Does 'gem list' go by .gemspec only?

Ruby
1

Hello, Ruby beginner here trying to learn as much as I can.

Does gem list use the GEM_PATH to find the actual install folders or
does it just look for the .gemspec files?

I’ve noticed if I delete a gem’s install folder manually and run gem list, it will still show up in the list, but trying to use the gem in
anyway (including gem uninstall) returns an error until I delete the
associated .gemspec file as well. After that, the gem will no longer
show up in gem list.

Thanks in advance for any clarification.

2

Iirc it uses the spec files in gem_path/specifications.

Why manually delete?

3

I jacked up some rvm gemsets and was just kicking the tires to get a
better handle on how ruby-gems, gemsets and bundler interact with each
other in the context of rvm.

Now I’m curious as to why it looks for the .gemspec and not the wrapper.

4

Because the gemspec knows everything there is to know about the gem.