ruby/rubygems · error · InvalidOption

Cannot specify --all along with specific options.

Error message

Cannot specify --all along with specific options.

What it means

Bundler raises this Bundler::InvalidOption from the `bundle update` command when the --all flag is combined with any narrowing selector. In lib/bundler/cli/update.rb:21 a full update means no gem names, no --source, no --group, no --ruby and no --bundler; line 28 raises when --all contradicts that. Updating everything and updating a subset are mutually exclusive operations, so bundler aborts before resolution starts.

Source

Thrown at lib/bundler/cli/update.rb:29

    def run
      Bundler.ui.level = "warn" if options[:quiet]

      update_bundler = options[:bundler]

      Bundler.self_manager.update_bundler_and_restart_with_it_if_needed(update_bundler) if update_bundler

      sources = Array(options[:source])
      groups  = Array(options[:group]).map(&:to_sym)

      full_update = gems.empty? && sources.empty? && groups.empty? && !options[:ruby] && !update_bundler

      if full_update && !options[:all]
        if Bundler.settings[:update_requires_all_flag]
          raise InvalidOption, "To update everything, pass the `--all` flag."
        end
        SharedHelpers.feature_deprecated! "Pass --all to `bundle update` to update everything"
      elsif !full_update && options[:all]
        raise InvalidOption, "Cannot specify --all along with specific options."
      end

      conservative = options[:conservative]

      unlock = if full_update
        if conservative
          { conservative: conservative }
        else
          true
        end
      else
        unless Bundler.default_lockfile.exist?
          raise GemfileLockNotFound, "This Bundle hasn't been installed yet. " \
            "Run `bundle install` to update and install the bundled gems."
        end
        explicit_gems = gems.dup

        if groups.any?

View on GitHub (pinned to 86cbb817a3)

Solutions

1. Remove --all and keep the targeted update, e.g. `bundle update rails`
2. Or remove the gem names/groups/sources and run plain `bundle update --all`
3. For bundler itself use `bundle update --bundler` alone, without --all
4. For the ruby directive use `bundle update --ruby` alone
5. Audit wrapper scripts and aliases so --all is never appended when gems are passed

Example fix

# before
bundle update --all rails
# => Cannot specify --all along with specific options.

# after
bundle update rails

# bash wrapper: refuse --all mixed with selectors before invoking bundler
if printf '%s\n' "$@" | grep -q -- '--all'; then
  for a in "$@"; do
    case "$a" in
      --all|--quiet|-*) ;;
      *) echo "error: --all cannot be combined with $a"; exit 64 ;;
    esac
  done
fi
exec bundle update "$@"

# Ruby-level, when driving the CLI object directly
begin
  Bundler::CLI::Update.new(options, gems).run
rescue Bundler::InvalidOption => e
  warn "usage error: #{e.message}"
  exit 64
end

When it happens

Trigger: Commands like `bundle update --all rails`, `bundle update --all --group development`, `bundle update --all --source https://rubygems.org`, `bundle update --all --ruby`, or `bundle update --all --bundler`. Each makes full_update false while options[:all] is set, hitting the elsif at lib/bundler/cli/update.rb:28.

Common situations: CI or deploy scripts that accumulated flags over time (update everything plus keep bundler current); copy-pasted commands mixing a targeted update with --all; shell aliases or wrappers that append --all to a user-supplied gem list.

Related errors

• This Bundle hasn't been installed yet. Run `bundle install`
• #{gemfile} not found
• Your lockfile needs to be updated, but it can't be because f
• can't be updated because file system is read-only
• The Ruby version #{@locked_ruby_version} from #{@lockfile} c

AI-assisted analysis of ruby/rubygems@86cbb817a3 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6c093e1b71d3d95c. Report an issue: GitHub.