the BUNDLE_GEMFILE environment variable before you start the server, point it at current/Gemfile.

Answer 2

In your unicorn.rb add the before_exec block

current_path = "/var/www/html/my project/current"

before_exec do |server|
  ENV['BUNDLE_GEMFILE'] = "#{current_path}/Gemfile"
end

Read more about it here http://blog.willj.net/2011/08/02/fixing-the-gemfile-not-found-bundlergemfilenotfound-error/