ruby/rubygems · error · Gem::FilePermissionError

You don't have write permissions for the #{directory} direct

Error message

You don't have write permissions for the #{directory} directory.

What it means

Error "You don't have write permissions for the #{directory} directory." thrown in ruby/rubygems.

Source

Thrown at lib/rubygems/uninstaller.rb:225

    end

    return if executables.empty?

    executables = executables.map {|exec| formatted_program_filename exec }

    remove = if @force_executables.nil?
      ask_yes_no("Remove executables:\n" \
                 "\t#{executables.join ", "}\n\n" \
                 "in addition to the gem?",
                 true)
    else
      @force_executables
    end

    if remove
      bin_dir = @bin_dir || Gem.bindir(spec.base_dir)

      raise Gem::FilePermissionError, bin_dir unless File.writable? bin_dir

      executables.each do |exe_name|
        say "Removing #{exe_name}"

        exe_file = File.join bin_dir, exe_name

        safe_delete { FileUtils.rm exe_file }
        safe_delete { FileUtils.rm "#{exe_file}.bat" }
      end
    else
      say "Executables and scripts will remain installed."
    end
  end

  ##
  # Removes all gems in +list+.
  #
  # NOTE: removes uninstalled gems from +list+.

View on GitHub (pinned to 86cbb817a3)

Solutions

1. Fix permissions on the gem directory or use sudo for system gems
2. Prefer `gem install --user-install` so gems live in your writable home directory

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/rubygems/uninstaller.rb:225 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/f0b184c6099b58dd. Report an issue: GitHub.