# Rebuilding Ruby, keeping the libs?

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rebuilding-ruby-keeping-the-libs/66454>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [August 25, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rebuilding-ruby-keeping-the-libs/66454 "2006-08-25T18:01:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Julian\_SJulikS\_Tark](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/ea5d25/32.png) [@Julian\_SJulikS\_Tark](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Julian_SJulikS_Tark)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rebuilding-ruby-keeping-the-libs/66454/1 "2006-08-25T18:01:20Z")

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Maybe that has been asked already, but is it possible to rebuild Ruby  
without sweeping all of the installed gems?  
I have mine in /usr/local so it’s isolated from the old one.

Is that even feasible to try? Or the gems/libs will only link to the  
interperter they have been built against?

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**Author:** ![Julian\_SJulikS\_Tark](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/ea5d25/32.png) [@Julian\_SJulikS\_Tark](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Julian_SJulikS_Tark)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 11:28am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/rebuilding-ruby-keeping-the-libs/66454/2 "2006-08-26T11:28:17Z")

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Julian ‘Julik’ Tarkhanov wrote:

> Maybe that has been asked already, but is it possible to rebuild Ruby  
> without sweeping all of the installed gems?  
> I have mine in /usr/local so it’s isolated from the old one.
> 
> Is that even feasible to try? Or the gems/libs will only link to the  
> interperter they have been built against?  
> –Julian ‘Julik’ Tarkhanov  
> please send all personal mail to  
> me at julik.nl

Gems should be very much exempt from any other package management. Gems  
without native libraries shouldn’t need reinstallation, and probably  
neither the ones with native libraries - I don’t think you’re rebuilding  
the interpreter with severe API changes.

David V.