From: "mame (Yusuke Endoh) via ruby-core" <ruby-core@...>
Date: 2025-11-18T02:09:31+00:00
Subject: [ruby-core:123838] [Ruby Bug#21692] Basic gems like `date` require a compiler

Issue #21692 has been updated by mame (Yusuke Endoh).


Ah, it seems this happens on Ubuntu 24.04, without a `Gemfile.lock`, and when the `Gemfile` does not list the indirect dependencies.

I found three workarounds.

### 1\. Add a `Gemfile.lock`

If a proper `Gemfile.lock` is present, `--prefer-local` seems to avoid the installation.

```
$ ls
Gemfile� Gemfile.lock

$ cat Gemfile
source "https://rubygems.org"

gem "net-imap"
gem "date", "3.3.3"

$ cat Gemfile.lock
GEM
� remote: https://rubygems.org/
� specs:
� � date (3.3.3)
� � net-imap (0.3.4.1)
� � � date
� � � net-protocol
� � net-protocol (0.2.1)
� � � timeout
� � timeout (0.3.1)

PLATFORMS
� x86_64-linux-gnu

DEPENDENCIES
� date (= 3.3.3)
� net-imap

BUNDLED WITH
� �2.4.20

$ bundle install --prefer-local
Bundle complete! 2 Gemfile dependencies, 5 gems now installed.
Use `bundle info [gemname]` to see where a bundled gem is installed.
```

### 2\. List all dependencies in the Gemfile

If the `Gemfile` lists all dependencies, including the indirect ones, `--prefer-local` also seems to avoid the installation.

```
$ ls
Gemfile

$ cat Gemfile
source "https://rubygems.org"

gem "timeout"
gem "net-protocol"
gem "net-imap"
gem "date", "3.3.3"

$ bundle install --prefer-local
Resolving dependencies...
Bundle complete! 4 Gemfile dependencies, 5 gems now installed.
Use `bundle info [gemname]` to see where a bundled gem is installed.
```

### 3\. Use `bundler` from a newer Ubuntu release

I think this behavior is a bug in the older version of `bundler`. With Ubuntu 25.10, it works well as expected, as shown below:

```
$ ls
Gemfile

$ cat Gemfile
source "https://rubygems.org"

gem "net-imap"
gem "date", "3.3.4"

$ bundle install --prefer-local
Fetching gem metadata from https://rubygems.org/...
Resolving dependencies...
Bundle complete! 2 Gemfile dependencies, 5 gems now installed.
Use `bundle info [gemname]` to see where a bundled gem is installed.
```

----------------------------------------
Bug #21692: Basic gems like `date` require a compiler
https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/21692#change-115237

* Author: getajobmike (Mike Perham)
* Status: Open
* ruby -v: 3.2.3
* Backport: 3.2: UNKNOWN, 3.3: UNKNOWN, 3.4: UNKNOWN
----------------------------------------
I'm trying to use Ruby in a high security environment which does not allow a compiler to be installed. This was easy years ago when all of standard library was included with Ruby itself and I could use `apt install ruby`. But as the standard library has broken off into separate, optional gems it has become impossible to `bundle` a reasonable pure Ruby application without requiring basic gems like `date` which require a compiler to install.

Are there any plans to make native extensions optional for gems? With tools like ZJIT it can be better to use pure Ruby for performance; I would like to see Ruby encourage fewer native extensions and/or make them optional.



-- 
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