Pretty IRB - Enhanced Interactive Ruby Shell

Gem Version License: MIT Ruby Version

A beautiful, feature-rich IRB alternative with:

✨ Pretty Fonts & Colors - Beautiful syntax highlighting with colorized output 🔧 Auto-Correct - Smart suggestions for common mistakes using did_you_mean 🤖 AI Helper - Learn Ruby methods, best practices, and get code analysis 📜 History Manager - Search and replay command history 💾 Snippet Manager - Save and reuse code snippets 🔍 Variable Inspector - Inspect and analyze variables ⚡ Benchmarker - Performance testing and comparison 📖 Ruby Cheat Sheet - Quick reference for syntax and methods ⚡ Enhanced Readline - Better line editing with history support 💡 Helpful Hints - Smart error messages with correction suggestions

Table of Contents

Installation

Add this line to your Gemfile:

gem 'pretty_irb'

Or install it yourself:

gem install pretty_irb

Quick Start

Launch Pretty IRB:

irb1
# or
pretty_irb

Try some commands:

# Basic evaluation
1 + 2                           # => 3

# String methods
"hello".upcase                  # => "HELLO"

# Array operations
[1, 2, 3].map { |x| x * 2 }    # => [2, 4, 6]

# Get help
help                            # Show all commands

# Learn Ruby
?explain(map)                   # Explain the map method
?example(class)                 # See class examples

# Save and reuse code
snippet save double "[1,2,3].map { |x| x * 2 }"
snippet load double

# Search your history
history search "map"

# Inspect variables
vars

Features

1. Syntax Highlighting

Code is automatically syntax-highlighted with beautiful colors using the Rouge gem.

2. Auto-Correct

Common Ruby errors are automatically corrected and suggestions are provided:

  • Method name typos (.lenght → .length)
  • Variable name suggestions using did_you_mean
  • Helpful error messages

3. Pretty Output

Different data types are displayed with appropriate colors:

  • Strings in blue
  • Numbers in green
  • Booleans in cyan
  • Nil in gray
  • Arrays and Hashes formatted nicely

4. AI Helper - Learn Ruby Interactively! 🤖

Get instant help right in your REPL:

# Learn how a method works
pretty_irb >> ?explain(map)

# Get code examples
pretty_irb >> ?example(class)

# Learn best practices
pretty_irb >> ?practices(naming)

# Analyze your code for issues
pretty_irb >> ?debug("[1,2,3][0]")

# Quick reference
pretty_irb >> ?ref(operators)

See AI_HELP.md for detailed documentation.

5. History Manager 📜

Never lose your commands again:

# Search previous commands
pretty_irb >> history search map

# View recent history
pretty_irb >> history last 10

# Export for sharing
pretty_irb >> history export my_session.rb

6. Snippet Manager 💾

Save and reuse code patterns:

# Save a useful snippet
pretty_irb >> snippet save double_array "[1,2,3].map { |x| x * 2 }"

# Load it later
pretty_irb >> snippet load double_array

# Search your snippets
pretty_irb >> snippet search array

7. Variable Inspector 🔍

Understand your current state:

# List all variables
pretty_irb >> vars

# Inspect specific variable
pretty_irb >> vars name

# Find by type
pretty_irb >> vars type:String

# Memory usage
pretty_irb >> vars memory

8. Benchmarker ⚡

Measure and compare code performance:

# Benchmark code
pretty_irb >> bench "[1,2,3] * 100"

# Compare implementations
pretty_irb >> bench compare "(1..100).map { |x| x*2 }" vs "(1..100).collect { |x| x*2 }"

# Profile memory
pretty_irb >> bench memory "[1,2,3] * 1000"

9. Ruby Cheat Sheet 📖

Quick reference without leaving REPL:

# General overview
pretty_irb >> cheat

# Array methods
pretty_irb >> cheat array

# String methods
pretty_irb >> cheat string

# Available topics: array, hash, string, enumerable, file, regex, date

10. Enhanced Error Messages

Errors include color-coded messages and helpful hints:

NameError: undefined local variable or method `foo'
💡 Did you mean?: for

Commands

Basic Commands

  • exit or quit - Exit the shell
  • help - Show available commands
  • clear - Clear the screen

History Management

  • history - Show all command history
  • history search KEYWORD - Search history
  • history last N - Show last N commands
  • history export FILE - Export to file
  • history clear - Clear history

Snippet Manager

  • snippet list - List saved snippets
  • snippet save NAME CODE - Save code
  • snippet load NAME - Load and execute
  • snippet show NAME - View snippet details
  • snippet delete NAME - Delete snippet
  • snippet search KEYWORD - Search snippets

Variable Inspector

  • vars - List all variables
  • vars VARNAME - Inspect variable
  • vars type:TYPE - Find by type
  • vars search:KEYWORD - Search variables
  • vars memory - Memory usage

Benchmarker

  • bench CODE - Benchmark code
  • bench compare CODE1 vs CODE2 - Compare
  • bench memory CODE - Profile memory

Cheat Sheet

  • cheat - Show general cheat sheet
  • cheat TOPIC - Topic cheat sheet (array, hash, string, enumerable, file, regex, date)

AI Helper

  • ?explain(method) - Explain a method
  • ?example(topic) - Get code examples
  • ?debug(code) - Analyze code
  • ?practices(topic) - Learn best practices
  • ?ref(keyword) - Quick reference

Documentation

Development

Setup:

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/j14as/pretty_irb.git
cd pretty_irb

# Install dependencies
bundle install

Run tests:

rake spec

Try it locally:

bin/console
# or
ruby -I lib exe/pretty_irb

Build the gem:

gem build pretty_irb.gemspec

Contributing

We welcome bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests!

How to contribute:

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
  3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
  4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
  5. Open a Pull Request

Code standards:

  • Follow Ruby style guide (use rubocop)
  • Add tests for new features
  • Update documentation as needed
  • Keep commits atomic and well-described

Reporting bugs:

  • Use the GitHub Issues
  • Include Ruby version and OS details
  • Provide minimal reproduction steps

License

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

This gem is inspired by:

  • Ruby's IRB - Interactive Ruby Shell
  • Python's IPython - Advanced interactive computing
  • Node.js REPL - Autocomplete and code introspection
  • Pry - Advanced Ruby debugging and exploration

Special thanks to:

Made with ❤️ by Jayesh

If you find Pretty IRB helpful, please consider:

  • ⭐ Starring the repository
  • 🐛 Reporting issues
  • 💡 Suggesting features
  • 📝 Improving documentation