Rails on Windows

August 30, 2020

Setting Up Ruby on Rails on Windows

Setting up Rails on Windows can be a straightforward process with tools like Scoop and msys2. This guide walks you through the installation of Ruby, Rails, and all necessary dependencies, so you can start developing Rails applications locally on Windows.

Step 1: Installing Ruby with Scoop

First, use Scoop to install ruby, a simple and efficient package manager for Windows.

scoop install ruby

Once installed, Scoop will prompt you to add the msys2 toolchain, which is essential for managing Windows dependencies.

Step 2: Install `msys2`

Now, install msys2 using Scoop to ensure your environment has access to crucial build tools.

scoop install msys2

After this step, you’ll have a compatible Ruby environment ready for Rails setup.

Step 3: Setting Up `ridk`

To further configure msys2, use the ridk tool included with Ruby to finalize installation. Run these commands in order:

ridk install

Then enable the environment:

ridk enable

With this, you’re ready to install Rails.

Step 4: Installing Rails

Now you can install Rails using RubyGems:

gem install rails

If all went well, you should now have both ruby and rails installed.

Checking Versions

Verify your installation by checking the Ruby and Rails versions:

ruby --version
# Expected Output: ruby 2.7.1p83 (2020-03-31 revision a0c7c23c9c) [x64-mingw32]

rails --version
# Expected Output: Rails 6.0.3.2

Step 5: Building Your First Rails Application

With Ruby and Rails installed, let’s create a Rails application to confirm everything is working correctly.

Scaffold a new Rails app by running:

rails new hello-rails

This command generates all the necessary files and installs your app’s dependencies.

Navigate into the app directory:

cd hello-rails

Start the Rails server:

rails s

Your Rails application should now be running locally at http://localhost:3000/. Open this URL in your browser to see the default Rails welcome page.