ruby/rubygems · error · Gem::LoadError

skipping #{gem_name}

Error message

skipping #{gem_name}

What it means

Error "skipping #{gem_name}" thrown in ruby/rubygems.

Source

Thrown at lib/rubygems/core_ext/kernel_gem.rb:37

  # RubyGems may load a conflicting library version).
  #
  # Kernel#gem only loads prerelease versions when prerelease +requirements+
  # are given:
  #
  #   gem 'rake', '>= 1.1.a', '< 2'
  #
  # In older RubyGems versions, the environment variable GEM_SKIP could be
  # used to skip activation of specified gems, for example to test out changes
  # that haven't been installed yet.  Now RubyGems defers to -I and the
  # RUBYLIB environment variable to skip activation of a gem.
  #
  # Example:
  #
  #   GEM_SKIP=libA:libB ruby -I../libA -I../libB ./mycode.rb

  def gem(gem_name, *requirements) # :doc:
    skip_list = (ENV["GEM_SKIP"] || "").split(/:/)
    raise Gem::LoadError, "skipping #{gem_name}" if skip_list.include? gem_name

    if gem_name.is_a? Gem::Dependency
      unless Gem::Deprecate.skip
        warn "#{Gem.location_of_caller.join ":"}:Warning: Kernel.gem no longer "\
          "accepts a Gem::Dependency object, please pass the name "\
          "and requirements directly"
      end

      requirements = gem_name.requirement
      gem_name = gem_name.name
    end

    dep = Gem::Dependency.new(gem_name, *requirements)

    loaded = Gem.loaded_specs[gem_name]

    return false if loaded && dep.matches_spec?(loaded)

View on GitHub (pinned to 86cbb817a3)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/rubygems/core_ext/kernel_gem.rb:37 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of ruby/rubygems@86cbb817a3 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c0919adcbfe6c7a4. Report an issue: GitHub.