RVM

6.8easy start · #18 of 51
in Development Environment Managers

Free to practise onnot on record
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you workyes

Runs on Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows.

RVM is ranked #18 of 51 in development environment managers on The Geeks Club. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web, Windows.

Compared on development environment managers

Free plan: Yes
Supported scope: language_and_sdk
Project version pinning: Yes
Lockfile support: Yes
Automatic switching: Yes
Shell integration: Yes
Operating systems: cross_platform
CI/CD usage: Yes

Best RVM alternatives

See all 12

ActiveState Platform 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 17.9 FlyEnv 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 27.6 devenv 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 37.3 Devbox 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 47.2 Flox 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 57.2 vfox 0 of 4 in the starter kit Lesson 67.2

The record

Purpose: RVM is a command-line tool for installing and managing multiple Ruby environments, from interpreters to gem sets.
Project isolation: RVM can give each project a self-contained environment with a specific Ruby version and the gems it needs.
Ruby testing: RVM can run test suites, rake tasks, benchmarks, and gem commands against multiple Ruby versions.
Gem management: Named gemsets let users manage gems across Ruby versions, and RVM uses a shared cache so each downloaded gem has one on-disk copy.
Integrations: The documentation lists integrations including Bundler, Capistrano, Chef, Jenkins, Heroku, and Passenger.
Security: RVM says it cryptographically signs releases and the installer script, and verifies signatures during updates.
User permissions: RVM says its user-space setup encourages non-root use and limits a compromised Ruby process from compromising the entire system.
Supported systems: RVM supports most UNIX-like systems and Windows through Cygwin or Bash on Ubuntu on Windows.
Installation requirements: The installation page lists bash, curl, gpg2, and GNU versions of tools as basic requirements.
Installation modes: RVM documents single-user, multi-user, and mixed-mode installations, and recommends single-user installation for an isolated setup in a user's home directory.
Support: RVM is maintained by community volunteers, with support through issue trackers and pull requests.
Funding: RVM requests donations and sponsorship to help maintain the project.
CLI actions: The CLI includes commands to install, use, upgrade, reinstall, uninstall, and remove Ruby versions.
Deployment environments: RVM provides self-contained, dedicated Ruby and gem environments for individual projects.

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Development Environment Managers in 2026#18 of 51
Best Runtime Version Managers in 2026#9 of 30

Is RVM yours?

Claim it for free: prove the domain, then correct facts, plans and screenshots. An editor reviews every change.

Claim it free Promote RVM

Sources

rvm.io· checked 30 Sept 2026
rvm.io/rvm/security/· checked 30 Sept 2026
rvm.io/rvm/install/· checked 30 Sept 2026
rvm.io/rvm/cli/· checked 30 Sept 2026
rvm.io/rvm/security· checked 30 Sept 2026
rvm.io/rvm/install· checked 30 Sept 2026
rvm.io/rvm/prerequisites· checked 30 Sept 2026
rvm.io/rubies/installing· checked 30 Sept 2026
rvm.io/rvm/about· checked 30 Sept 2026