ruby/rubygems · error

Sorry, Bundler can only be run via RubyGems.

Error message

Sorry, Bundler can only be run via RubyGems.

What it means

Error "Sorry, Bundler can only be run via RubyGems." thrown in ruby/rubygems.

Source

Thrown at lib/bundler/cli/binstubs.rb:44

        raise InvalidOption, "Cannot specify --all with specific gems" unless gems.empty?
        @gems = Bundler.definition.specs.map(&:name)
        installer_opts.delete(:binstubs_cmd)
      elsif gems.empty?
        Bundler.ui.error "`bundle binstubs` needs at least one gem to run."
        exit 1
      end

      gems.each do |gem_name|
        spec = Bundler.definition.specs.find {|s| s.name == gem_name }
        unless spec
          raise GemNotFound, Bundler::CLI::Common.gem_not_found_message(
            gem_name, Bundler.definition.specs
          )
        end

        if options[:standalone]
          if gem_name == "bundler"
            Bundler.ui.warn("Sorry, Bundler can only be run via RubyGems.") unless options[:all]
            next
          end

          Bundler.settings.temporary(path: Bundler.settings[:path] || Bundler.root) do
            installer.generate_standalone_bundler_executable_stubs(spec, installer_opts)
          end
        else
          installer.generate_bundler_executable_stubs(spec, installer_opts)
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

View on GitHub (pinned to 86cbb817a3)

Solutions

1. Install/run Bundler through RubyGems (`gem install bundler`); standalone Bundler runs are unsupported

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/bundler/cli/binstubs.rb:44 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/6d36cabc6040c834. Report an issue: GitHub.