Installing Ruby, Jekyll, and Bundler for a Smooth Development Experience

As you embark on your journey of building a website using Jekyll, the first step is to ensure that you have the necessary tools installed on your local device. In this article, we'll take a closer look at why pre-installed Ruby is not suitable for development purposes and how to install the required packages for a seamless experience.

Pre-installed Ruby is designed for use by the operating system, not for user-level modifications. This means that other parts of the operating system may be utilizing pre-installed Ruby, making it unsuitable for our needs. For instance, MacOS 12 ships with Ruby 2.6.8, but it's essential to avoid tampering with this version and instead opt for installing a new Ruby environment.

To get started, you'll need to install Ruby on your local device. If you encounter any errors during the installation process, be sure to check the error message for any specific requirements or dependencies that may need to be met. Once Ruby is installed, you can proceed with installing Jekyll and Bundler using the following command: gem install jekyll bundler.

It's crucial to ensure that all packages are installed correctly before proceeding. Run npm install in your project folder to verify that everything is up and running smoothly. If you encounter any issues during the installation process, it may be due to using an incorrect Ruby installer or failing to select the DevTools version during the installation process.

To confirm that everything is set up correctly, run the command jekyll -v to check the Jekyll version. Once you have Python and Ruby installed, you can proceed with installing the required Ruby Gems for Jekyll: gem install jekyll bundler webrick. During the installation process, be sure to select option 3 if prompted to do so.

For Windows users, there are additional steps required to get started with Jekyll. You'll need to install the following packages:

* Ruby

* DevKit (for Ruby Gems to install)

* Jekyll

To create a new Jekyll project, run the command jekyll new sitename at the end of the installation process before serving your site. This assumes that you have already pulled an existing Jekyll repository and want to run it locally.

In conclusion, installing Ruby, Jekyll, and Bundler is a crucial step in setting up your development environment for building websites with Jekyll. By following these steps and ensuring that all packages are installed correctly, you'll be well on your way to creating a smooth and enjoyable development experience.

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