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https://github.com/gel-rb/gel

A modern gem manager: Gel is a lightweight alternative to Bundler
https://github.com/gel-rb/gel

dependency-manager package-manager ruby rubygems

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A modern gem manager: Gel is a lightweight alternative to Bundler

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# Gel



A modern gem manager.



Gel is a lightweight alternative to Bundler.



Through a combination of algorithm choices and skipping compatibility

with some legacy features that date back to the earliest days of

RubyGems, Gel is able to outperform both Bundler and RubyGems in many

common use cases.



In making this trade, Gel chooses not to support some less frequently

used, but independently valuable, Bundler features:



|         |         Gel        | Bundler & Rubygems |

|---------|--------------------|--------------------|

| install | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: |

| update  | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: |

| lock    | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: |

| exec    | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: |

| gem authoring | :x:  | :white_check_mark: |

| vendoring     | :ok: | :white_check_mark: |

| anything else | :x:  | :white_check_mark: |



In most cases, Gel will be a drop-in replacement, and you can still use

RubyGems directly if you need to `gem push`, for example.



## Can I Use Gel Today?



I ([@matthewd](https://github.com/matthewd)) have been using Gel

exclusively on my local development machines since January 2019. While I

have occasionally encountered issues when installing some new gem, they

have been rare and minor, requiring only a small additional API or

similar -- and as those outliers have been addressed, they become

increasingly infrequent.



In particular (and as is consistent with the type of work it does), Gel

will either work or it will fail -- perhaps on encountering an unusual

construct in your Gemfile, or perhaps while attempting to install a gem

that does something weird. The "latest" it is likely to fail is if, at

runtime, your code (or a gem you've loaded) assumes the presence of a

specific RubyGems/Bundler API that Gel does not emulate. It's extremely

rare to encounter more subtle issues that don't manifest as immediate

failure.



You can use Gel in your local environment with no effect upon your

production setup, or even your coworkers' -- Gel uses the same Gemfile

and Gemfile.lock files as Bundler. It also maintains completely

independent copies of installed gems, so it's totally safe to co-exist

with Bundler on your machine. (Which one is active is determined by the

environment variables within your shell terminal.)



## Why Should I Use Gel?



Gel was written with the goal of improving the performance of common

Bundler tasks.



By focusing on those common requirements, and leaving more obscure needs

to be filled by Bundler, Gel is able to outperform Bundler in the

operations you use most.



Gel also uses a new version solving algorithm called [Pub

Grub](https://medium.com/@nex3/pubgrub-2fb6470504f) to resolve

dependencies between gems, via the `pub_grub` gem

(https://github.com/jhawthorn/pub_grub).



Some real world examples of the types of performance improvements Gel provides over Bundler are as follows:



* `% gel exec rake -version`: 55% faster than `bundle`

* `% gel exec rails --version`: 60% faster than `bundle`

* `% gel exec rails runner nil`: 45% faster than `bundle`



Comparing using a complex, mature Rails application:



* `% gel install`: 55% faster than `bundle`

* `% gel lock`: 78% faster than `bundle` on first run

* `% gel lock`: 95% faster than `bundle` on later runs (cache exists)



Comparing using a simple Gemfile with a complex gem:



```

source "https://rubygems.org"



gem "tty"

```



* `% gel install`: 70% faster than `bundle`

* `% gel lock`: 34% faster than `bundle`



Comparing using an example Gemfile with gems that showcase a difficult version resolving:



```

source "https://rubygems.org"



gem "activerecord"

gem "quiet_assets"

```



* `% gel lock`: 96% faster than `bundle`



This example showcases the speed improvements provided by the new PubGrub Version Solving algorithm.



Note that all of the performance numbers were gathered using just a regular laptop used for common day-to-day development. These numbers were not measured in perfect isolation and your experience may vary.



## Installation



If you're on a Mac, we recommend that you install via Homebrew:



    $ brew install gel



Otherwise, you can install Gel as a gem:



    $ gem install gel



Then, either activate Gel in your current shell:



    $ eval "$(gel shell-setup)"



Or add it to your `.bashrc` or `.zshrc` to enable it everywhere:



    $ echo 'eval "$(gel shell-setup)"' >> ~/.bashrc



## Usage



Use `gel install`, `gel lock`, `gel update`, and `gel exec` as you would

the equivalent `bundle` subcommands.



While it will work, in general you should not actually need to use `gel

exec` directly -- installed gems' executables will automatically respect

the locally locked versions where appropriate.



Where you would previously have run `bundle exec rubocop` or

`bundle exec rake` inside an application directory, you can run

`rubocop` or `rake` and expect the same results, even if you have other

versions of those gems installed.



## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES



* `GEL_GEMFILE`

  The path to the gemfile gel should use



* `GEL_LOCKFILE`

  The path to the lockfile that gel should use



* `GEL_CACHE`

  The path to the gel version information cache



* `GEL_AUTH`

  Gem server credentials as a space-separated list of URIs, e.g.:

  "http://user:[email protected]/ http://user2:[email protected]/"



## Development



After checking out the repo, run `bin/setup` to install dependencies. Then, run `bin/rake test` to run the tests.



To use your development instance as your primary Gel, add its `exe/` to your `$PATH` before running `shell-setup`, ensuring it comes before any RubyGems `bin` directory that might override it.



For example:



```sh

PATH="$HOME/projects/gel/exe:$PATH"

eval "$(gel shell-setup)"

```



## Contributing



Bug reports and pull requests are welcome on GitHub at https://github.com/gel-rb/gel. This project is intended to be a safe, welcoming space for collaboration, and contributors are expected to adhere to the [Contributor Covenant](http://contributor-covenant.org) code of conduct.



## License



The gem is available as open source under the terms of the [MIT License](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT).



## Code of Conduct



Everyone interacting in the Gel project’s codebases, issue trackers, chat rooms and mailing lists is expected to follow the [code of conduct](https://github.com/gel-rb/gel/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).