BUNDLE-ADD(1)

💎 BUNDLE-ADD(1) — the “add a gem, bestie” era ✨

okay so this is bundle-add, straight out of the General Commands Manual, and it’s literally the glow-up button for your Gemfile. You give it a gem name, it slides that gem into the Gemfile, and then it runs bundle install. Main character energy only 💅

🦋 NAME 🦋

bundle-add — Add gem to the Gemfile and run bundle install 🎀

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

bundle add GEM_NAME [--group=GROUP] [--version=VERSION]
[--source=SOURCE] [--path=PATH] [--git=GIT|--github=GITHUB]
[--branch=BRANCH] [--ref=REF] [--cooldown=NUMBER] [--quiet]
[--skip-install] [--strict|--optimistic]

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

Adds the named gem to the [Gemfile(5)][Gemfile(5)] and runs bundle install. No cap, that’s the whole vibe. If you’re not in the mood to install right this second, bundle install can be avoided by using the flag --skip-install — very “I’ll deal with it later” of you 🙈✨

✨ OPTIONS ✨

• --version=VERSION, -v=VERSION — Specify the version requirement(s) for the gem you’re adding. Version gatekeeping, but make it cute.
• --group=GROUP, -g=GROUP — Specify the group(s) for the added gem. Multiple groups should be separated by commas. Group chat rules, honestly 🫶
• --source=SOURCE, -s=SOURCE — Specify the source for the added gem. Where it comes from matters, bestie.
• --require=REQUIRE, -r=REQUIRE — Adds require path to gem. Provide false, or a path as a string. Yes, false is a valid move here, don’t panic 😭
• --path=PATH — Specify the file system path for the added gem. Local files, local vibes.
• --git=GIT — Specify the git source for the added gem. Git era activated 🧚
• --github=GITHUB — Specify the github source for the added gem. GitHub girlies rise.
• --branch=BRANCH — Specify the git branch for the added gem. Branch out, literally 🌿
• --ref=REF — Specify the git ref for the added gem. Lock in that exact ref, periodt.
• --glob=GLOB — Specify the location of a dependency’s .gemspec, expanded within Ruby (single quotes recommended). The single-quotes note is important, iykyk 🎀
• --quiet — Do not print progress information to the standard output. Silence is golden, and lowkey iconic.
• --skip-install — Adds the gem to the Gemfile but does not install it. It’s giving “add to cart, checkout later” 🛒
• --optimistic — Adds optimistic declaration of version. Optimism, but for version declarations ✨
• --strict — Adds strict declaration of version. Strict queen behavior 👑
• --cooldown=<number> — Only consider gem versions published at least number days ago when resolving. Pass 0 to disable cooldown for this run. See cooldown in bundle-config(1) for precedence rules. Do not skip the precedence rules part, fr fr.

🎀 EXAMPLES 🎀

1. You can add the rails gem to the Gemfile without any version restriction. The source of the gem will be the global source.

bundle add rails

2. You can add the rails gem with version greater than 1.1 (not including 1.1) and less than 3.0.

bundle add rails --version "> 1.1, < 3.0"

3. You can use the https://gems.example.com custom source and assign the gem to a group.

bundle add rails --version "~> 5.0.0" --source
"https://gems.example.com" --group "development"

4. The following adds the gem entry to the Gemfile without installing the gem. You can install gems later via bundle install.

bundle add rails --skip-install

5. You can assign the gem to more than one group.

bundle add rails --group "development, test"

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• Gemfile(5) — https://bundler.io/man/gemfile.5.html
• bundle-remove(1) — bundle-remove.1.html

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This has been the April 2026 edition of BUNDLE-ADD(1) from the General Commands Manual — go add those gems, bestie, and catch you in the next manpage 💖🫶✨