Ruby: How can I verify my gemfile is correct?

Question

PLEASE NOTE: Application A, Application B and GemX are to help illustrate the example only, they are not real Applications or Ruby Gems.

I am developing "Application A." On my local dev environment, I install all the gems I need to.

Then, I start developing "Application B." Application B requires all the gems that Application A does with on addition "Gem X."

I do a ruby install gemx on my local dev environment, but in my absentmindedness, I forget to add the gemx entry to my gemfile.

I send my ruby source somewhere else (for example, to a friend who wants to use application B, or a production environment). But the application fails because it depends on gemx, but gemx is not installed as part of the bundling.

How can I test if my gemfile is correct in my local dev environment? I assume there is an easier way than to do the following in my local dev environment

1. Uninstalling my dependencies
2. Using bundler to reinstall all my dependencies
3. Running app to make sure all dependencies have been installed

Answer 1

This shouldn’t be an issue if you’re using Bundler properly since it modifies the $LOAD_PATH so that only the gems listed in the Gemfile are able to be required. Ensure you are calling:

require 'bundler'
Bundler.setup

somewhere in your code. In some cases (notably gems) this will likely only be in tests. In applications themselves it’s typically in your “boot” file.