ruby/rubygems · error · Gem::InstallError

#{spec} has an invalid specification_version

Error message

#{spec} has an invalid specification_version

What it means

Error "#{spec} has an invalid specification_version" thrown in ruby/rubygems.

Source

Thrown at lib/rubygems/installer.rb:705

  def verify_spec
    unless Gem::Specification::VALID_NAME_PATTERN.match?(spec.name)
      raise Gem::InstallError, "#{spec} has an invalid name"
    end

    if spec.raw_require_paths.any? {|path| path =~ /\R/ }
      raise Gem::InstallError, "#{spec} has an invalid require_paths"
    end

    if spec.extensions.any? {|ext| ext =~ /\R/ }
      raise Gem::InstallError, "#{spec} has an invalid extensions"
    end

    unless /\A[\w.-]+\z/.match?(spec.platform.to_s)
      raise Gem::InstallError, "#{spec.platform} is an invalid platform"
    end

    unless /\A\d+\z/.match?(spec.specification_version.to_s)
      raise Gem::InstallError, "#{spec} has an invalid specification_version"
    end

    if spec.dependencies.any? {|dep| dep.type != :runtime && dep.type != :development }
      raise Gem::InstallError, "#{spec} has an invalid dependencies"
    end

    if spec.dependencies.any? {|dep| dep.name =~ /(?:\R|[<>])/ }
      raise Gem::InstallError, "#{spec} has an invalid dependencies"
    end

    if spec.executables.any? {|name| !name.is_a?(String) || name != File.basename(name) || /\A\.\.?\z|\R/.match?(name) }
      raise Gem::InstallError, "#{spec} has an invalid executable"
    end

    raise Gem::InstallError, "#{spec} has an invalid bindir" unless spec.bindir.is_a?(String)

    expanded_gem_dir = File.expand_path(gem_dir)
    expanded_bindir = File.expand_path(File.join(gem_dir, spec.bindir))

View on GitHub (pinned to 86cbb817a3)

Solutions

1. Set a valid `spec.specification_version` (currently 4) or remove the assignment so RubyGems uses the default

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/rubygems/installer.rb:705 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/45e0f00370e78f26. Report an issue: GitHub.