ruby/ruby · error · ProductionError

You are trying to check outdated gems in deployment mode. Ru

Error message

You are trying to check outdated gems in deployment mode. Run `bundle outdated` elsewhere.

If this is a development machine, remove the #{Bundler.default_gemfile} freeze
by running `#{suggested_command}`.

What it means

Bundler::CLI::Outdated#check_for_deployment_mode! (lib/bundler/cli/outdated.rb:261) aborts when Bundler.frozen_bundle? is true: checking for outdated gems requires hitting remote sources and building an updated definition, which deployment mode (BUNDLE_DEPLOYMENT=true or BUNDLE_FROZEN=true) forbids. It raises Bundler::ProductionError and, when possible, computes the exact `bundle config unset` command for whichever setting caused the freeze.

Source

Thrown at lib/bundler/cli/outdated.rb:261

    end

    def cooldown_days_remaining(spec, now = Time.now)
      return nil unless spec.respond_to?(:created_at) && spec.created_at
      return nil unless spec.respond_to?(:remote) && spec.remote
      days = spec.remote.effective_cooldown
      return nil if days.nil? || days <= 0
      remaining = days - ((now - spec.created_at) / 86_400.0)
      remaining > 0 ? remaining.ceil : nil
    end

    def check_for_deployment_mode!
      return unless Bundler.frozen_bundle?
      suggested_command = if Bundler.settings.locations("frozen").keys.&([:global, :local]).any?
        "bundle config unset frozen"
      elsif Bundler.settings.locations("deployment").keys.&([:global, :local]).any?
        "bundle config unset deployment"
      end
      raise ProductionError, "You are trying to check outdated gems in " \
        "deployment mode. Run `bundle outdated` elsewhere.\n" \
        "\nIf this is a development machine, remove the " \
        "#{Bundler.default_gemfile} freeze" \
        "\nby running `#{suggested_command}`."
    end

    def update_present_via_semver_portions(current_spec, active_spec, options)
      current_major = current_spec.version.segments.first
      active_major = active_spec.version.segments.first

      update_present = false
      update_present = active_major > current_major if options["filter-major"]

      if !update_present && (options["filter-minor"] || options["filter-patch"]) && current_major == active_major
        current_minor = get_version_semver_portion_value(current_spec, 1)
        active_minor = get_version_semver_portion_value(active_spec, 1)

        update_present = active_minor > current_minor if options["filter-minor"]

View on GitHub (pinned to 0e5b888e1c)

Solutions

1. Run `bundle outdated` on a development machine or CI job without deployment/frozen mode set
2. If this is a dev machine, run the command the error prints: `bundle config unset frozen` (or `bundle config unset deployment`)
3. Check where it comes from: `bundle config get frozen`, `bundle config get deployment`, and env vars BUNDLE_FROZEN/BUNDLE_DEPLOYMENT

Example fix

# before
$ BUNDLE_DEPLOYMENT=true bundle outdated
# => You are trying to check outdated gems in deployment mode...

# after
$ bundle config unset deployment
$ bundle outdated

if Bundler.frozen_bundle?
  warn 'bundle outdated is disabled in deployment/frozen mode'
  suggested = Bundler.settings.locations('frozen').keys.intersect?(%i[global local]) ? 'bundle config unset frozen' : 'bundle config unset deployment'
  abort "Run `#{suggested}` on a dev machine, or check updates elsewhere"
end

def outdated_allowed_here?
  !Bundler.frozen_bundle?
end

begin
  Bundler::CLI::Outdated.new(options, gems).run
rescue Bundler::ProductionError => e
  warn e.message # includes the exact config unset command
  exit 1
end

When it happens

Trigger: Running `bundle outdated` on a production host or in a deploy container where BUNDLE_DEPLOYMENT/BUNDLE_FROZEN is set; or on a dev machine where `bundle config set deployment true` was left behind.

Common situations: SSH-ing into a server to check for available updates; Docker images built with BUNDLE_FROZEN=true where operators exec bundle outdated; shared CI runners with global frozen config.

Related errors

• Your lockfile needs to be updated, but it can't be because f
• The #{flag} requires a lockfile. Please make sure you have c
• Frozen mode is set, but there's no lockfile
• can't be updated because frozen mode is set
• Could not find gem '#{gem_name}'.

AI-assisted analysis of ruby/ruby@0e5b888e1c (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6b6c4ee29a75e439. Report an issue: GitHub.