How to develop a Ruby GEM without having to install it first?

Question

I'm developing a GEM that I've forked and I'm trying to modify it slightly for my app.

I'm finding it difficult and time consuming because for every change I make I have to

1. uninstall
2. build
3. re-install
4. run the app

Is there an easier way of which doesn't require repeating all steps above?

Answer 1

To use it in some app using bundler

If what you mean is for using it in a app to test it / use it, you can just specify a path for your gem or even point to a git repo in the Gemfile http://gembundler.com/gemfile.html

Like

gem "mygem", :path => "~/code/gems/mygem"

To use it as a standalone gem. i.e: like rspec or rake that can run outside of an app.

Just specify the path to your gem binary when running the gem command, like:

$ ~/path_to_my_gem/bin/mygem some args

If you can execute inside your gem directory (i.e: the command does not create files in the current directory, or needs any specific files from the current directory), just do this:

$ ./bin/mygem some args

Note that this last one is just for future reference, I think it's not applicable in the OP context.