Top 10 Best Ruby on Rails Gems for Web App Development

RailsCarma
3 min readApr 6, 2021

Being web developers, we all love Ruby on Rails. And we have our own reasons. But, one of the reasons why we love Ruby on Rails (RoR) is the simplicity, which eases the way we code.

One of the simplest functionalities, which most RoR developers love is, creating gems in Ruby.

What are gems in Ruby?

A gem in Ruby programming language is a software package in which Ruby applications or libraries can be distributed in a single format

To adapt to the newer APIs, one way was to code manually to send the notifications using FCM APIs. But, that is not a good idea because the “notifications” functionality is something that is going to be used in the majority of the projects.

So, we thought to have a private gem that will have a core logic of sending notifications to the devices using FCN non-legacy API, which can be further used in many such projects.

Developers can build some amazing applications using the Rails best gems. A Ruby on Rails development company has teams of RoR experts who develop custom Rails apps — most of which have features installed using a gem for Ruby on Rails.

Without the Ruby on Rails gems, developers will struggle a lot. The RubyGems play a major role in contributing to rapid application development, due to which startups prefer the technology. They also simplify the process of Ruby on Rails development by providing a wide variety of features, eliminating the need to write code from scratch.

Here are the ten Ruby useful Gems that developers often use for adding various functionalities in a web application:

  1. RSpec
    One of the most popular Ruby Gems that’s also been downloaded the most, RSpec is fantastic for writing unit test cases. It is mainly used in BDD and TDD environments.
  2. Devise
    Second, on the Ruby on Rails gems list is Devise. Another of the most popular gems in Ruby Devise simplifies the process of adding authentication.
  3. ActiveRecord-Import
    This Ruby Gem for Ruby on Rails is used to insert bulk records. It generates minimal SQL insert statements. It helps in eliminating the N+1 insert problem.
  4. PRY
    In the top 10 gems for Ruby on Rails, PRY is like a meta plugin or library. While integrating libraries, some gems may return errors due to improper integration.
  5. Rails_Best_Practices
    The Rails_best_practices gem is one of the most unique RubyGems. While it doesn’t find bugs in the code, it identifies the lines that could lead to future errors in code execution.
  6. RuboCop
    As one of the popular RubyGems for analyzing code quality, RuboCop is a favorite of developers. It ensures that the web application’s code matches the Ruby Style Guide for writing the best program.
  7. Dot-env
    The use of Dot-env is increasing dramatically. If you want to save email credentials, API keys, or authentication, then Dot-env is a useful RubyGem.
  8. Delayed_Job
    Whenever developers are struggling to handle the longer running actions for background tasks, they use the delayed job Ruby on Rails gem. The job table handles or manages multiple tasks.
  9. CANCANCAN
    A most simple yet unique of the Rails gems, CANCANCAN enables developing complicated web apps by freeing up the settings for access restrictions and multiple rules.
  10. Webpacker
    No Ruby on Rails gems list is complete without mentioning webpacker. The gem serves Javascripts, fonts, and other related components.

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