Irbtools version

 _ _|        |      |                  |
   |    __|  __ \   __|   _ \    _ \   |   __|
   |   |     |   |  |    (   |  (   |  | \__ \
 ___| _|    _.__/  \__| \___/  \___/  _| ____/

Improvements for Ruby's IRB console, like colored output and a lot of debugging and introspection methods. Unlike with PRY, you are still in your normal IRB. It is designed to work out-of-the-box, so there is no reason to not use it!

Setup

$ gem install irbtools

IRB executes code in ~/.irbrc on start-up. If the file does not exist, yet, just create a new one. Add the following content:

require 'irbtools'

You also need to add irbtools to your project's Gemfile:

gem 'irbtools', require: 'irbtools/binding'

Then start IRB (with Irbtools loaded) from the console or directly from your code with:

binding.irb

If the binding_of_caller gem is available (e.g. see below), you can omit the binding:

irb

More Improvements

Some suggested gems will not be installed to ensure wider general support. For the full feature set, you can add irbtools-more and change your .irbrc to:

require 'irbtools/more'

and edit your Gemfile to

gem 'irbtools-more', require: 'irbtools/binding'

Included Gems and Libraries

IRB Improvements

  • Colored output: wirb fancy_irb
  • Custom views for specific objects: hirb
  • (irbtools-more) Correction suggestions for misspelled method/constant names: did_you_mean
  • (irbtools-more) Better tab-completion: bond

Utils

Introspection

Irbtools Methods

Besides improving IRB itself, you will get the following methods:

Method Arguments Description
beep Ring terminal bell.
cat path Read file contents.
cd path = nil Changes the directory. Can also be used in these forms: ~cd (change to home directory), -cd (change to previous directory).
clear Clear the terminal.
code object = self, method_name Display the method source with syntax highlighting. Will also look up C methods if the core_docs gem (which is included in irbtools-more) is available.
colorize string Syntax highlight a Ruby string.
copy string Copy something to the clipboard.
copy_input Copy session history to the clipboard.
copy_output Copy session output history to the clipboard.
ed / emacs / mate / mvim / nano / vi / vim filename = nil Start an editor in the session context.
engine Show the Ruby engine.
howtocall object = self, method_or_proc Displays parameter names and types for a proc or method.
info List general information about the Ruby environment.
ld file Shortcut for load lib.to_s + '.rb'.
ls path = "." List directory content.
mf object1, object2 Find methods that turn one value into another value.
mof object, depth = 0, grep = // Print a method list, ordered by modules.
os Query operating system information.
pa string, color Print a string in the specified color.
page what, options = {} Page long content.
paste Paste clipboard content.
q *args Like Kernel#p, but prints results on one line, with different colors.
ray path Syntax highlight a Ruby file.
re string, regexg, groups = nil Assists you when matching regexes againts strings.
reset! Restart the current IRB session.
rq lib Shortcut for require lib.to_s. Use it like this: rq:prime.
rr lib Shortcut for require_relative lib.to_s.
rrq / rerequire lib Hack to remove a library from $LOADED_FEATURES and require it again.
session_history number_of_lines = nil Return a string of all commands issued in the current session.
version Show the Ruby version.
wp inspect_string Syntax-highlight a Ruby object.
Object#instance Proxy object to read and manipulate instance variables / run eval (not loaded in Rails context).
Object#lp (irbtools-more) Supercharged method introspection in IRB.
Object#mlp / Object#method_lookup_path Traverse an object's method lookup path to find all places where a method may be defined.
Object#ri *args Show ri documentation for this object or method.

Advanced tweaking

See CONFIGURE.md.

Troubleshooting: ANSI colors on Windows

Windows: ANSI support can be enabled via ansicon or ConEmu.

Troubleshooting: Clipboard not working on Linux

Clipboard support requires xclip or xsel. On ubuntu, do: sudo apt-get install xclip

Troubleshooting: Unicode causes wrong display widths

If you use double-width unicode characters, you will need to paste the following snippet to your ~/.irbrc file.

Irbtools.replace_library_callback :fancy_irb do
  FancyIrb.start east_asian_width: true
end

This setting is deactivated by default, because of performance issues.

Hint: Debundle

If you do not want to add Irbtools to your project's Gemfile, you will need a debundle hack. Put it at the beginning of your ~/.irbrc file and you are fine (until it breaks).

Hint: No ANSI / IRB extension

You can use Irbtools without colors/irb extensions. To do so, put this into ~/.irbrc:

require 'irbtools/non_fancy'
Irbtools.start

Hint: Web Console

Irbtools works well together with the amazing web-console!

J-_-L

Copyright (c) 2010-2015 Jan Lelis http://janlelis.com released under the MIT license.