IRB analogue of python -i

Question

I want to use IRB to run a script then give me an interactive prompt. I do this with python -i xy.py in Python, however irb xy.rb exits after execution.

> python --help

-i    When a script is passed as first argument or the -c option is
      used, enter interactive mode after executing the script or the
      command

Answer 1

irb -r xy.rb

It simply requires the file mentioned before giving you a normal IRB prompt.